Fuel Costs Paid

[LDB]

I just noticed a carrier whose recruiting info includes the statement "fuel costs paid from point of dispatch". I suspect that fuel surcharge is paid from point of dispatch. That's certainly better than being paid nothing from point of dispatch to pickup but it obviously doesn't pay the fuel cost, only a portion of the cost.

I suspect it is one of those things that you look at repeatedly and don't bother to see just as I've looked at it many times and not seen until now, not a case of intentional deception on their part but I tend to give the benefit of the doubt until doubt is removed.

 

[zorry]

Please call the carrier tomorrow and report back.
Unless it's E-1 who would like the rate to equal your fuel cost.

 

[BigCat]

Panther? And I was told it is just fsc from previous fleet owner.

 

[Moot]

Panther pays for fuel from the point of dispatch to pickup. Unfortunately what they pay for deadhead per mile is less than what my mpg is. Currently Panther is paying .18/mile for a cargo van from point of dispatch to pickup. My cost for fuel currently is about .22/mile.

Panther's fuel surcharge for vans this week is .25/mile. 3 cents here, 4 cents there, if the load is more miles than the deadhead to pickup, it works out. If not, well, either refuse the load or ask for some extra money.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

LOL for a minute there I thought I read just ask for some extra miles!!

 

[davekc]

LOL for a minute there I thought I read just ask for some extra miles!!

Wrong carrier.
But I do find it amusing that we are offered 42 cents on the DH for a straight but some of the runs have a 20 something fsc. Listening to a new dispatcher tell you how great it is provides for some cheap entertainment.

 

[Moot]

Dave, are your trucks still on the variable fsc program?

 

[LDB]

FSC was never meant to fully pay for fuel. The point was the wording of their statement, fuel cost paid from point of dispatch not fuel surcharge paid from point of dispatch.

 

[davekc]

Dave, are your trucks still on the variable fsc program?

Yes. So far it works out better on the straights. On the cheaper ones they have been decent with subsidizing them. I think when they went to the all DH miles paid, vans were affected more than straight or tractors because the higher rate in the heavier loads gives more to play with. Just my opinion.

 

[geo]

when price of fuel went up and companies said we need to charge more
some companies said we have a contract for this price and we don't care
contract is a contract
somebody said ok and said to help this out were charging a fuel surcharge and they bought it
it is something like that

 

[davekc]

FSC was never meant to fully pay for fuel. The point was the wording of their statement, fuel cost paid from point of dispatch not fuel surcharge paid from point of dispatch.

With regards to Panther, they don't classify or imply that deadhead or empty moves is actually FSC. They do however use the DOE to determine the full price of fuel on those items and both change weekly with the rise and fall of fuel prices. FSC by itself depends on the customer and what is negotiated.
If you are on a structured plan then it changes weekly as well but will be the same through the week.

 

[Moot]

I think when they went to the all DH miles paid, vans were affected more than straight or tractors because the higher rate in the heavier loads gives more to play with. Just my opinion.

I agree. With a van I watched my fsc take a huge dive, almost always at or less than the structured fsc. I was pretty much coerced into going with the structured plan or leaving Panther. One thing with the structured fsc, it removes one more variable when deciding whether to accept or decline a load. What it comes down to for me is, where does the load deliver. If I don't like the destination I either get some extra money or refuse the load. Yeah, that game plan hasn't gotten me any:

Little packets full of jackets
Little rackets, little rackets

Little Poofter - Cloth Appointments
Little Poofter's Froth Anointments

Little hoods, little goods,
Little doo-dads from the woods

T-shirt racks, rubber snacks,
Poster rolls with matching tacks

Frank Zappa "Poofter's Froth Wyoming Plans Ahead"

 

[zorry]

All FZ taught me was

Brown shoes don't make it
Quit school, why fake it ?

I turned down the University of Hawaii to enter the family trucking business.

If Zappa was here he could relate this to fuel surcharge. Or not.

 

[Moot]

FSC was never meant to fully pay for fuel.

I think most here would agree with that. I certainly do! Many carriers today use fsc as a profit center in the form of charges to their customers and fsc programs paid to contractors.

The point was the wording of their statement, fuel cost paid from point of dispatch not fuel surcharge paid from point of dispatch.

Okey dokey,now what is your point? As I stated, Panther pays fuel cost from point of dispatch, not the entire fuel cost, but they do pay the fuel cost. Is this an argument in semantics? Why not state the name of the carrier and provide a link to their ad. I won't ban you from E.O. for doing so. I promise!

 

[LDB]

The point was, and is, was the wording chosen to mislead or not. The specific carrier is not FedEx but they have a similar policy. FedEx pay fsc from dispatch to pickup and if it's over 50 miles they pay deadhead on the miles after the first 50. They clearly refer to it as fuel surcharge not fuel cost. There is no uncertainty and no discrepancy.

 

[Moot]

The point was, and is, was the wording chosen to mislead or not.

If in your original post you were quoting ad copy from a specific carrier, then sure, the wording was misleading, that's what advertising is all about.

The specific carrier is not FedEx but they have a similar policy. FedEx pay fsc from dispatch to pickup and if it's over 50 miles they pay deadhead on the miles after the first 50. They clearly refer to it as fuel surcharge not fuel cost. There is no uncertainty and no discrepancy.

FedEx is misusing the term "fuel surcharge". A fuel surcharge is an extra charge levied to the shipper (paying customer) to offset the volatile swings in the price of fuel paid by the carrier. The charge is based on the linehaul rates from point of origin to point of delivery and in most cases would not take into account any deadhead to the point of origin. Panther pays fuel cost for all miles to the shipper and pays an fsc based on linehaul miles. Two different things and for some reason, two different rates.

The money paid to the O/O to drive to the shipper is called deadhead pay. For me the rate per mile for deadhead pay does not cover my entire fuel cost for those miles. If I drove a Prius it would.