Good morning. Took a long holiday weekend to get away clear my head and chase a little white ball around the grass....Thank you for 3 days of heavy thunderstorms....that's logistics.
March @ team Load One
- Thread starter Dynamite 1
- Start date
Questions: in regard to the qualcomm msg this morning and new minimum rates. What does "testing a new formula as it applies to resetting hours" mean and how does this apply to or would apply within DOT 8, 11, 14, 70 and 34 hr reset rules? Very confusing .........also are these new rates a guideline as to how low a bid can be made or are we talking FLAT RATES here?
thanks! Drive safe.
thanks! Drive safe.
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I'm also confused about the qcomm message this morning. Does this mean flat rate???
Last question. Why are team straight trucks not separated from solos and taking larger hits on these issues? Layover pay was reduced to $25 for sprinter and straights but teams have to split that! $12.50.....per driver. Now straight trucks have a min of $1.05 a mile + gas, teams should have a higher rate due to the extra ability to travel longer distences than solo trucks. Shippers and booking agents should know loads over 700 miles in 24hrs require a different type of truck and get a different rate. Team straights are a valuable part of this segment of your fleet, not to mention specialized endorsments such has hazmat..etc. just not feeling the love when generalized messages are released or policy changes made.
God bless and drive safe.
God bless and drive safe.
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We're gradually (well, not so gradually) becoming Pantherized. We'll need clear rules by which to play the game. If the load is more than 40% DH of loaded miles, or picks up more than 8 hours in advance, or is less than 200 miles, or any number of other factors, we shouldn't be hit with a refusal or the resetting of hours.
No rate change. If you read the message all we did was relax the turn down rules. That's it, that's all.
Like I said, clear rules. If you read the message, and I have, the rules regarding turn downs aren't even the least little bit clear.
The first sentence is, "We have come up with a formula we are going to test as is applies to resetting hours."
Well, great. What is the formula?
The next two sentences say, "For cargo vans/Sprinters the rate to the truck will be .60 plus fuel. For straight trucks the rate will be $1.05 plus fuel."
(A), without the proper context, that's not a formula, and (B), how does that relate in any way whatsoever to this mysterious formula we know nothing about, or to the resetting of hours?
Beeeeecuz, it reads like we've just gone to flat rate based on some mysterious formula. And it is bolstered by, "We absolutely hate going this low in securing freight but we are constantly being told our rates are too high believe it or not."
Which says we have to go that low to secure freight, but it says nothing relating to the resetting of hours. The follow-up message about always trying to get a higher rate doesn't clarify things at all. Qualcomm messages like these need to be sent with the assumption that the reader cannot read the sender's mind.
Now, using Vivid Expediter Imagination, is this supposed to say, "We have instituted a threshold rate at which a turndown will not result in your hours being reset. That threshold rate for cargo vans/Sprinters is .60 plus fuel. For straight trucks the threshold rate will be $1.05 plus fuel. What this means is, if you turn turn down any load that is offered at or below the threshold rate it will not result in your hours being reset."
And if that's what it's supposed to say, we still need a clear ruling as to what ".60 plus fuel" and "1.05 plus fuel" actually means. If it means "all miles," then say so. If it means "loaded miles," then say so. We need to know exactly what we are turning down or accepting (and maybe more importantly, those doing the resetting of hours and issuing the turndowns need to know). Getting your hours reset for turning down a load that's 160 miles DH for 200 loaded, and it pays $96 for a van or $168 for a straight because the threshold rate is applied to loaded miles only, is a little too Pantheresque even for Panther. If it pays $216 or $378, and we turn it down and get hours reset, well then OK.
Well the CEO answering questions, texts, Facebook posts all day on what was intended to be a good thing for the fleet....yeah I don't see that as very Pantheresque. Oh and I was off today too 
.
I love my job. I love my job. I love my job....
.I love my job. I love my job. I love my job....
Very valid observations by Turtle. I'm not as in depth. Simple thoughts for simple minds. Should be percentage (which is Panthered by the way). Don't see a reason for either system really. Not a fan of manipulation. But as mentioned, that 1.05 means absolutely nothing. Zero. If someone thinks I have any interest in a team running say a 500 mile load and have to return even 250 miles total deadhead against a 1.05 and fuel, I got big news. Not going to happen. I could care less about hours reset or any of the rest of it. Not running a straight at van rates. No need for a slow death. Again, simple thoughts, for simple minds.
I can only imagine. lol. If the load is a "luzer" shouldn't be anything about resetting hours or going to the back of the line because you can't afford to run cheap. Don't understand the logic?
The QC message is stupefyingly confusing, with no contextual meaning, which the follow-up clarification message only made worse. You can't get any more Pantheresque than that.
Fair enough.
Please make it a point to get details. For example, the FMCSA is very clear that the weight threshold for a CMV is 10,001 pounds or more. So, with a cargo van/Sprinter, does the 60 cent threshold mean we will have our hours reset if we turn down a load that is 60 cents or more, but if it's 59 cents or less we will not have the hours reset?
Ah! The first hint of what it actually means! Chalk one up for the Vivid Expediter Imagination Hypothesis Method of Drawing Conclusions. (I learned that at Panther, by the way).
I don't know that is was any easier, per se, but it was certainly a lot more comprehensible.
. Using my highly developed Vivid Expediter Imagination Hypothesis Method, I can conclude that it is, in fact, a percentage, and not a flat rate. For example, using the "formula" (m/p) x 100 = BR where m= minimum threshold rate in whole cents rate, p= contract percentage, and BR= Bid Rate, and using the 100 multiplier to correctly place the decimal point...
Cargo van/ Sprinter: (60 / 70) x 100 = $.857, so those bidding on loads would be bidding 86 cents, plus FSC.
For straight trucks: (105 / 70) x 100 = $1.50 for the board bid, plus FSC.
The QC message is stupefyingly confusing, with no contextual meaning, which the follow-up clarification message only made worse. You can't get any more Pantheresque than that.
Fair enough.
Please make it a point to get details. For example, the FMCSA is very clear that the weight threshold for a CMV is 10,001 pounds or more. So, with a cargo van/Sprinter, does the 60 cent threshold mean we will have our hours reset if we turn down a load that is 60 cents or more, but if it's 59 cents or less we will not have the hours reset?
Ah! The first hint of what it actually means! Chalk one up for the Vivid Expediter Imagination Hypothesis Method of Drawing Conclusions. (I learned that at Panther, by the way).
I don't know that is was any easier, per se, but it was certainly a lot more comprehensible.
Using my highly developed Vivid Expediter Imagination Hypothesis Method, I can conclude that it is, in fact, a percentage, and not a flat rate. For example, using the "formula" (m/p) x 100 = BR where m= minimum threshold rate in whole cents rate, p= contract percentage, and BR= Bid Rate, and using the 100 multiplier to correctly place the decimal point...
Cargo van/ Sprinter: (60 / 70) x 100 = $.857, so those bidding on loads would be bidding 86 cents, plus FSC.
For straight trucks: (105 / 70) x 100 = $1.50 for the board bid, plus FSC.
I think you have got it! lmao.
I am on the ten year plant to de-Pantherize turtle. It is a 20 step program.
Therapy in the right step program is imperative.
Update. As I was pretty much throwing in the towel I decided to call dispatch and see what/if anything was going on in the area that I was in. Now I must let everyone know that I don't call dispatch every time for something and I try not to call during 8am to 5pm.
I called dispatch and was told to hang around for a few hours longer just in case something comes up and I did. After that call a couple of hours later a load pop up and we were able get the load. Thanks dispatch and bid team. Here at the yard this weekend.
Yes the QC was a bit confusing. To me it was saying two different things. Have to let the dust settles to see how it works out. I think everything is going to be alright.