Northwest US and compensation questions

RickinFL · Apr 20, 2012

Hi all and thanks for such a lively and informative forum! I'm considering going the cargo van route and have a few questions (haven't seen answers in historical posts).

1. Most "lanes" seem to be east of the Mississippi. I'm more interested in working the west, especially the northwest. Is there an expediter that specializes in that area, or at least includes that territory with their eastern coverage?

2. Do all expediters generally reimburse for gas and tolls? Is the "GSC" acronym I've been seeing mean "gas surcharge"? And does it mean the expediter pays 100% of the driver's gas expense?

3. In looking through the expediters listed on this site, some advertise that they pay for deadheading, layovers and waiting time. All things being equal, then why would anyone go with an expediter that doesn't pay for those?

4. Does "open door policy" mean that the expediter will accept every qualified applicant?

Thanks for any and all input!

Rick

MissKat · Apr 20, 2012

Expedite market in Oregon relatively non existent. I am a resident of same

Sent from my VS920 4G using EO Forums

RickinFL · Apr 20, 2012

Actually more interested in ID, MT, CO, Dakotas areas (no offense to OR). Yes, im a sight seer, truth be told.

Also, does anyone stay at campgrounds as an alternative to motels or sleeping in their van at Walmart?

MissKat · Apr 20, 2012

You will see loads going through those states most going to or from washington state. Sparse to colorado but we have done some. Getting out is the hard part. We have been to every state except ak including british columbia alberta nova scotia newfoundland expediting in straights and tractor. And yes you will find posts that we also stay in state parks reservations rv parks and casino campgrounds for example not to forget cabelas and bass pro

Sent from my VS920 4G using EO Forums

LDB · Apr 20, 2012

Reimbursements vary depending on the company. No clue where you're seeing gsc. The norm is fsc for fuel surcharge which covers whether gas or diesel. The norm is fsc to get the price down to $1.25 per gallon. What miles get fsc paid varies depending on the carrier. Accessorials (layover, deadhead, detention, liftgate, hand load, etc.) again vary depending on the carrier. All these things are things one needs to get detailed by the carrier under consideration.

Why would someone work for carrier B that pays less for deadhead or pays less for miles or whatever? Any number of reasons including coverage area for the carrier, dispatch policies, vehicle acceptance policies (age, color, etc.) or any other reason someone can think of.

RickinFL · Apr 20, 2012

Thanks for replies so far. Helpful information. Another question that comes to mind: A lot of people here talk about how they have to sometimes wait 3-4 days in between loads. Wouldn't registering with multiple expediters make all that waiting less likely? Expediters don't require an exclusive contract, do they?

So if you just delivered for ABC company and you're waiting for them to book you for another gig, why not tell XYZ company and two others you're available in the meantime? Chances are you'll get something in less than the 3-4 days you would have to wait for your originating carrier, "ABC" to get you something else, right? (I acknowledge I may have it all wrong and you can only work for one company at a time because of renting the satellite dispatcher, escrows, etc.)

Turtle · Apr 20, 2012

ABC, XYZ, and the other two companies are all looking at the same load boards. It's a problem when all four of those companies are all independently bidding on a load for you. XYZ gets the lowest bid and you think, "Hey, XYZ got me a load when ABC couldn't, therefor this multiple carrier thing is great!" But if you'd have left well enough alone you'd have gotten that load anyway, and at a higher rate of pay. The multi-carrier thing is an illusion where the only ones who benefit are the brokers and the shippers.

LDB · Apr 20, 2012

Most carriers are exclusive use. A few of them will let you book outside freight, taking a percentage of the load. Vans are so low on the totem there isn't really enough to cut apart.

cheri1122 · Apr 20, 2012

RickinFL said:
Hi all and thanks for such a lively and informative forum! I'm considering going the cargo van route and have a few questions (haven't seen answers in historical posts).

1. Most "lanes" seem to be east of the Mississippi. I'm more interested in working the west, especially the northwest. Is there an expediter that specializes in that area, or at least includes that territory with their eastern coverage?

To avoid confusion: expediter means owner/operators & drivers, not [as we use it] carriers.

2. Do all expediters generally reimburse for gas and tolls? Is the "GSC" acronym I've been seeing mean "gas surcharge"? And does it mean the expediter pays 100% of the driver's gas expense?

3. In looking through the expediters listed on this site, some advertise that they pay for deadheading, layovers and waiting time. All things being equal, then why would anyone go with an expediter that doesn't pay for those?

4. Does "open door policy" mean that the expediter will accept every qualified applicant?

That's a great question! I've always understood it to mean that management's door is 'always open' [should you have questions or concerns], but now that you bring it up, who knows? And even if you can bring problems to them, you'll notice they don't make any claims as to solving them, right?
When it comes to advertising [not just carriers, but ALL advertising] it helps to be um, shall we say, skeptical?
If you want the real scoop, ask some of the people leased to them - a couple, at least.

Thanks for any and all input!

Rick