Cargo Van Proposal to Carrier group.

[OntarioVanMan]

IMO....wouldn't it be nice if some of these carriers would actually do something to try a help out the struggling van group...and it wouldn't even cost any money?.

I would propose a return to the 45mph or 47 mph standard we used to have before someone had the bright Idea to compete on the very unsafe practice of speed....

Our TEANNA group of carriers could as a whole throw their support behind this and really help in a small way the very people they claim to support and it is very little effort...

1. It would allow operators to slow down a bit and save $$$ on the fuel bill...helping to increase overall rate and wear and tear...

2. of course #1 would be completely at the option of the operator discretion..but the opportunity would at least be available to the safe minded O/O....

3. Pick up times should not be all inclusive.....Travel time should be automatically adjusted from the time the van leaves the loading area....how silly is it to have an arrival time of 14:00 and the travel time clock starts running from there....right off the bat we are 15-30 BEHIND and dispatches best answer is....we'll see how you make it up and adjust if need be...I say adjust right then and there and take the psychological pressure off the driver to make up time... .which leads back to #1....

Turtle and his computing skills could exactly show you how a meager 3 minutes can make a huge difference.

Carriers you can not really do anything about the rates of load board freight, but how the freight really gets from point A to Point B you really do have the upper hand.....You could really help out in a small way your O/O's if you so chose...

and of course the obvious...The overall safety factor....very important.

Thank you Ken aka OVM

 

[Opel2010]

I would propose a return to the 45mph or 47 mph standard we used to have before someone had the bright Idea to compete on the very unsafe practice of speed....

What about a return to 55 mph for big trucks?

 

[OntarioVanMan]

What about a return to 55 mph for big trucks?

of course I guess I should have said that the 45-47 mph standard is the formula used to calculate the travel time to give a delivery time....

 

[Opel2010]

of course I guess I should have said that the 45-47 mph standard is the formula used to calculate the travel time to give a delivery time....

I know what you meant, I came up with the big Q about returning to 55 mph for big trucks... It wouldn't help the vanners?

 

[Slo-Ride]

At times 55mph isn't enough given the amount of road construction, congestion, and also given the route you will be on as the case of Indiana where the back roads and traveling thru the woods come into play. Let's not even mention Dayton and Cincinnati depending what time of day ya hit it. Then ya hit Toledo. There is no end to the delays that can happen out here.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

At times 55mph isn't enough given the amount of road construction, congestion, and also given the route you will be on as the case of Indiana where the back roads and traveling thru the woods come into play. Let's not even mention Dayton and Cincinnati depending what time of day ya hit it. Then ya hit Toledo. There is no end to the delays that can happen out here.

I thought you straights were figured at 45 Mph still?....

 

[NorthernBill]

Time is one of the reasons we just don't like shorter runs. But apparently they don't have a button for traffic or can't find it or wrong address.........

 

[Opel2010]

I meant the speed limit on the roads...

 

[OntarioVanMan]

We should be late for pick ups more often...we keep baling out these darned brokers by making the P/U times by hurrying...they've had the load for some time and by the time they sell it, re sell it then post it on a board...the blame should be directed at THEM...but the blame where it belongs...inform the shipper that its their agents fault for play games...

 

[fastman_1]

Time is one of the reasons we just don't like shorter runs. But apparently they don't have a button for traffic or can't find it or wrong address.........

I usually have a bigger time window on the short runs, over 400 miles is when they make it tight,

 

[Treadmill]

I don't worry about the 50 mi per hour speed limit when I run because the fastest I am going to run my truck is 65 mph and get there when I get there. So what if I'm late, I don't care especially with the rates we are getting.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

I don't worry about the 50 mi per hour speed limit when I run because the fastest I am going to run my truck is 65 mph and get there when I get there. So what if I'm late, I don't care especially with the rates we are getting.

That is my take on it as well.....I was just suggesting something a carrier could support and score some good press points....it would go a long way to to show us O/O's some support as we struggle and wouldn't cost them a cent...

 

[Slo-Ride]

I thought you straights were figured at 45 Mph still?....

Noooo sometimes its all over the map. I think 55 is the everyday standard before delay at the docks even hit.

 

[Slo-Ride]

I usually have a bigger time window on the short runs, over 400 miles is when they make it tight,

Yep..And the trooper says, Come here boy,I wanna talk to you

 

[xiggi]

Good ideas but again we are right back to the competition thing. One group could do it and the loads would go to those that dont. Not unlike the whole insurance thing. The majority of shippers want their freight moving now at the cheapest price and if you won't do it someone else will

 

[jelliott]

I think you can propose "best practices" but many would simply feel that they are better suited to run their operations than a trade organization in my opinion.

 

[blizzard2014]

The shippers are all ignorant. It's like when I haul loads for GE going to the rail yards and the workers are saying where's that damn truck at, it's been 16 hours. I said right here as I walked into the shop with my bill of lading. I was up all day, got a call at 10 PM to drive 70 miles, make a pick up, then drive another 850 miles direct. I delivered at 2 PM the next day after running well over 900 miles. Do you think a union employee would ever be forced to work under such conditions? Then they think that I took too long to get it there on top of it all even though I technically got it there early. That is the problem. Shippers and dispatchers need to be educated on how challenging it is to run these loads. I have had dispatchers tell me that cargo van drivers don't need sleep. I wash that was true. I'd be up day and night running team all by myself and raking in the cash. There is a lot of ignorance going on out there. Remember a few years ago when someone was on here trying to help the cargo van segment. They even started their own expedite company and now they pay 85 cents a mile just like everyone else. If change happens, we probably won't be around to see it.

 

[blizzard2014]

I think you can propose "best practices" but many would simply feel that they are better suited to run their operations than a trade organization in my opinion.

No one see the big picture that having certain standards and working together to maintain a certain level of pay holds everyone up in this business. They just see the cash raking in and don't have any idea what it costs to run a carrier operation. That is why so many carriers are going out of business. The brokers are running them into the ground. But they also allowed themselves to be run into the ground. The bigger carriers can make it up on volume, but even that can become tricky after a while. Panther has two orientations a week, every week, week after week. What does that tell you? Drivers seem to be disposable to some operations.

 

[jelliott]

No one see the big picture that having certain standards and working together to maintain a certain level of pay holds everyone up in this business. They just see the cash raking in and don't have any idea what it costs to run a carrier operation. That is why so many carriers are going out of business. The brokers are running them into the ground. But they also allowed themselves to be run into the ground. The bigger carriers can make it up on volume, but even that can become tricky after a while. Panther has two orientations a week, every week, week after week. What does that tell you? Drivers seem to be disposable to some operations.

I agree on some parts. But when you get into pay or rates that quickly moves into the area of anti trust. Brokers do what they have always done. They sell the customer on "best price" based on searching the market for capacity vs having assets. Carriers need to sell customers on having the real assets and capacity. In a soft market the broker approach works. In a hard market the carrier approach works better. A lot depends on the customer. Being as we do both sides of the equation I don't see brokers as some great evil. The margins move but generally no more than a 2 percent gross difference. Brokers have evolved on the expedite industry in part with the explosion of small carriers. These small carriers generally have little or no sales staff. So where do they look too for business....brokers or broker/carriers that bear the expense of a sales staff or bid boards. The explosion of carriers and the birth of the multi carrier created far more supply/demand pressures in the market. We love to blame others for what in large part was industry created. Supply and demand is still the greatest market force.

 

[tknight]

The shippers are all ignorant. It's like when I haul loads for GE going to the rail yards and the workers are saying where's that damn truck at, it's been 16 hours. I said right here as I walked into the shop with my bill of lading. I was up all day, got a call at 10 PM to drive 70 miles, make a pick up, then drive another 850 miles direct. I delivered at 2 PM the next day after running well over 900 miles. Do you think a union employee would ever be force to work under such conditions? Then they think that I took too long to get it there on top of it all even though I technically got it there early. That is the problem. Shippers and dispatchers need to be educated on how challenging it is to run these loads. I have had dispatchers tell me that cargo van drivers don't need sleep. I wash that was true. I'd be p day and night running team all by myself and raking in the cash. There is a lot of ignorance going on out there. Remember a few years ago when someone was on here trying to help the cargo van segment. They even started their own expedite company and now they pay 85 cents a mile just like everyone else. If change happens, we probably won't be around to see it.

So how many log pages did yA tear out to do that 850+ the dh to get there ?
Never mind you don't have to log!