Think I have the Expediting business figured out

[broker]

This will be long, so come back if you don't have the time right now.
I have been an O/O T/T over the road driver for the last 30+ years. Got off the road a few years back due to death in the family. Ready to get back on the road but burnt out driving 80,000 pound loads, in all kinds of weather.
Been watching for a few years and now asking for a few months about Expediting. Seems to be mine and my wifes cup of tea.
OK, to the point.
I think I have figured out this type of trucking.
Tractor Trailer drivers are in demand, always have been. We could sign on as O/O with no less than 25 companies tomorrow and "gross" over $200,000 our first year. The tractor would cost about the same as an Expedite straght truck and the fuel milage would be pretty close as well.
Or, we could sign on as company drivers and gross about $100,000 the first year.
These are facts, not estimates.

I have been trying to get the same facts from Expediting drivers. Not as easy

Seems in this business, more depends on how "lucky" you get for the next load, or how good you are at figures. Luck of where you are, where it goes to, what type of truck you have, etc.
As T/T drivers, the loads are already pre-arranged, you have no choice on pay. Each load will always pay X amount of $$$.
In Expediting, you also need to know what to take and what to turn down. Loads do not pay the same (in the end)

Conclusion: There is more driver turn over in Expediting, due to not having a good business sense or game plan.

As a T/T driver, the turn over is more due to not getting home enough.

How good you "drive" a truck as a T/T driver, is way more important than an Expeditor. As a T/T driver, you just drive, you pretty much don't have to think of anything else.

As an Expeditor, you better not go into it thinking all you need to know is how to drive a truck. More important, can you THINK everyday what load will make you more profitable and how LUCKY will you be today.

I know now my wife and I will find Expediting is our future.
I have owned my own business for over 30 years and always made money.
I can brag all I want about my driving record to T/T companies and they would listen, doesn't mean as much in Expediting.

Hope I did not offend anyone, it was meant as a positive post towards Expediting. YOU ARE NOT JUST TRUCK DRIVERS!
"Big" John

 

[redytrk]

Good luck Einstein. I`m glad that you have it all figured out. The pressures of Fuel cost and competition make this a very much different environment than it was a few years ago.

 

[broker]

Not sure if that was a smart remark or just some humor.
I'll take it as humor.
Adjustments are made every year by the rise and fall of fuel prices. I have lived through many while trucking. I was one of the trucks that got shot at ( while trying to get home) in California way back when drivers were boycotting everything from high fuel prices to low pay.
I have always made a good living driving over the road or I wouldn't be coming back.
"Big John"

Dr, Watson I prefer

 

[Lawrence]

Hope I did not offend anyone, it was meant as a positive post towards Expediting. YOU ARE NOT JUST TRUCK DRIVERS!
"Big" John

I agree 100%.

Expediters are NOT truckers. They share the same roads, they share the same truck stops - they even pay the same tolls...but they are not truckers. It's this very reality that this website came in existence in 1999. Now some members here will argue this point - but I have personally met thousands of Expediters over the years and know for a fact - they are not truckers.

But what they are is business professionals who use trucks to generate revenue and when business is good (like any business) generate profits. For this reason we have turnover. Some can change and adapt - other can't or unwilling to.

 

[broker]

Wow, I should just take my post off. You said that a lot better than me, thanks.
"Big John"

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Wow, I should just take my post off. You said that a lot better than me, thanks.
"Big John"

broker your post as just fine....Lawrence has had years to practice his lines....*L*

 

[TeamCaffee]

Broker I think you have been thinking a lot and have come up with some great conclusions. You will do well!

 

[Lawrence]

Broker,

I agree with TeamCaffee - your looking at this with a business prospective. We wish all the best success!

 

[ATeam]

Conclusion: There is more driver turn over in Expediting, due to not having a good business sense or game plan.

While it is true that many of the expediters that leave the business do so because they did not have good business sense or game plan, I am not sure it is true that there is more driver turnover than in O/O T/T driving.

From talking to the recruiting departments at various expedite carriers and reading the eye-popping turnover rates line-haul companies have, it is my sense that the driver turnover rate in expediting is high, but not as high as the large line-haul carriers have.

About turnover, note that there are two kinds; drivers that leave the business, and drivers that leave one carrier for another. In each group there are drivers that failed and drivers that found a better opportunity and are making a move that is a step up for them.

 

[pelicn]

I'm confused, Expediters are not truckers? Then what am I? I am driving a truck, I haul freight for a living, I live in a box for weeks at a time etc. but I'm not a trucker?

 

[TeamCaffee]

Pelicn I look at it this way; we are business people first and then truckers second. We are pretty darn proud of both titles though and think we really have the best of both worlds.

 

[broker]

ATeam,
Using a computer to give opinions is not the best way to explain things. You can not go on forever explaining in more detail.
Case in point: I did not mean there was more drivers leaving Expediting than T/T drivers. I meant the "reason" more were leaving was because they did not have good business sense.

Again, I did not say Expeditors were not truck drivers. I was comparing Expediting to T/T over the road drivers. "LESS" emphasis is put on driving, than how much business sense you have, to be successful.

As a T/T driver, that was pretty much all I had to worry about, driving the truck. I'd call in when my trip was done and dispatch had the next load waiting for me, paying the same as the last load and off I went. Same deal all year long.
"Big John"

 

[nightcreacher]

Broker I feel you have looked into this quite a bit.From what I have read,you should do well.The reason most leave expediting,they just cant get use to the sitting around,and even in busy times,there will be some sitting around.Some of the expedite companies offer a back haul salution that will keep you busy,but myself,I prefer to keep expedite freight in my trailer,as usually the pay is much better than dealing with a broker,and yes I know that putting to gether an LTL load can be high revenue,but also takes time,and as a team I dont care to take the time.Where i run we are on a percentage contract,there are expedite companies that offer mileage pay.Basically they can be both good,but I feel percentage is better,and thats why I stay where i'm at.Good luck to you,i feel you will do well,especially having your wife to run with,its a plus,all the money into one house hold

 

[pelicn]

Pelicn I look at it this way; we are business people first and then truckers second. We are pretty darn proud of both titles though and think we really have the best of both worlds.

First off...Broker, I apologize for derailing your thread just a little.

You said it better than I Linda, that was kinda what I was getting at. Many times expediters are looked down upon by the T/T side as if we are NOT truck drivers and we definitely are. I do agree that the business comes first.

 

[broker]

Let me say, I'm a little different than most T/T drivers, in how I look at everything in the trucking industry.
When I would see an Expediting truck, I was a little jealous, not looking down at you.
Light loads, straight truck, you get more respect from shippers and recievers, more respect from citizens, can drive the truck where I can't, park in the front row of major truck stops, bigger sleepers, better fuel milage, no jacknifes to worry about, less maintenance, take your truck home with you, pretty much no touch frieght, NO LUMPERS, etc.
So, will I call myself a truck driver when we get into the Expeditor? YES, but more importantly, I will call myself a business owner first.
"Big John" .

 

[Turtle]

"Conclusion: There is more driver turn over in Expediting, due to not having a good business sense or game plan."

That's really the only conclusion that I disagree with. You've obviously done a lot of research, enough to know the difference between general trucking and expediting. Too many long-time truckers come into expediting and find themselves truly lost because it is, in fact, so different.

While many do fail in expediting for not having good business sense or a solid game plan, largely due to poor research into what they are actually getting themselves into, but as Nightcreature said, the number one reason by far is people can't adapt to the sitting and just doing nothing for long periods of time. This holds true for people new to trucking, as well as trucking veterans.

 

[BillChaffey]

It may be true I am a "Truck Driver" and a "Businessmen" also, and I'm not complaining I have always been a slow learner and at this point in my Career I'm a better driver then Businessmen.

 

[nightcreacher]

"Conclusion: There is more driver turn over in Expediting, due to not having a good business sense or game plan."

That's really the only conclusion that I disagree with. You've obviously done a lot of research, enough to know the difference between general trucking and expediting. Too many long-time truckers come into expediting and find themselves truly lost because it is, in fact, so different.

While many do fail in expediting for not having good business sense or a solid game plan, largely due to poor research into what they are actually getting themselves into, but as Nightcreature said, the number one reason by far is people can't adapt to the sitting and just doing nothing for long periods of time. This holds true for people new to trucking, as well as trucking veterans.

Turtle, and to take that one step further,most over the road drivers live by that that old saying "white line fever",doesnt matter where they go,as long as they go,more miles the better.The reason I chose expedite,I make as much as a team running their butts off,but do a solo's mileage.Much more profit

 

[TeamCaffee]

One of the reasons we love expediting is the customers! More often then not we are dealing with a different type of customer and customer mind set then we were driving for USX. We are also treated very different by the company we are leased to then we were at USX which in turn makes us even more want to do a great job.

 

[broker]

Turtle,
Not being able to sit for long periods of time, is part of the Expediting business. So, those that can not handle this and quit, do not have the business sense it takes for this kind of employment.

I strongly agree that many new drivers from the T/T group would go nuts waiting like you do in Expediting.

Again, I'm a little different.
When I start this and I'm asked, "what do you do for a living", I will reply, "I am a business owner". Not a truck driver.
"Big" John