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What do you like and dislike?

chefdennis

chefdennis

Veteran Expediter
Being close enough to 60 yrs old to spit at it, and having been self employed for most of my adult life, I can assure you that I have more then enough, health, life, and loss of income inurance to choke a cat.....so buying it Occ Insurance through my carrier would be a duplication of the insurance I already have and if I needed to use it, only one would pay .... even if I had paid both premimums....
 
Wild Child

Wild Child

Seasoned Expediter
Ok...so now it is my turn uncle John. Let's break it all down and look at in segments:

LIKES

Everything about L-1 is viewed very favorably be me and those that work with me. I especially appreciate being able to communicate directly with Uncle John and his management team. My past experience with the "other" guys in Buchanan would not allow this at all. When I actually caught them skimming off the gross amount on two loads I had to buy 100 shares of their stock in order to present this to the President and the Director of their Board. I got my money, made $8 on the stock, and hauled a** for an honest carrier. I found that carrier in L-1.

DISLIKES

The fact that our sales (dispatch) leaves more freight on the table than they actually haul. It is rare that they ever actually bid any long haul freight when our trucks are out in the field. Almost all bids are back to Michigan. I have never had a truck dispatched out on a load, except a short one, that was not destined for Michigan. I have never had any of the Ina Bearing loads (10 per week) that leave their plants (3) in the Carolinas bound for Laredo, El Paso, and Nogales. All my Carolina trips back are aimed at Michigan leaving these choice good paying loads on the table.

It would be nice to see them looking beyond Michigan and focus on ALL freight to be bid on. There is an abundance of freight headed west and to the upper tier states that could be bid upon. Times are slow and we need to constantly look at ways to increase our load opportunities or else we will end up having to reinvent the company in order to continue on with business as usual.

I know some of you will argue that we are a regional carrier, but you must ask yourself, other than cheap auto freight, how much regional freight is available out there right now? If you are a driver who wants to be home every week-end....just say no to the long haul freight and we will gladly haul it.

In order for us to continue to grow we must be able to expand our scope of operations and learn to accept risks that are somewhat calculated.
 
chefdennis

chefdennis

Veteran Expediter
It has been said, ( I think OVM coined the phrase) "all roads lead back to Michigan)...while it does seem that I am seeing my wife more then in the past (not all bad, but her and my daughter do this little dance when i leave) and I am doing pretty good in the money making department, i do understand that loads not going back to Mich are far and few inbetween when we are out and about and could be heading further away...
 
jelliott

jelliott

Veteran Expediter
Motor Carrier Executive
US Army
CRAPSHOOTER said:
Ok...so now it is my turn uncle John. Let's break it all down and look at in segments:

LIKES

Everything about L-1 is viewed very favorably be me and those that work with me. I especially appreciate being able to communicate directly with Uncle John and his management team. My past experience with the "other" guys in Buchanan would not allow this at all. When I actually caught them skimming off the gross amount on two loads I had to buy 100 shares of their stock in order to present this to the President and the Director of their Board. I got my money, made $8 on the stock, and hauled a** for an honest carrier. I found that carrier in L-1.

DISLIKES

The fact that our sales (dispatch) leaves more freight on the table than they actually haul. It is rare that they ever actually bid any long haul freight when our trucks are out in the field. Almost all bids are back to Michigan. I have never had a truck dispatched out on a load, except a short one, that was not destined for Michigan. I have never had any of the Ina Bearing loads (10 per week) that leave their plants (3) in the Carolinas bound for Laredo, El Paso, and Nogales. All my Carolina trips back are aimed at Michigan leaving these choice good paying loads on the table.

It would be nice to see them looking beyond Michigan and focus on ALL freight to be bid on. There is an abundance of freight headed west and to the upper tier states that could be bid upon. Times are slow and we need to constantly look at ways to increase our load opportunities or else we will end up having to reinvent the company in order to continue on with business as usual.

I know some of you will argue that we are a regional carrier, but you must ask yourself, other than cheap auto freight, how much regional freight is available out there right now? If you are a driver who wants to be home every week-end....just say no to the long haul freight and we will gladly haul it.

In order for us to continue to grow we must be able to expand our scope of operations and learn to accept risks that are somewhat calculated.
Click to expand...


Well just a quick note, I was not looking to make this a Load One thread vs a general thread was my goal.

With that being said;

We do move trucks all over and do not just target freight to Michigan. Our goal is to produce the highest revenue per mile and overall total mile blend that we can for our fleet. If a truck is in the Carolina's per your example we will bid the Tx freight and the Michigan freight. Competition probably bids down the rate on the TX lane and leaves a better rpm on the Michigan lane. Smart business says take the higher paying lane into an area that traditionally is easier to reload out of and at a better average rate. It does not work 100% of the time, but a high percent of the time it does.

You have to constantly look at these things. Rate per mile is great but you pay your bills not based on a load, but on the overall average.

I would not really consider us a regional carrier anymore. As of the moment about 25% of the fleet is sitting west of the Mississippi. You also have to consider where we are based and that 60% of the expedite market occurs in the midwest.
 
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Fr8 Shaker

Fr8 Shaker

Veteran Expediter
Likes: Getting paid via Comdata and not have to worry about getting home to deposit a check. 2) getting advanced 55% of the load upfront after pickup whether I need it or not.


Dislikes: Qualcom fees what I consider a ridiculous amount per week especially when you do not receive a load offer for the week. 2) Most of all being kept in the dark by the company your leased on with, Not being able to get any information so that you can make decisions to do your job better and make more money for yourself and the company your leased on with. Not being able to speak with anyone that actually has any authority to make a decision. Only talking with someone who actually has limited or no experience in the field and can only relay what a computer tells them to do which leaves common sense totally out of the question. Better stop here !!!!!
 
ebsprintin

ebsprintin

Veteran Expediter
Like: Allowed to run free.

Like: I like the added effort being made to find freight out of Laredo.

Dislike: I pay for the qualcomm system, but the company still calls to see where I am. A wasteful redundancy. The company sees me 30-60 minutes behind where I am. Fleetvision can see me in real time, so where's the problem? Track me on Google Latitude real time, and it's free.

Dislike: Dispatchers/load planners need to understand how deadhead miles impact my bottom line. One way or the other I'm going to figure out the rate for all miles for a load before accepting it, so have the number ready. It's like pulling teeth--"what are the loaded miles?"..."what are the deadhead miles?"..."what is the total pay for the load?"..."give me a second while I calculate something that should be automatically calculated on your screen." If the pay was decent, I could take the load on faith and run, but I don't get those kind of load offers.

Dislike: If I'm responsible for relocating myself, I should have access to information that will help me see. Drivers are pretty good at spreading out if they have access to useful intel.

eb
 
OntarioVanMan

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
ebsprintin said:
Like: Allowed to run free.

Like: I like the added effort being made to find freight out of Laredo.

Dislike: I pay for the qualcomm system, but the company still calls to see where I am. A wasteful redundancy. The company sees me 30-60 minutes behind where I am. Fleetvision can see me in real time, so where's the problem? Track me on Google Latitude real time, and it's free.

Dislike: Dispatchers/load planners need to understand how deadhead miles impact my bottom line. One way or the other I'm going to figure out the rate for all miles for a load before accepting it, so have the number ready. It's like pulling teeth--"what are the loaded miles?"..."what are the deadhead miles?"..."what is the total pay for the load?"..."give me a second while I calculate something that should be automatically calculated on your screen." If the pay was decent, I could take the load on faith and run, but I don't get those kind of load offers.

Dislike: If I'm responsible for relocating myself, I should have access to information that will help me see. Drivers are pretty good at spreading out if they have access to useful intel.

eb
Click to expand...
I thought you had the Mac 19?
 
ebsprintin

ebsprintin

Veteran Expediter
Yes, mac19, but that is all. It's like a baby step. But not much of a baby step considering we lost the vehicle availability page on the company website. It's like a trade for something weaker.

note: the mac19 tells how many units are near a particular zip code, and it gives your board position.

I'll add another like.

Like: Being able to send in paperwork via email. Go to paperless billing, and I will like it better, because I don't like mailing in paperwork that I've already sent in via email.

eb
 
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OntarioVanMan

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
Me and a few others took issue with E-1 over Mac 19....they fought us all the time...they just did not want to give us tools to do the job...whatever their thinking was I have no clue....

Firstly it solved 2 problems...First I did not need to call in for a position check or ask where the vans were....

Secondly...when used to its best, we could, by triangulation of zips, find out where the fleet was in a very wide area...and move accordingly...

a few weeks later..you could see an increase in loads per day as drivers grew used to it and used it better....which also made the carrier happy....
 
fortwayne

fortwayne

Not a Member
The likes r many.

The dislikes, let's just say I can address those at anytime directly with the owner, which turns into a like.


Posted with my Droid EO Forum App
 
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