What do you think?

[panther_art]

First of all I am not putting any company down or any drivers, I am just telling something that happened to me.

Was at the Flying J on US 59 North in Patton TX early Saturday morning at 01:13 got a beep on the QC for a load picking up in Laredo, TX going to Portland, OR at 10:00 est and said they really needed my help on this one, by the way it was one of those "You have been selected to run this load" that Panther uses to make you feel like you are important.

Ok get to shipper at 08:00, not open yet so park on the street outside the gate and ask the guard about what time does shipping open and he told me around 10:00 so while I am sitting there a Bolt van pulls in and I tell them that they don't open until 10:00. They come over and we start talking and I asked them where there load was going, they said Portland, OR. Both loads where the same.

So I give Panther a call and tell them that another company is there to pick up a load with the same details as the one that I had. Dispatcher said they would try and find out what was going on. A few mins later they sent me a message to tell the shipper that our load is a Menlo load and the load number.

In the mean time the Bolt team is calling there dispatcher to see what is going on and there load came from a broker called Arrow.

The gate opens and we pull up to the guard shack and wait for him to get done talking to someone who just brought a package in. In the mean time one of the team drivers gets tired of waiting so she gets out of her van and goes up to the guards door and the guard lets her sign in first, remember they are behind me.

Both vans are now inside the gate waiting and wondering who load is this going to be or are there 2 loads. Bolt is telling them that it is there load and Panther is telling me it is my load.

About an hour goes bye not pretty soon a fork left driver comes over and tells us that he knows nothing about any small loads going out that day. He looks over and sees that the shipper had just arrived so the fork lift driver takes both of our pick up numbers over to the shipping office and about 10 mins later the shipper comes out and has the shipping papers in his hand and it has the Menlo number on it but it had some other carriers name on it. And we both explain to him that we all do third party loads, so the name as carrier didn't mean a thing it goes by the shipping number.

The load was a Dana load out of Mexico, so the shipper said he wasn't going to load either van untill he found out from Dana who should take this load.

Bolt got the load.

 

[pelicn]

We had a similar experience, about 6 months ago. Same type of load, "spotlight account" got to the shipper and the load had been picked up by another carrier 15 minutes prior to us getting there. Luckily, there was very little deadhead involved and we got a dry run.

 

[guido4475]

Bolt got he load because they may of reduced the rate even more, and undercut the heck out of youre company.I can bet on this, though: they most likely are doing it for alot less than you would even consider doing it for.Another type of scumbag in this industry.Drivers such as this should be hung by the balls.

 

[LDB]

I think you should be paid full rate for all miles (all as in actual miles not household mover or other swindle systems) from where you started to the shipper and the shipper should be charged for it either as a cancellation fee on this load or built into fees on future loads to be run for them.

 

[davekc]

Bolt got he load because they may of reduced the rate even more, and undercut the heck out of youre company.I can bet on this, though: they most likely are doing it for alot less than you would even consider doing it for.Another type of scumbag in this industry.Drivers such as this should be hung by the balls.

You got it. Sounds like they awarded it to one broker when a cheaper bid came in, they gave it to the second. It went to Bolt when they called the primary broker and they awarded it to the lowest bid which in this case, was Bolt.
We had a simular thing I posted about maybe six months ago in Tulsa, OK. We got a load to MI only to have it cancel a half hour later. A reefer truck took the load from another carrier for a buck a mile and whatever FSC they got.
Lot of cut throating going on out there.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Nature of the beast...

 

[fastman_1]

It happens a lot and I've done a few arrow loads and they always seem to be a pain, the bolt driver was wrong for signing in first or at least should have said you were there ahead of them, when this has happened to me in the past it was always first come first serve, then I would fight it out with dispatch if I didn't get the load.

 

[aristotle]

Per Adam Smith, the invisible hand of competition carried the day. And the load.

 

[fastrod]

Another type of scumbag in this industry.Drivers such as this should be hung by the balls.

Dont forget Bolt had a major hand in this. These bottom feeder companies like Bolt are the reason rates are being driven way down. What the industry needs is a few less companies like this.

 

[guido4475]

That's one thing I can say about Polly Express, they always paid me anywhere between .85 and 1.02 per mile on loads, which at the time, were alot higher than everyone else, which explained why I sat as much.Now, I am getting around .89 pm all out, which is not the best, and I dont know what others are getting, but freight is no problem, and I am moving. I discussed the rates with them, and was told if there werent so many bottom feeders out there, my rate would be higher.I am still making money, and alot better than I had anticipated, just have to work harder for it and cut expenses as much as possible.

 

[greg334]

I don't see the problem, this is a business and the shipper needs to cover the load, right?

If someone can do it cheaper than I can, then what can I do about it - I'm not part of the process that is in place to get the load.

In panther_art's case, Panther needs to take the loss and pay the truck the full amount, they are the ones who screwed up and no one else.

How about arriving to a location and there is another truck sitting there with your load on it and that truck is from your carrier?

You find out that the truck that was sent, was sent under a different shipment number by a dispatcher who knew there was a problem but ignored it which was the load was double booked through two different divisions.

That's happened to me a couple times in the past and I didn't get squat for the time or the distance I drove but should have gotten the entire amount that the load would have paid. This happened with my present company once and I did get paid for it.

I lost several loads last week that they were bidding on, one would have brought me to sunny Florida where I wanted to go but that one I asked for too much; the truck would have made a buck a mile all inclusive - I had to move out of Kansas City. BUT the bids were awarded to someone else.

Was it a bottom feeder?

Was it Bolt?

Nope, neither.

I understand after talking to someone over at NLM where that load originated from what happened. I know who got the load, an independent and with revenue sharing that I had to deal with, they didn't have that issue so it looked like they would have made 83 cents a mile on the load when in fact they made $1.35. They under bid the agent by a nickel.

See I think that we are still in a deflationary rate cycle and with the influx of new drivers/owners coming into the market to fill their financial gaps by trying to make easy money, the problem is only to get worst.

 

[RLENT]

Dont forget Bolt had a major hand in this.

That's right - it wasn't the broker that actually decided to award the load to a specific company - it was entirely Bolt's fault.

I believe they alone surely must be single-handedly responsible for decreased rates in the entire transportation industry .....

Seriously - maybe you should write Obama and ask him to decree that we get $1.50 per mile all miles (plus fuel surcharge, of course ) .... since you don't seem to be a fan of the free market.

These bottom feeder companies like Bolt are the reason rates are being driven way down.

Oh I dunno .... I just ran a 978 mile load ..... it paid over 90 cpm .... it was a small skid, 200 lbs.

And it was a brokered load from another carrier (who shall remain nameless to avoid any hard feelings)

This last week I ran 3055 loaded, with a unpaid deadhead to pick ups of 240 miles, and averaged over 88 cpm ......

What the industry needs is a few less companies like this.

Well, the reality of what will likely happen is that if Bolt is being competitive and other companies aren't, is that they will be the ones to survive and not the other companies ....

It's called competition within a free-market ......

Panther Art - Kudos to you for explaining what actually occurred in detail, and having the class to avoid engaging in derisive name calling - sorry you lost the load but just keep in mind that the next time the shoe may be on the other foot:

I sat in Shreveport the other day (dropped early Wednesday and was eventually got a load Friday evening) ..... and watched a variety of trucks from other carriers (Panther, Nations, etc.) come and go. What I didn't do (as some - not you - in this thread have) is come up here and start calling those carriers names like "bottom-feeders" and "scumbags" because they evidently out-competed my carrier on those days, and on those particular loads. Nor did I wildly speculate about any undercutting - since I (just like most anyone else here) did not know the exact details of what actually occurred.

BTW, I think who signed in at the guard shack first probably made no difference in who ultimately got the load. Not saying it was right - just that it probably didn't mean squat.

 

[fastrod]

Well just so you know rlent I run under my own authority and have been told from various shippers just what just how cheap these companies will haul for. And I tell em fine, if they will haul it that cheap let them haul it. As for writing Obama asking for 1.50 a mile, I already get that and am doing all the runs I want. I consider your 88 and 90 cpm runs to be pretty much a joke and something I would not even leave the house for.

Now remember when Fedex vans were averaging $1.30 to $1.40 a mile. Now there are getting .85cpm and the sole reason for that is companies like Bolt, Panther, and Express 1 are lowballing rates and the only way for Fedex to stay competitive was to lower the rates they charge and lower the rates they pay to there vans. You may call it being competitive, I call it lowballing.

If you think I am classless for calling Bolt a bottomfeeder that is fine with me, I could care less. I will continue to call it as I see it and you can continue to be a Bolt cheerleader.


Lets not forget Panther signing new vans on for .70 cpm and express 1 vans crying that they want there rates back. I wonder just how low the rates will go. Could be fun to watch.

 

[blizzard2014]

I haul brokered loads from Fedex at least 5 times a year and believe me, they are still charging the customer good rates. I pulled a Fedex load from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City Utah and got paid almost a grand to do 750 miles or so. If you drivers keep on believeg the rumor that this is the worst economy since the great depression "your carriers will pick up on this and lower their rates accordingly!"

Look, don't you even think for one second that our dispatchers, CEO's, CFO's, CIO's, as well as the owners of our respective companies don't come in here and read what we post. You all have to stop believing the hype and demand a higher rate. it's that simple. The cheapest load I ran last year that was from one of my good carriers and "non-automotive" based was 80 cents per mile.

Now I work for another carrier that low-balls on NLM and I have seen rates as low as 50 cents per mile (and they claim that's all they can get the loads for) which is bull, and I have made a personal decision to never go lower than 80 cents a mile on any load regardless of the competition that is out there.

My van broke down, as all vehicles do, which means that my vehicle had a finite amount of life (income earning potential). So, if you choose to run maybe 25 percemt of your vehicles "income earning potential" at 50, 60, 70 cents per mile, you have effectively jipped yourself out of lost revenue "revenue that you can never recover no matter how many miles you run!"

You all better start to think long and hard about your business goals and what could happen to you is you run cheap and do not plan for the day when your vehicle becomes a heap of scrap in bubbas chop shop.

 

[RLENT]

Well just so you know rlent I run under my own authority

Yup, knew that - you've mentioned it before.

and have been told from various shippers just what just how cheap these companies will haul for.

And I'm quite sure that there is absolutely no chance that any of them are being misleading or inaccurate in their representations to you ..... being the fine, honest folks that they are ... not that they would have a possible interest in doing so ....

And I tell em fine, if they will haul it that cheap let them haul it.

Sounds similar to something I might say to Dispatch if I were offered a load that I considered too cheap and was told that there were other units in the area ......

As for writing Obama asking for 1.50 a mile, I already get that and am doing all the runs I want.

As well you should - if you have your own authority and are acting as a carrier, with the increased work, costs, hassles and potential liabilities that go along with that.

I consider your 88 and 90 cpm runs to be pretty much a joke and something I would not even leave the house for.

Omigosh, now I think I am truly offended ..... and who said Fedex had cornered the market on snooty and snotty .......

Now remember when Fedex vans were averaging $1.30 to $1.40 a mile.

Ahhhh .... yeah, well .... I had one this week that paid just under $1.64 per loaded mile ........ and I have had loads that paid far more than that at times .......

Now there are getting .85cpm and the sole reason for that is companies like Bolt, Panther, and Express 1 are lowballing rates and the only way for Fedex to stay competitive was to lower the rates they charge and lower the rates they pay to there vans.

You assume that Fedex did indeed lower their rates in all instances (something I would be somewhat disinclined to believe) ...... regardless, they did in fact, lower the rate that they are paying to their drivers in all instances apparently .....

You may call it being competitive, I call it lowballing.

Of course you do.

If you think I am classless for calling Bolt a bottomfeeder that is fine with me, I could care less.

I'm just calling it as I see it.

I will continue to call it as I see it and you can continue to be a Bolt cheerleader.

As long as I am with them, it's probably a good bet.

Lets not forget Panther signing new vans on for .70 cpm and express 1 vans crying that they want there rates back.

I don't think any of us are looking to have rates go down .....

I wonder just how low the rates will go. Could be fun to watch.

Probably not ...

 

[fastrod]

You assume that Fedex did indeed lower their rates in all instances (something I would be somewhat disinclined to believe) ...... regardless, they did in fact, lower the rate that they are paying to their drivers in all instances apparently .....

So what your saying is that Fedex is shafting their van drivers to prop up their own bottom line?
As far as increased costs and work you might be surprised just how cheap and easy it is to operate with your own authority for a van 10,000# and under.
I still think the rates are headed even lower, I mean when was the last time a carrier raised the rate a van driver gets?

 

[RLENT]

So what your saying is that Fedex is shafting their van drivers to prop up their own bottom line?

Dunno really ... but what do you think:

I haul brokered loads from Fedex at least 5 times a year and believe me, they are still charging the customer good rates. I pulled a Fedex load from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City Utah and got paid almost a grand to do 750 miles or so.

As far as increased costs and work you might be surprised just how cheap and easy it is to operate with your own authority for a van 10,000# and under.

I just might

I still think the rates are headed even lower,

I hope that is not the case, for all our sakes.

I mean when was the last time a carrier raised the rate a van driver gets?

I have seen rates on load offers from my carrier fluctuate and trend both up and down over periods of time (week to week, month to month, quarter to quarter) ... actually they vary from load to load - since we are on a percentage.

I suspect that it has to do with market conditions ... as opposed to either ill-intentioned stinginess .... or magnanimous generosity ..... but I don't discount the possibility of a little of either of those going on as well at times ...

 

[piper1]

I haul brokered loads from Fedex at least 5 times a year and believe me, they are still charging the customer good rates. I pulled a Fedex load from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City Utah and got paid almost a grand to do 750 miles or so. If you drivers keep on believeg the rumor that this is the worst economy since the great depression "your carriers will pick up on this and lower their rates accordingly!"

I have to speak up on this, and my pom poms are safely stowed away too.

Sure FedEx still makes good money on some loads and on a lot of others, they have been cut thin (I still see the customer charges on most of my loads). Your load to Salt Lake, if you factor in the amount of deadhead pay that they would need to pay one of their own trucks to get out of there or the possibility that none of their own guys wanted to go there due to it being crappy outbound, you might begin to understand why FedEx brokers out some of their loads. If FedEx has a history of poor profit using their own trucks to a specific area they will automatically broker it out. I see it...especially in Canada. If they send me to Quebec City they have to pay me to come back to Montreal (and lose me for the day), if they broker it...not FedEx's problem.

And, no offense, but 5 loads does not give you an accurate view of what is going on in the FedEx world.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Well just so you know rlent I run under my own authority and have been told from various shippers just what just how cheap these companies will haul for. And I tell em fine, if they will haul it that cheap let them haul it. As for writing Obama asking for 1.50 a mile, I already get that and am doing all the runs I want. I consider your 88 and 90 cpm runs to be pretty much a joke and something I would not even leave the house for.

Now remember when Fedex vans were averaging $1.30 to $1.40 a mile. Now there are getting .85cpm and the sole reason for that is companies like Bolt, Panther, and Express 1 are lowballing rates and the only way for Fedex to stay competitive was to lower the rates they charge and lower the rates they pay to there vans. You may call it being competitive, I call it lowballing.

If you think I am classless for calling Bolt a bottomfeeder that is fine with me, I could care less. I will continue to call it as I see it and you can continue to be a Bolt cheerleader.


Lets not forget Panther signing new vans on for .70 cpm and express 1 vans crying that they want there rates back. I wonder just how low the rates will go. Could be fun to watch.

HEY..I am not crying...I am pizzed...and am vocal about it...

I haul brokered loads from Fedex at least 5 times a year and believe me, they are still charging the customer good rates. I pulled a Fedex load from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City Utah and got paid almost a grand to do 750 miles or so. If you drivers keep on believeg the rumor that this is the worst economy since the great depression "your carriers will pick up on this and lower their rates accordingly!"

you got it! and that is just one reason for my Pizzed...

 

[guido4475]

Well just so you know rlent I run under my own authority and have been told from various shippers just what just how cheap these companies will haul for. And I tell em fine, if they will haul it that cheap let them haul it. As for writing Obama asking for 1.50 a mile, I already get that and am doing all the runs I want. I consider your 88 and 90 cpm runs to be pretty much a joke and something I would not even leave the house for.

Now remember when Fedex vans were averaging $1.30 to $1.40 a mile. Now there are getting .85cpm and the sole reason for that is companies like Bolt, Panther, and Express 1 are lowballing rates and the only way for Fedex to stay competitive was to lower the rates they charge and lower the rates they pay to there vans. You may call it being competitive, I call it lowballing.

If you think I am classless for calling Bolt a bottomfeeder that is fine with me, I could care less. I will continue to call it as I see it and you can continue to be a Bolt cheerleader.


Lets not forget Panther signing new vans on for .70 cpm and express 1 vans crying that they want there rates back. I wonder just how low the rates will go. Could be fun to watch.

That's excactly right.Why is it that as time goes on,everything has gone up in price, and continues to go up, while at the same time,our rates continue to spiral downward. And to add to that, we have people out here cheering and supporting companies who are the cause of the low rates to begin with.