Ok guys, here is how it REALY is. I have worked both the shipper AND reciever docks years ago before I started driving.
1) The reciever needs a product so they call the shipper.
2) The reciver NEEDS said product ASAP... but the shipper in truth doesn't CARE. Unless the reciever pays a "premium upcharge" (commonly refered to as "black mail") his requested load will go into the FCFS que in line with all the others and the shipper will load that product when that loads turn comes up. could be today, tomarrow, next month... and they DON'T care!
3) The loads turn FINALLY comes up and the shipper calls the reciever (who is by now jones'n bad time for his product) But ... they don't care... and lets them know that it is ready to be loaded and do you still want/need it? YES the reciever says.

and this is where we come in...

4) One or the other usualy has a list of prefered carriers, the shipper checks to see who has a truck ready for a load near by and orders it up, complete with load and expected delivery date/time...

as a side note... we as drivers, unless we are savy enough to talk directly to the shipping dispatcher, asking a few "innocent" questions, RARELY know the TRUE load/delivery date/times.

...remmember the reciever? He's jones'n REALLY bad by now, pissed at the shipper, but he can't take it out on them, they'd tell him to take his order and shove it... so he rides the carriers back side, because in his mind he has waited WAY to long for that product already (pronounced 'already late when loaded' no matter what the del date/time is set to be.)

5) We wait long hours for the load to be loaded because the shipper called the reciever when the load was put into the daily que TO BE loaded, NOT as it was BEING loaded. This of course is already cutting into the preset times. and there we are, on the 'clock' wait'n, slobber'n, chomp'n at the bit to get it and GO! So we do...but before we leave we tickle the comic book so we be nice and legal as we run out the gate. (electronic logging or tachographs of any kind will stop this cold)

6) We get there to the tune of "what took you so long!!" at the gate but you wait hours to be unloaded because the reciever that was jones'n so badly was ordering from a spread sheet that said it was time to order. but they still in reality have some of that same product still in the warehouse therefore the recievers at the docks are in no hurry at all... FCFS all over again... and again, THEY DON"T CARE about us. the way they figure it, your next scheduled load might be with the 'competition', and they ain't in NO hurry to help THEM.

time to tickle the comic book again!

Yes, very definatley if we were to run letter of the law legal, it would cause the shipper and recievers a lot of problems. but remember that "list of carriers" I talked about? That list is COVETED by your company, and every company jockies for position on that list. top dog is the one that kisses #$$ the very best! and WE my friends are caught smack in the middle of this 'dog eat dog' struggle. by the way. I can tell you from personal experiance...niether one cares about or even knows how our regulations work, and they don't care to know! the only thing they care about is "get it out" or "get it in" when ever they feel like getting around to it... YOU the driver and our rules and regulations that we work by, they most certainly DO NOT care about. no matter HOW friendly they may act on the docks towards you. In truth, the ONLY way to put an end to all this is govmnt regulation over the shipping and recieving system. NOT continualy trying to "fix" something (HOS) that ain't broken. But they won't do that because that is deemed as "interfereing with free trade and domestic commerce". and while we struggle ( the entire trucking industry) under high fuel prices, and constant government harrassment...they ARE finding other ways to move their products.
By the way... anybody notice all them new shorter/faster freight trains lately?? wellll get used to them because the railroads have finally figured out that speed=revenue, and when they get all their fuel at farm commodity prices tax free( they never leave their own property boundries and don't run on public right of ways), they can run more loco's with fewer cares FASTER and get it there more efficiently and cheaper than we can. YUP there's a bleak horizon a'com'n.......

Just-In-Time (JIT) inventory means that we always end up the perceived 'high pole' in the tent of freight delivery!!

So, bottom line, with all the train freight, we will be rail head-to-customer/yard shuttle ppl in the near future (like JB HUNT is now!!)