Prime, Inc. - Springfield, Mo.

You know what goes on in your terminal / region, you dont know what goes on in the rest of the country. Some areas the drivers are starving. YOu can have the greatest relationship with management but that is not going to help you if there are few miles to run.

 

Well... ok! I drive company... happy? That doesn't change the fact I try to run my truck as close to a lease operation as I can, track my loads and keep P/L sheet based on those numbers.

Actually, yeah I can make that point. I've sat on loads too - but so infrequently that I really don't remember more than a couple. And outside of last winter, I don't recall waiting for much either. The Pittston guys went through well over a year with those crappy FMs held over from TRL - so yeah, an FM can make or break a driver. OTOH, being persistant with a lease FM can help too from what I hear. I often ping D-man when I've sat longer than I care to.

You've been running team, and catching some loads that would be classified as "solo." I recall talking to a number of L/Os grousing about that over the last couple of years... especially as things begin to slow down in Q4. Saw the same when I was running with my trainer. Certainly not seeing that myself up to now.

Granted that can happen, but then again if you're leasing without a cash reserve - that's asking for trouble. The loads I've been tracking are mostly paying well over $1/mile; while certainly not enough to tempt me to switch, one could make it work with an older tractor. OTOH, I was talking to an L/O a couple of months ago who told me he hears nothing but grousing from many of the younger guys - he told me they have "a hard time keeping the left door closed" meaning late loads, and had a crappy relationship with their FM (all on the same board.) Said FM was liable to load them last vs the drivers he could count on.

The other thing is that this driver hasn't disclosed was how he was managing his costs. That's crucial in the lease game. My comments were admittedly "shooting from the hip," but in the last year and a half if someone only saw 85 or 95-cpm loads then there's something wrong, because we do all get dispatched out of that same pool.

My understanding is it's based on the performance of the drivers on an individual FMs board - can't state that with any certainty though.

Prime doesn't work that way - not saying its all a "bed of roses" either. All the freight is pooled with dispatch being on a first empty, first loaded basis - outside of loads requiring something special in terms of endorsements or time-criticality, everyone gets a shot at the same loads. BTW... we're not limited to a "region" or a "terminal." Miles only count from a company drivers' perspective at Prime - L/Os are paid a percentage of linehaul and the fuel surcharge revenue, so it's more a case of the individual load that matters to them. Fewer miles equates to less fuel cost, and increased net revenue. The idea is to only turn down loads that are going to kill your bottom line viz low revenue/high miles and dispatch into an area that isn't going to be easy/profitable to get out of. That's where your relationship with the FM is really important.

About the only region I haven't pulled from this year is the far northwest.

 

Last time I checked, u really don't want to be running in the red.

 

Yeah running in the RED isn't good business! I surely hope he meant to say BACK!

 

Well; we are talking prime here...

 

Well, if he ment "Red" then its hypothetical anyway... "black" too.

He's a Company Driver "simulating" that he's a L/O.

 

You're right... I meant "black." Mea Culpa.

Darned straight buddy. And I've never pretended to be anything else. Assuming that we aren't having our chains yanked by management concerning the truth of how the loads are distributed, then I'll say that staying company for the last 2 years instead of leasing has been a good deal. But there's only one way of knowing, correctomundo? Tracking the numbers on your loads.

 

well then mr. company... when you get a load assignment, you do not see the revenue for the load you have been given. i know. i drove co for 3 months before i got in a lease. so how in the hell do you run your truck like a l/o??? you dont pay for fuel tolls or the truck. just wondering?????? best to stay co w/ prime.

 

Ask your FM what the revenue numbers are - each and every load. Plug the revenue numbers, fuel costs, tolls and all expenses into a spreadsheet - generate a P/L sheet. That's Biz 101. Operate the truck like you were paying for everything.

Its also due diligence, to see whether the business deal aka "leasing from Prime" works. If more drivers would do this before they get themselves into trouble ( <insert company name> screwed me! ) there would be more people being successful at this. Current freight rates won't support a new tractor in a solo operation - some sort of team arrangement will work in a new machine. OTOH, short-term leases on older equipment is just about affordable at the rates I'm seeing in a solo operation.

 

Does PRIME ever explain why there lease payments are so High? You would think someone would ask this in orientation...??? Swift, Cr England, Central, etc. are 200-400 a week cheaper on New equipment also. Just curious what they say about this. Thx