Loaded miles

I mean I’ve done the math on paychecks before, last one I did was 3642 actual miles ran with zero out of route miles using their omnitracs nav (other than to safely park for a 10) and actually paid for 3398. That’s what around 7%? And I seriously doubt I’m getting to the good (which does happen) enough to offset that to anything other than around 5% which is what I’ve always heard that you’re losing.

Just delivering in a big city and then picking up in the same city can rack up plenty of unpaid miles. Why I hated delivering in Houston working for Fastway back in the day, I always seemed to pick up the other side of town for zero paid miles. For me it’s as much the principal as it is the money. The old “we pay all miles loaded and empty” is straight up false advertising.

 

That alone is a red flag, as Houston is HUGE, therefore likely not the same ZIP code (there are approximately 200 ZIP codes in Houston).

So, as I said, someone was monkeying with your pay.

 

Having used P C Miler AND to old HHG Map Book and mileage tables I can say why there IS a difference.

Using the HHG book and map properly allows one to over come SOME of the faults of post office to post office by going to the map.

First you were supposed to use the tables to get the PO to PO number and then look at the origin and destination city and state maps jotting down all the mileage numbers along the routes to crunch out the total.

You can bet a lot of the time someone added a WAG [Wild Axe Guess] to the table amount and said good enough.

Moving on to P C Miler and you were able to look at the route used. Shortest route added every concievable twist and shortcut to get that number.

In NJ there were times where you would be told to get off the interstate or turnpike to drive 5 miles of local streets and then get back on the highway only to get off and on again a few times.

The amount of time it would take to follow such a convoluted route, making all sorts of turns while dealing with the 'locals', etc. would not be practical for anyone.

Back on the mainframe days [I am that old; no fax machines and remember using the teletype too] there was a Rand McNally program that used triangulation of counties. Newark, NJ [NJ101] to Houston [TX201] would yield a practical number and the HHG books started to gather dust.

Except in the Tarriff office...Sales jumped on the McNally to get away from the 'book' and then to PC miler so the could play games with the routing in minutes and not be waiting on the minions in the Tarriff office to come back with a HHG number, which had to be published and then the 'discounts' came out to keep said customers.

Tarriff offices and shipper/receiver Traffic departments went away after deregulation...everything went down to 'backhaul' rates and Jimmy Carter burned all the tarriffs

 

This right here^^^
Companies can claim HHG, zip to zip or whatever. I never believed that. Load total minus profit equal expense total. Expense total minus maintenance minus fuel minus everything else equal driver lump pay. Pay dividend by cents per mile equal mileage.
No? Why are longer runs a higher percentage short of miles, zip codes didn't move. Why inexplicably is a 420 mile run paying 325? It's all a bean counting thing. They will use HHG, Zip, or darts at the wall. Whatever best serves the company.

 

The point I was attempting to make is most of the time when a load is set up, the miles are set up and the total pay for said load is made. A lot of people don't understand that "brokers" handle maybe 75% of all loads a company doesn't haul itself. I remember many times getting loads where I had to call a number once a day and let the broker know where I was and when I delivered. Then the broker gets their slice of the pie. Over decades of driving, I guess I have been paid by almost all the systems. I just never let it bother me all that seriously. Sometimes other than quitting worrying over something you can't change at least in my view is a bit silly. One other thing I remember an old-timer telling me years ago. Develop a good reputation in this business and in the end almost everything will even out. Over my career I have had weeks from hell, nothing went right, one break down right into another. Then I had great weeks. Somehow I always get my bills paid and money in the bank.