ATA at it again

I'm no ATA fan , and I'm not a BIG GVMT. fan either. If that passed what do you think would be next? Some what a miniumum per mile rate, sounds ok but just where is the "free market" Where do we draw the line? Would you support a miniumum rate for auto mechanics, how about roofers, garbage men day care workers. Kinda gives ya something to think on.

 

They have that don't they? Minimum wage?

 

There's a lot of places we load at that will not do appointments already. And they get away with not paying detention. You don't always have a long wait but I can think of a couple that you're always there for a few hours.

Personally, I think shippers/receivers should have to pay detention. If you've been there for two hours and aren't on your way out, then they need to pay you for your time. It's BS that they get away with walking around with their thumb up their #$$&$ not caring.

 

They get away with it because there's always some hungry jackwad who's willing to haul their freight, no matter how long they have to wait.

 

The ATA and a few of their largest members are the ones who wrote and presented the bill to mandate EOBR's in all trucks. They want to control the other 90% of the market that they don't currently control. There is no justifiable reason for having EOBR's mandated by the government. It puts an unnecessary burden on smaller carriers, fleets and owner operators. I won't join the ATA because of some of their positions on issues which I feel are contrary to my best interests.

 

Not quite sure that ATA was involved in actual lobbying and writing of EOBR legislation that the Senate is considering. There was an article in most of the trucking magazines a while back that stated the Alliance for Driver Safety and Security (consortium made up of Knight, JB Hunt, Schneider, US Express, and Maverick) that was the ones that did this.

So, part of your assumption is correct. Some of the mega carriers are behind this. ATA recently jumped on board with its support, but they were not directly involved in the initial move. Do a search on Alliance for Driver Safety and Security and you can find the article.

I have viewed the ATA for decades as nothing more than a communist front group. When former governor of Kansas, Bill Graves, became president of ATA a few years ago, I knew it for a fact.

 

These carriers want the government to do for them what they are unable or unwilling to do for themselves. They want the government to step in and force shippers to pay detention. If they want to be paid detention then they need to have the intestinal fortitude to put it in their contract with shippers. If shippers don't want to pay for detaining their equipment then refuse to haul their freight. The last thing I want is another government regulation. We also don't want the government to come back in and set minimum haul rates. We had that at one time. If we had minimum haul rates, we would likely see most loads being shipped at the minimum rate. I would rather deal with the free market and take my chances. So far, the free market is working for me. If you need the government to step in and set minimum haul rates for your business then you don't need to be in this business. I don't haul freight that is below my minimum haul rate. I don't haul freight for those who keep me waiting unnecessarily without paying detention. I don't need a government regulation. I can make those decisions for myself and my business.

 

The problem with free market is there is no customer loyalty. You will lose your contract the day some Rag Tag, fly by night outfit ( Knight, JB Hunt, Schneider, US Express, and Maverick or someone like these lowlifes)goes to your customer and gives them a better price, or won't charge detention, or asborbs the lumper fees, or doesn't pass on the fuel surcharge, pays the tolls, or some other nonsense.

Charge any price you want to haul your freight, don't haul cheap freight.
But when your truck isn't rolling and the monthly payment is coming due...

 

That applies to every business and if someone can't deal with it then they need to be an employee of someone that can. Trucking has been commoditized and most trucking companies/owners try to compete only on price. That is a sure recipe for failure for the O/O. The O/O needs to become a first-class service provider. They need to understand what their customer's needs are even better than their customer, and sometimes that means you have to educate the customer on the difference between value and cost. And you have to deliver. If the O/O is constantly dealing with price undercutting then they need better customers.