Truck to trailer ratio?

I'm not employed by watkin shepard - with the company I'm with its first come first serve, I've been dead headed, bobtail a few hundred miles with a specific trailer number given to me.. only to find someone else has hooked up to it.. drop an empty to go in the shop come back and it's gone.. however, I've passed my empty along to another in need if in the shop with no problems once out.

 

Oh man I never worked for them either but since they are a trucking company it is like this

6 truckers get a Qualcomm message at the same time saying deadhead to a DC to pick up trailer ##### who ever gets to it first is awarded the trailer to head to their next destination. When the others arrive they call up dispatch and say it isn't there and are all given new instructions to go to the next dc where there are 5 empties which in fact there is one. And don't get me started if you arrive at the same time as another driver then it comes down to convincing the other driver to look elsewhere or my favorite excuse they told me to come pick this trailer up cause it failed dot test and needs repairs.

 

You'll only get a specific trailer assignment for loaded trailers. Never had an issue finding an empty at a dropyard.

 

I've never had any problems finding an empty

 

It's a non issue. Just get an empty. Not your avg trucking company.

 

There has never been an issuse finding an MT. Plus they just bought 300 brand new 53' trailers.

 

#1....90% of the time, you will not have any trouble finding an empty. That would be 100%, but we have a terminal in Santa Fe Springs CA that kinda kills the perfect average. SFS is the only terminal I have ever had a problem finding an Empty at.
#2... you wont run into a situation where you and another truck are dispatched to get the same trailer....unless someone writes the trailer number down wrong (yeah, guilty....lol)
#3. not sure what the actual ratio of trucks to trailers is, or the total number of both, but to be honest, does it really matter if you have miles to roll? I dont find myself sitting very much, unless I ask to for some reason.