Hey Guys, hope everyone is doing great today. Got a question, recently I've seen quite a few articles and videos concerning negotiations for Dead Heading. Now we all know it is more of a factor with freight than with autos however not entirely out of the question. I went through all my current carrier contracts and found only one of the "power brokers" has an option for requesting dead head pay. However it isn't much in the way of payment. I called my agent and was told under certain circumstances such as delivery times or rush loads the carrier can request specific dead head miles to be paid.
All of us have the option to refuse any load unless were under a forced dispatch contract, but I don't know any expediters or hot shot O/O that are forced dispatch. We also know a lot of "power brokers" and for that matter the majority of brokers are not out for our best interest, it's about the bottom line and how much they can get the load moved for at the absolute cheapest rate possible. Granted there are a few that are genuine and will work with you but personally I have met only one that will offer a slightly higher rate because I have moved units in the past for under the basic minimum rate as a favor. This was in the beginning stages of my company and I was trying to establish a reputation with them. I didn't lose money but there wasn't much of a profit.
So my question to y'all is two part. One how do you determine what you need to be paid for dead head besides the basic costs incurred daily? Second what is your absolute maximum dead head miles your willing to go either paid or not paid? Not paid sounds a bit crazy but in some cases your terminal or yard location (starting point) may not be in a high traffic area and may require a minimum amount of miles in any direction.
I believe this would apply even if you didn't return home and ran continuous up until your 34 hour reset. Personally since I don't have a sleeper I prefer to do my reset at home not in my truck or a hotel, unless the next load is a high paying, one that is quite a distance.
So what would y'all consider to be a fair rate or dead head miles to get from the broker, and again what is the max amount of miles dead are you willing to go for that broker?
Thanks Guys I look forward to the comments.
Stay Safe out there it's a mess here in the south.
Ryan
Dead Head Limits
Discussion in 'Expediter and Hot Shot Trucking Forum' started by Ryan S2016, Jun 19, 2017.
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I don't charge by the mile: but I charge enough that if I have to dh to and from the load it's still profitable.
brian991219, passingthru69 and noluck Thank this. -
Pay me enough and I'll dead-head from the house to Miami to Seattle over to Bangor then down to Yuma up to Reno and back to the house without ever picking up or delivering a single load.
On the other hand, if you aren't paying me enough, I won't even dead-head to the end of my driveway.
Bottom line is that Pay / (Empty Miles + Loaded Miles) > Cost Per Mile + Necessary Profits in order for it to be worth even firing up the truck. If it meets that standard, I couldn't care less what the loaded:empty ratio might be. ALL miles matter, and I don't work for free.Anj, brian991219, Lite bug and 1 other person Thank this. -
I was going to say, I charge dh I may not tell them, but I charge for every mile. And I make a profit on every mile. I will dh across the country if they are paying for it.
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