Post Gordon ~ Thoughts, Commentary & Reflections

Oops! Bee stung...
--Cleaning out stuff behind garage for enlarged pen
--Disturbed mud wasps did not see behind plate aluminum sheet
--Stung. Top of right hand swollen. Ouch!! Itchy, too
--Pretty sure can drive without medicating
--But keyboard challenged
--Have my load for PU tomorrow (Monday) in Decatur
--Drive out tonight, Hwy 36 straight out
--(That's almost a pun, one of the straightest 2-lanes I've seen)
--Pays $600 to truck, same day DEL north of Savanna, IL
--JB Hunt's offering $1400 PU today Indy, DEL Wal-Mart DC Tomah, WI
--Last one of those I saw was only $1150, Marion, IN to Tomah
--Took Stonington IL to Savanna for $600 instead
--Broker was very upset did not take his Tomah load
--Sometimes a $600 load pays better than a $1150 load
--The Marion IN PU meant travel east to go west
--Pretty much forced to go through Chicago, tolls
--Indy to Tomah is a lot better, I-74 West, I-39 North to Tomah
--Would've taken that if not already committed to $600 load
--It's all good...

 

Yard Boss says...
--Hwy 36 was how all the carriers went Indy~Springfield
--55 mph so you save fuel $$ compared to interstates at 65 mph
--Lots of corn and soy so not that many deer hits, flat as pancake mostly
--I'm putting $150 to me for last Savanna load that paid $600
--Yard Boss 'caps' at $150, would pay 30% load pays less than $500
--At least, I think that's what he has in mind, kinda fluid pay-wise
--But I get the full $330 for Prairie (39 cents/mile)
--Plus $150 for the outbound load on way to Prairie
--Pops to around 50 cents/mile, running Prairie 2x week
--Sometimes have not had outbound, so only $330 to me
--Outbound load $600 Savanna~$1400 Tomah both pay same $150 to me
--Doesn't seem quite right, does it??
--Breakfast so far, ground lamb and an avocado
--Supposed to rain all morning so thinking work inside
--Say one thing, swollen right hand is darn sore
--Probably should have iced or taken Benadryl, Loratadine
Didn't...

 

Thinking about freight lanes...
--Basically, have been under impression Prairie du Chien's
--A 'good' lane, pays well... maybe not.
--A good lane has both population that uses products (needs trucks inbound)
--And makes products that need to get out (needs trucks outbound)
--Thought we were paid really well for Prairie run
--Not so sure now, thinking about it
--We have Prairie because a customer needs a product from Prairie
--So we're loaded leaving Prairie
--Have never brought a load to Prairie, does it matter?
--I'm beginning to think so... you could argue Postville's only 20 miles away
--But it's a lousy load, pays $700, heavy, the hills challenge the truck
--Postville closes early so any delay and get to Prairie next day and late
--Truck has this heavy load for 400-plus miles
--Broker emailed me that he had a Postville, did I want it
--That was last week, still did not have Stonington~Savanna yet
--I really didn't want it, emailed back asking what he offered
--You know, if he offers enough could make up for trouble
--Had seen it on InternetTruckStop, thought to call w/out identifying myself
--After my email, emailed back load was covered.
--Did he pay same $700 pays us or $900 to move it?? Dunno.
--Much happier with $600 and drop before big hills
--DEL same day and proceed to Prairie, not difficult
--Still a heavy load, but only had it for 250 miles, no hills.
What about Indy~St Louis lane?? Freight from both to both... and flat.

 

Hi FatDaddy! Thx for visiting!
--Gordon had so much Indy~St Louis
--Called it a 'channel' and had 'channel drivers'
--Fleet Mgr to DM: "Can we have one of the Channel Boys
--Run Vic down to PU a truck at Pontoon?"
--So rode with one to Pontoon Beach for truck being retired
--Good conversation for both of us
--Just over 200 miles, possible home same day
--For Haz outfit, we had lots of Indy~St Louis, too
--Loading pretty much prevented same day turn-around
--But we did same day PU/DEL, of course
--So why do I see $600 rate, Indy~St Louis?? Ferguson troubles?
--Also see $450, but $600 would be just under $3/mile
$3/mile's a good target for your own truck...

 

Thx, Bright One. Just arrived Decatur. The section of street my address is on says 'no semis', and leads to a turn-around across from a large, gated place with double stacks of stuff. So I'm probably close. No further directions on rate con, of course. I could do a better job than most of these brokers. Well, you never know until you're in their shoes, I suppose.

Emptied stuff from both inbox and sent folders.

 

Arrived Decatur address 8:30 pm Central...
--Of course, address turns out to be dead end turn-around
--Sign says, 'No Semis"
--Left msg at number for shipper on rate con
--Reached the after hours number for broker
--Gal has no info, says will get from shipper
--When they open at 8:00 am Central
--I point out to her that appt is for 7 am Central
--They've misspelled street name
--And one hour makes a difference to Savanna
--She doesn't seem concerned, just repeats
--Will have directions when they open at 8 am
That's trucking for ya. Parked on street. Shut down for tonight.

 

This is a PM from Bright One (double yellow) with a lot of good information, like direct shipper rates compared to broker loads in my area. Posted with his permission.

 

Yard Boss's puling his hair out tonight... very, very frustrated.
--Last week our Illinois unit gave their driver the wrong PU number
--Could have been really bad, miss load needed immediately
--Instead pull one not due picked up until tomorrow (Tuesday)
--Ultimately it got straightened out; that was Thursday.
--Lost in the shuffle was a PU on Friday; didn't get picked up
--It's really Prairie du Chien's fault, not ours
--Should have gone on Thursday truck, had room
--So now I'm getting Friday's and today's and guess what??
--We need another truck here tomorrow again!!
--We're scrambling to figure how to deal with this, can't poop trucks
--Thinking right now, have Yard Boss meet me somewhere
--With an MT trailer, say, Bloomington/Normal and I'll turn around
--Go back to Prairie. Tired of all these emergencies.
--Got the Savanna delivered this afternoon, no problema.
--Gate opened 6:50 am Central, 7 or 8 trucks rushed in, including me
--All but one loaded by 8 am, and he was first to door on that side.
--226 miles for $600 = $2.65/mile and no off-route to speak of.
--Right in line with double yellow's PM to me (see above).
--If direct from shipper could have pushed to $2.90-ish.
--Close to the $3/mile I think is good target.
Question's how to get on shipper's list for direct trucks...