Question for you all, hauling onions, and rate change.

always weigh your loaded truck in route so you know exactly what you can take next time.

 

Ya I’m not going to let my brains fall out and I’m still a little ticked off about it but if this is norm then I have to be okay with. It has taught me that next time if load is lighter I will have a rate con that reflects a price we agree upon verses letting broker tell me what I’m going to be paid. Like I said driving all the way to BFE we would of took the load but next time I’ll be wise to this behavior and I will be ready for it. I’m not big on someone telling me what they are going to pay, I’m more of a I’ll haul it for this type person. This is only second time we’ve hauled onions, actually they are not to bad to do.

 

They had scales there kinda janky but they had us weigh before putting last skid on. According to their scales if they put last skid on we would of been over. So we ended up with 17 skids verses the 18 skids they were going to load. The first load of onions we hauled we loaded 18 skids and we were not over weight. It was picked up in Nevada so it was totally different company and first onions were white and this load was big red onions. We are wondering if maybe their scales were not accurate. Idk anyways we are blessed the money is pending in our account tonight verses having to wait until Tuesday so we are good. Monday is a holiday and I think banks will be closed.

 

Learn your way around the scales

 

it’s like being paid by ton/bushel/hundred weight on hopper.
25ton X 100 $2500 22 ton X 100 $2200.
you haul less, you make less, it’s fair.

 

I understand, A couple drivers were doing produce, they knew exactly how much they could take after the first load because they got a weigh ticket. The shipper was showing 1500lbs more on their scale than they actually had so they increased the amount by 1200 to be safe and got more for hauling it.

 

https://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/fvwtrk.pdf

Onions to Philly was paying $7800 on the low end of the average. The link is updated every week and might give you a better idea of what you could be getting when hauling produce. $2.30-2.40 a mile on that lane is not a very good rate, especially if you're running a team truck. It's not wrong that they're reducing the rate based on the number of bags delivered. What's wrong is the rate that they're offering is already so low, so cutting it more is like adding salt to the wound.

 

trying to look at it from all sides.

The onion side may have felt let down as they could only get 17 skids on over 18 also. That's a loss to them also and if they end up with less than a full load of randoms because they didn't fit, that's a pain to shift.

Scales could be out a little, but they probably all are. A bag of onions weight is never exact as onions differ. Maybe the truck is heaver than expected from their point of view.

I don't deal with brokers but sounds like they will always be on the scabby side over fairer. Might just be how it all work unfortunately. I take the same volume of water to the same place, but they use a flow metre to scale it which always seems to favour them. The small shorting probably makes the bean counters feel good about themselves as they gained $10 a load, but the regular work from my perspective is easy and appreciated.

I reckon if you got paid quickly, and it reflects pretty much what you were happy with from start though a little short, reckon that's a win.

 

You went cheap on those onions if you went to east coast. 3 a mile to upstate NY. Next time you’ll do better. Apples in Wenatchee and frozen in tri cities. You were in a decent spot this time of year. I would go back. Read ratecon carefully. Mine always stated cut weight can change rate. Remember the rates from dat are from guys that factor. So, you know the real rates are higher.