Stevens Transport A year in review

august 23 to 29

Miles ran, 2918

Miles paid 4902

Miles transflowed, yet to be paid, 2718

Started this week off at a nice little truck stop just 8 miles from US foods in Salem VA. Drive over for my 8am appointment, check in, talk with another Stevens driver that has a national beef load with no PO. He has been there since 4am, waiting on Stevens to get him a PO, which won't happen until after 8am Dallas time. I tell him to call the National beef after hours number, and get the PO himself, but he does not want to. He is a trainer too, but would rather sit at US food all day. At 9am I get assigned a door, back in, walk the paper work in, they are learning a new computer system, and it is going very slowly. I have a preplan from richmond VA Nabisco to farminton MI. About 3 hours later I am empty, but my preplan is cancelled. Okay, head over to the TA in Troutville.

Get a load assignment on my short drive over. Tar Heel NC to Brundidge AL. Short run, but fits my available hours, and I can park at the shipper. Head down, find Smithfield packing, not difficult, drop my trailer, park off to the side by the trees, where it is cool and I can open the windows and hear the crickets and frogs as I go to sleep. get called at 0430 and told my load is ready, that works as my 10 hour break is up at 0500. find my trailer, and head for the middle of nowhere southern alabama. Decided to stop for the afternoon/night in Montgomery AL TA. I have an hour drive to be to Walmart by 0415. Get up make my appt, get unloaded. wonder if I will even get a load assignment, as I only have 5 hours available today. The load is 2 cases short...more OS&D...send in the message, call dispatch, it is 0700 dallas time. They tell me to wait for OS&D...about 30 minutes later, I am cleared to roll, and roll over to Hardies for breakfast. Still waiting on a load, and not looking forward to spending the day here.

At 1100 my DM calls, how many hours do I have available and do I want to use them? 5 hours, and yes I am ready to roll. Get sent a load, pick up in Gadsden AL, delivers in Paris TX on Friday. I can do that with my hours. Go and pick up my load, using US Highways across Alabama. Get loaded, and drive the mile over to the Petro and call it a day. Thursday I drive hard to Little rock arkansas, as far as I can get with my hours. Have a 10am for friday, and easy drive. Try the barbucue man behind the Petro, and it was good.

My delivery in Paris TX gets changed from campbells over to an outside warehouse. Make my delivery, get a load that does not pick up until 2300 at campbells. Go over to Campbells drop my empty, no load is not ready. Get a hotel room and kick back for the day. Get up on friday, pick up my loaded trailer, Not even heavy, only 32,000 of freight. Headed for buckeye AZ, drop by Wed 2300. I plan on arrving on Sunday Night.

Enjoy my drive across and arrive at 1700 at the Walmart. Drop my trailer, they have no empties, no suprise, but let me check the lot. there is not a single other Stevens trailer there. bobtail out, I am not staying in the truck in this heat, even with an apu, so get a hotel room. Check with Walmart on monday morning for an empty.

Aug 30 to Sept 5

Miles ran 1599 short week home time began Sept 2

Miles paid 2718

Miles transflowed, yet to be paid 1428 my trip home, will cover one weeks expenses.

Got up on Monday, check QC, check with Walmart, no empties, stevens claims there should be 3 empty trailers at Walmart. I saw none. The drivers on home time were supposed to drop their trailers there, and had not. I get sent a pre-plan for city of Industy CA, for 9pm appt. Still need an empty. Stevens finally thinks they have located one, at a thermo king Dealer, I call the dealer, yep but it is hooked to the tractor..does me no good. Call Walmart again, my trailer is empty, but still in the door. they will pull it. It is now 2pm, and I have a 6 1/2 hour drive, 330 miles to make City of industry. This is my load home.

Hustle to check out of my hotel, over to Walmart, grab the trailer, and get rolling. I have the fuel. Arrive at Americold at 8:40pm, they are on break. At 9pm I am given a door, and at 1030pm I am headed for Ontario East, my fuel stop. Fuel, actually find a parking spot and call it a night. I can Still make my appt in Cheyenne WY for Wednesday at 1630.
Make my way to cheyenne with no problems, get unloaded and even have just enough time to get home to Casper. Pull into Casper as my 14 hours is running out. Got to love when a plan works, and WalMart gets you out in 2 hours from the appt time.

 

Sept 6th to sept 12

Was on home time until sept 8.

Miles ran, 2245

Miles paid, 1428

Miles tansflowed, note yet paid 0

Planned on coming back to work on the 9th, but my phone rings on the 7th, no message. Get back from the mountains, stop by the truck, and check the QC, have a load assignment, a Kodak load. Hum, well the only way I can make the delivery is to leave on the 8th and pick it up, as dispatch always forgets that I have 180 miles drive before I am back into the mix, and being paid for the miles.

I load the truck up, unroll my NEW sleep dog mattress, and head down to windsor CO to pick up the preloaded trailer, going to Pharr TX. Right where the Hurricane has been dumping rain for 2 days. This is a 11000 series trailer, pulls nice, and this load is only 24,000. Stop in Lamar Co and call it a day. Plan is to make Junction TX on thursday, and then roll into the reciever around 2pm on Friday, well within the delivery window. So much for my thinking again.

Get told they need to repower the load, as the reciever needs the load by 8am friday, and to meet the truck in Lubbock TX. Ask if I am getting an empty or a 1 mile delivery. The question is ignored. I also wonder if the reciever actually called, or that they just wanted to keep the kodak load moving. Stevens does not like a solo driver on a "high Value Load". I get a 1 mile delivery, going to United supermarkets for Friday Morning. such is life, after home time. Get sent a pre-plan when empty, going to Cactus TX, headed to Detroit MI 2 drops, and Cleveland OH. That helps.

Get empty, wait for the load assignment, and wait, finally get it, and head to Cactus TX, drop my trailer, bobtail down to the local eatery, have dinner, and call it a night. The only way I am going to make the first drop on time, is start rolling at 0500. Expect a wake up call during the night. I awake to the sunshine, and walk up to the guard shack to inquire about my load...not ready, well it is, but she does not have the paper work yet. check back. At 0800 get the load, send in my running late message, and head off across Kansas.

Relay is set for Concordia MO. Hand my load off, and get a 4 dropper, Long Island, Brooklyn, Blauvelt, and New Haven CT. 1323 miles, will take about 1450 to do it with the New York City routing. But $75, and $105 stop off pay helps.

Not a bad short week, although I did have to deal with repowers.

A few numbers from August.
Total Miles driven, 13760 August 1 to August 31
total Dispatched miles, 13680, 1879 empty, 11801 loaded.
Actual miles driven on those dispatched miles, 14235 for 555 unpaid miles, or a 4% variance. I try for a 3%.

Actual paid miles for the Month of August, 11621.
Gross pay $11649.06
Net pay $3986.33
Net per mile, $0.382
Fuel cost $0.176 per mile.

My net pay is AFTER all expenses are paid. That includes my health insurance, my vacation pay (home time).

 

Sept 13 to 19

miles ran 2580, still not getting the miles i was before home time

Miles paid this week, 1379...barely covers the expenses.

Miles transflowed, yet to be paid, 1323

Repowered off my Cactus TX load, as I just was not able to make detroit by the appointment time. Instead get a 4 dropper into NYC. Yea ME. First drop, long Island, 2 Brooklyn, 3 Blauvelt, final New Haven CT. Manage to make all my appointments on time.

Get sent a load from Astoria (queens) NY going to Colonial Heights VA. Drop the trailer on the street and wait, then shuttle the product down to the warehouse. Arrive the morning of the 16th, wait, get unloaded, have a preplan to pick up at the same location, but the information in the preplan is all mixed up, and after getting that corrected, then the load is canceled, as the warehouse does not have the product. So over to the Pilot, 1 mile away. Get a call, asking if I would help a driver out that needs to get to the peterbilt dealer, so I agree, and shuttle another trailer over to Sabra, only to get turned around, they won't be unloading until after 8pm. The previous driver that I had just helped out was told this 30 minutes earlier. The guard showed me the check in with the same trailer number.

Got back over to the pilot and the other driver would not even talk to me. So somebody told a lie, who I don't know. I set on the load until 8pm, headed back over, checked back in, and get told, they won't start unloading until the 3rd shift comes in, so about midnight. Back into a door at midnight, and 3 hours later I am empty. I did get paid $50 for this, but it really was not worth it.

Back over to the pilot. Get a load assignment sent to me a 2pm, that was suppose to pick up at 10am at the Sabra warehouse. Drive over, get put in line, since I am late for my pickup appointment. It is 8pm before I am loaded. Talked with the 2nd shift supervisor, while he smoked, and got an inside view of his job, and how that stevens is not listening to how they need the trucks scheduled in and out.

I get a whole 1365 mile run to Dallas/Fort worth, 4 drops spread across 14 1/2 hours. Great scheduling again.

I did stop at JJ's truck Stop, Malvrin AR, and sunday is buffet day..A good lunch was had, food was fresh, and tasty. then I headed to the Pilot in Fort Worth, but could not find parking so parked at Cabellas, and then moved over to the pilot in the AM, to Wait a full day to start my deliveries at 2100 on Monday, ending at 1130 appointment, Tuesday. The only thing that even makes it possible for a solo driver is the 8 hours between drop 2 and 3, makes a split sleeper possible.

Miles are still down, and I have no explanation, and my questions go unanswered.

 

Wondered where they went

I will get my momentum back... just have to be persistent, and assertive. The aggression comes later.

Love that waterloo plant...but everytime I go there my load is ready. Have fun, and don't miss a step.

 

I have been driving 2 1/2 years.

Net pay is calculated so that I can compare it to what a company driver makes before taxes, so if an add says 36 cents per mile, I have an immediate comparison. So I still owe my income taxes on that amount. My tax rate for the last 2 years less than 10%.

My net does account for my self benefit package of health insurance, vacation pay, sick pay. Again so I can compare to a base pay. Also does not include the set aside for maintenance.