Stevens Transport A year in review

Nov 1 to 7

Miles Ran 2682

Miles paid, 4726 Just the way I was able to work the transflo this week
puts extra money in my pocket.

Miles transflowed, 0

Made my delivery to Ben E keith in Oklahoma city, stevens appointment time, 0600, they don't start until 0630. My previous experiences with Ben e Keith have been horrible, and I was expecting the same here. Actually this one is professional, had me in and out in 3 hours, as compared to my 10 and 12 hour adventures before. Lots of breakdown on this load.

Head down I35 to Denton, and stop at the TA..3pm and it is almost full. Have a delivery at 0630 at Sysco..Arrive at Sysco at 0500, they don't open the gates until 0530. My appointment times was for 0600, not 0630 as stevens had said in the load assignment. Got the times reversed. Have a pre plan that was sent to me about 11pm last night. Pick up at Kraft, and goes to Longmont, deliverys Tuesday 0815. I sent a message saying I could not make that appointment time last night.

Finish up at sysco, and head over to the Pilot in Ft Worth for refer fuel, was planning on a cott beverage load going home, or a pepsi load to Worland WY, always heavy. Get dispatched on the Longmont run, that should have been picked up sunday. Pick it up, send in the running late message, and head north. I can make longmont at 11am Tuesday, but that is not good enough for stevens, good enough for Sams though. I can make Stratford, but tell stevens amarillo, to make the repower easier.

Get repowered to a bobtail at the KW dealership. Get sent a load assignment that does not dld until Sunday, this is Tuesday, and delivers in LA on Tuesday...Not acceptable. I go to bed, and talk with my DM in the morning...He agrees, finds me another load, one I will need an empty trailer for, which I do not have. The other driver before going to get repairs done, had dropped his trailer at Tyson, but the stupid computers at Stevens did not understand this, and I kept getting told to go and pick the trailer up at the dealership, which I knew was not there.

Day long battle between ME and my DM with meat dispatch in sues over loads, trailer, meat continues to insist on giving me the load to LA delivery on tuesday...So on Thursday morning, setting at tyson, can't get an empty trailer for my americold load, at 8am I get through to meat, oh they canceled that load on me last night at 6pm... funny after my DM went home, but they never sent the cancellation notice to me. He then says this load is ready...the same load they had sent me back on tuesday.
I acknowledge the load, check with the guard, yep the trailer is loaded, but the paperwork is on hold...will be 6 to 8 hours...Thanks meat....(fill in the expletives)....

Ask my DM for a repower, and he says he will... about an hour later, load canceled, new load coming... Load DLD's Friday 0400, delivers in NH Monday 0900. 1913 miles and 3 days to do it. Still better than 1012 miles, and delivers on Tuesday. Another day spent in Amarillo.

Roll out at 0400, pick up my load, scale, legal, and knock out 650 miles. Eat at the Voss Truck port, Cuba MO, and rinse and repeat on Saturday. roll out at 0500, 620 miles, stopping at lodi OH. roll out at 0500, 600 miles Sunday, stop at the TA willington CT. only 120 miles to my reciever for an 0900 appointment.

So even with a reset plus a day in amarillo, 2680 miles is a decent week.

Now as a side note, I have never followed the suggestion stevens pushes in the business class for Alliance, about transflo once a week. Business is all about cash flow, and keep that cash flow positive. So I have sent in my trips like a company driver, after every trip.. more paper work and some negative settlements. Then i modified it, to when I have more than 1400 miles to send in, I send them, 1400 miles is about my break even point.

So this week I got paid for 2696 miles on Wednesday, and 2030 miles on Friday. I sent the 2696 on the friday before, and then 2030 on Tuesday. Now this week I will send 1913 on Tuesday, for payout on Friday. This method makes for small settlements and large settlements, it is all about budgeting on my end to make it work.

I was told over a year ago, not to discuss this with other alliance drivers, until my last trip to the yard. While discussing how I am doing, the subject came up, that they are now teaching my method of cash flow in class and i can discuss it if I want to. So there it is. If you need a weekly paycheck of the same amount, this method will not work for you.

 

October 2010

total miles drove 13,249

Dispatched miles 1,443 empty, 11,573 loaded total, 13,016

Actual miles drove on those dispatched miles, 13,608
so 592 miles unpaid, for a 4.5% out of route.

MPG for the month 6.82

Net pay to me, $2,838.41

for $0.295 per mile

Fuel cost per mile $0.173


October last year, dispatched miles were 8629 total.

Net pay to me, $1980.52
for $0.361 per mile
Fuel cost $0.19 per mile

Year to day, 110,000 miles by the end of october.

Only did 117,000 miles for all of 2009.

A better year than last year.

 

Nov 8 to 14

Miles ran, 3012

Miles Paid, 1913

Miles Transflowed, 0 will send in 2500 on monday

Pulled into my delivery in NH, pull around back, another Stevens truck there, and had been for 6 hours. My appt time, 0900, unloaded at noon, the last truck to be unloaded. Get sent a pre-plan to pickup yogurt just 8 miles away, appointment time 1pm, hustle over and check in, oops should have read just a little closer, appointment is Tuesday... Over to the small truck stop, eat at poor boys, and wait a day for my pickup.

Drive back over, check in, and this time the shipping clerk has messed up, he is ready to put my load on that stevens driver from the day before who is also picking up yogurt, but he gets 9 stops, finals in Arizona, I get 2 stops, final in IL. His student pulls out of the door, and I back in. He is not happy as a trainer, but is unwilling to give the load up, as his trailer is already loaded, and mine is a live load. Oh well, remind my dm I would like to get home. Out of Illinois is a good location too...kraft loads to wally world.

Takes only 45 minutes to get loaded, and I head to C&S in buffalo NY, for my 6 am appt...arrive at 9pm, park on their lot and call it a night. Unload goes smoothly, and off I head for DOT foods, stopping at a small quiet truck stop along i55 south of chicago for the night.

Make my delivery to DOT foods, friendly place, quick, and as every yogurt load I have had, OS&D...long some product, short other, and 2 damaged. Handle that, and head over to the small TS for a break... Pass out some of the yogurt to other truckers setting there, and then get a load assignment for columbus JCT, to Boston...Not towards home...And with my log book I can not make the two pickups on time. Dispatch changes my load, to Waterloo, a cold storage place, to Laredo...deliver anytime. Longer Dead Head, but the deliver anytime is nice. Take the load, head up to Waterloo, and park at the J...took some time to nudge the trailer into the hole, and called it a night.

Checked in for my 11am appt, at 1015, was given a door, and was loaded by 1130...wish all freezers were this efficient. short hours on my log book, so I just make it into Missouri on I35 for the day, and stop at a ma and pa truck stop...Rained hard all night.

Saturday roll on down want to make it south of dallas, but traffic, construction, towns, and I called it a night in OKlahoma, near the TX line. Leaves 500 miles to laredo, so I plan on spending the night at the "Yard". Pull in, do the paper work, drop my trailer, check out the fresh paint in the lounge, return to my truck, and I have a load, trailer is there too...going to oregon...can't make a thursday delivery with my log book, but grab the trailer and head out of laredo. Stop at pearsall for the night.

So ends a productive week, but still not headed home...at this rate, I will not be home until thanksgiving...

 

All alliance lease trucks are less than 4 years old, and under full warranty.