Trucking FREEZE???

Easiest way to see through cooked mileage averages... Go to the SAFER website, type in the DOT or MC number, then look at number of trucks (drivers if a company with teams) and then look at the MCS-150 filing's reported mileage. Take USX, for example. Their filing reports over 488 million miles, but when divided across 6,058 drivers, that's only an average of 80,605 miles... which is why Variant's recent earnings report showed a utilization of less than 1600 miles per truck per week. Slightly better utilization than USX as a whole, at 83,200 miles/truck/year, but sorely underperforming.

Then again, that only works for companies that are purely OTR, as local trucks (especially spotters) screw up the overall numbers. Our company is at 81,000 miles per truck by these numbers, but we have 10 spotters and 40 local trucks skewing the average. If you take the 10 spotters out, the math changes to 88,000. If you take the 40 local trucks out plus subtract the mileage they run, the number changes again to 108,000 per truck. We're smaller than the big joints, so the two spares we keep on hand (one in MN and the other in OH) change it further to 110,000 per truck, and we averaged a 92% occupancy rate last year (we have 5 trucks out of commission long-term due to parts shortages), so it becomes 119,500, which is pretty close to what we saw for the average driver here last year, and right at 2300 miles/week. Half of them do more, and half do less. Some average over 3,000/week, while others average 1800/week. What makes the difference? Home time. Those who spend all weekend at home every weekend are at the lower end. Those who spend 1-2 days during the week at home and drive through the weekend are in the upper-middle part, and those who like to run recaps and go home a couple times a month are averaging over 3200.

That last bit is a big key in making more money. Weekends = less traffic and less truckers willing to run, so miles go up and appointment times are usually kept. That distinction alone can be a difference of 40% every year. Take your home time during the week, enjoy handling business at home while everything is open, and make more money through the weekends.

 

I usually take my hometime during the week. I drive almost exclusively overnight, and when I do take hometime, I will take about 4-6 days at a time. On weeks where I run the whole week, I routinely get 4000+ miles, still can get 3500 if I take a restart that week. My company as a whole averages about 126k miles per driver, according to the official numbers.

 

That's running efficiently to make money.

 

Your logic is flawed. All the 'exceptions' you used to bump up your mileage applies to the big boys too, plus a few more. Of our 10,000 odd trucks, at least 200 are "training trucks" that do less than 800 miles a week and we have at least 500 spotter trucks, plus another 50 maintenance trucks. Just taking those out takes our 'average miles' from 93K to 105K. Putting in slip seaters and teams, and the 'average' will drop again. Adjust for local/intermodal and it goes up again.

Then we need to talk about driver churn. We 'hire' more drivers in a week than work for your company. Less than 50% of the people we hire make it through training, yet they all get counted as 'drivers' if they are employed at the time we fill out this form. I trained a guy back in June that has yet to turn a mile for us. He is still employed with us (or was as of July 31) because it's cheaper to endure the carrying costs of a non-productive employee than it is to deal with unemployment/wrongful termination claims. I had another trainee who hurt himself on home time and was out for 4 months, came back for 3 weeks, then ghosted us. We also have more "drivers" in non driving roles (trainers, safety critters, etc) due to the size and business model of the company. The 12,468 "drivers" we have employed is a technical number, not a reality.

Your last point is also logically flawed. Running during the weekends doesn't necessarily mean running more miles, it really comes down to the freight you're hauling. My own numbers told me that leaving out on a Sunday morning versus Monday increased my average miles per week by 8%. If I do come out on a Monday I need to show available before 0600 if I want to be 'productive' that day. But I live near three MEGA shippers who are 24/7 so freight availability isn't an issue, but if I wait until after 0700 Monday to come out of the house I will get stuck doing at least one local run to deliver stuff to customers who aren't open on the weekend. However if I come out on a Tuesday or Wednesday my miles SUCK because the first load is a 250 mile run down to the Chicago Metro area for a live unload that takes all day, then a short haul to WM Gary or Elwood, then I get a longer load, but the timing is such that I'll pick up my "weekend load" with too much time for it to be productive, but not enough to justify relaying it. For me, with the company I work for and where I live, coming in on Friday afternoon and leaving out 0800 Sunday morning is the most effective. Change any of the first three variables, the math changes.

Then there is a potential false causality. Are your guys running weekends running more because it's the weekend or because they're better drivers?

Last Friday I did a load and stage before going home. As I was getting hooked to an empty on Sunday I saw a driver leaving with the load I relayed, which was going to the same place I was. I went to the DC, got my load and rolled down the road. A relaxing 930 miles later I dropped and hooked and as I on my way out of town I saw the other driver coming in. I started an hour behind him, so there should be no reason that I was now an hour ahead of him. I can tell stories like that for the next hour, and I don't consider myself all that great of a driver.

Long story short, there is no "best" way to run. It comes down to the freight the driver is hauling and what works best for the driver.

 

That's where knowledge of the company's operation comes into play. Its not a flaw, you just names the exact same numbers I did, only on a larger scale.

What do you do when those you say are still counted as drivers come up for a random? At the end of each month, they are terminated to prevent that problem.

Running reefer, there are less waiting times at the receivers on the weekends when fewer the drivers want to be on the road. Running weekends means less traffic, therefore fewer delays.

Its not that they are better drivers, its that they are facing less delays.

As with everything in this industry, everyone's experience varies.

 

The flaw I was talking about is trying to use the numbers from SAFER to "see through cooked mileage averages". Simply dividing miles by drivers or trucks won't give any sort of meaningful information.

As to randoms, there is a process in place that satisfies the regulations. To massively oversimplify it, the driver is set to 'unavailable to dispatch', which basically takes them out of the 'random draw'.

I'm not saying you're wrong, just that you're not right. Advising that taking home time in the middle of the week as a universal 'best practice' is tremendously myopic.

 

I pull reefers and dry vans and I eat steak as much as skateboard driver. Regardless of the sector or company, his success will be contingent on how much he's willing to put in it