Unprofitable O/O - Canadian

$35/hr yikes that sounds thin to me but what do I know. Heck detention has been $50/hr for years just to sit and wait.

 

$50 is too low too. All we can do is refuse further service to outfits that don't pay market rates.
My boss, 15 years ago, would charge $70/hr to the paper mill to hold his tanker and driver at the mill to transfer a turpentine tank. It would take 10-12hrs, so $700-$840/day for the equipnent and driver. Never leaving the mill and put less than a mile on the truck.

Today I would charge $100/hr or $1000/day to hold driver and truck. Why would I do this for less when I can make that hauling freight?

Just refuse to deal with business partners that call you a contractor but want to treat you and pay you like an employee. When these people begin using term like "hiring", "firing", and the money talks sound more like a "this is what we pay you, take it or leave it" -- they do not negotiate but rather dictate. This is an employer/employee relationship. You are not a business partner. They simply are employers using your equipment for little money, and paying you as a contractor to avoid risk and taxes.

 

Maybe he did. But that was a tank.

First, your boss was not charging $70 for driver and truck. He was charging for driver, truck and trailer. Big difference.

Second, because you said you "would" charge $1,000 in today's market leads me to believe that you do not actually charge anything. I think you are talking about a hypothetical situation. It's nice to say we would do this and would do that, but in the end, all that matters is what we did.

Well because you still collect the line haul anyway. If you collect detention while you sit for 10 hrs all you have done is get paid to take your 10 off. In many cases, (not all, but many) you may not have lost any money. If I can collect $50/hr for 10 hrs after I drove 11 to get to the shipper, I will take that all day every day and twice on Sunday.

Also depends alot on the trailer too. A dry van will not command the same detention as a stretch double drop. Also depends on what load is lined up next......sometimes you will get more detention if you are ready to pack up and leave.

And finally, none of this matters anyway because I was only using $50/hr detention as an example of how $35/hr to actually run a truck down the road is a little thin. However, thank you for your input LOL.

By the way, I get $75.

 

The OP said it was $35/hr on a 12hr shift. Implying this is the day's gross revenue on truck(meaning truck and trailer).He did not say this was an off duty break he would take anyway.

Dentention represents opportunity lost. So, if the truck earns X amount per day in gross revenue; then the detention pay has to match that average daily gross revenue. If the dentention pay does not, then why idle your truck when you can just as easily haul somebody elses load and make your normal revenue?

And congrats on getting your $75/hr detention. I'll load at 8am Friday and deliver 8am Sat. and gross $2620(because nobody wants to work weekends apparently). Nothing special other than Sat. delivery. Just a regular flat, no oversize, no hazmat, no multi stops, no midnight delivery, no fingerprinting, just 1 pickup/1 drop and no sitting around hoping for detention. I don't do detention.
Are we feeling a little abrasive today? LOL

 

Detention doesn't represent opportunity lost at all. It may simply be opportunity delayed.

I don't know how you're feeling today but yes it seems you were abrasive earlier.

 

By that reply, I'm guessing maybe you skipped microeconomics class in college. What exactly do you do anyway? Your profile shows a shy, unforthcoming individual.

 

You are correct. They don't teach economics in Engineering school. I always thought that economics is basic common sense that any monkey can grasp but you are proving me wrong.

I say again. A delay is not always money lost. Here is another example. If you have two days and 500 miles to your delivery appointment, and you are delayed 5 hours, tell me how you have lost money? Pretty simple stuff for such a smart economics guy.

 

If we're all doing things by the HOS rules and value home time than detention is an issue. People eat hours all the time to get paid miles and willingly. That's not profitable for our businesses but it is for someone else; I'd personally like to see more people in our positions pushing costs onto the people that should eat them. $35 an hour is a top end company driver pay in AB, not fair compensation for equipment and skilled operator.

Willingness to sit unpaid hours drops wages for everybody.

 

Good news. There is a solution.
1) be better at what you do so you can command a higher wage, or
2) start your own company and provide excellent service so that companies will seek you out and pay what you ask.