The large "traditional" LTL carriers have by and large automated their pricing function, provided the customer inputs accurate information, they can obtain individualized pricing directly from their web portal without any human intervention. Truckload pricing is more volatile, as is heavy LTL and partial truckloads.. therefore pricing for those is still done manually. For example.. let's say we have something that requires 20 ft of space on a flatbed.. from Acworth, GA to Lethbridge, AB. The cost of moving that would to a large extent be determined by what other freight can go with it.. i.e. if there's nothing else then that 20 ft. order would have to cover the entire cost of the move. But if other freight can be found going in the same general direction then that freight would defray some of the cost, and the price for the 20 ft would go down. Thus the price to the customer could vary significantly from one week to the next, and I guess part of the account executive's job would be to explain that to the customer.
I am hearing that FedEx is reversing course as they have gotten a lot of flack from a number of the 'Big Box' customers that in many cases rely on the customers FedEx was targeting for service termination.
As the worm turns.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
BaltACD I am hearing that FedEx is reversing course as they have gotten a lot of flack from a number of the 'Big Box' customers that in many cases rely on the customers FedEx was targeting for service termination. As the worm turns.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
The 3 receivers that will scare any transportation company into not cutting service in the trucking industry are Walmart the US Government and Amazon. Those 3 alone can make or bankrupt a carrier if you tick them off. Why Walmart if your lucky enough to get one of their inbound contracts for say produce or meat on the reefer side it means a solid 7 to 8 figure contract for at least 10 years. That goes a long way to get banker's to work with you for equipment needs when it's time to upgrade. There are carriers that have been literally bought out by larger companies just so the larger carrier could get their hands on that Walmart contract. Prime literally bought put 10 different carriers to lock up 60 percent of all the Walmart contracts from the west coast. That give you an idea of what this means for a company.
Murphy Siding BaltACD I am hearing that FedEx is reversing course as they have gotten a lot of flack from a number of the 'Big Box' customers that in many cases rely on the customers FedEx was targeting for service termination. As the worm turns. "OK fellas, 'looks like we're not gonna drop you...for now. 'Course, we're gonna have to raise your rates a skosh make it worth our while...."
"OK fellas, 'looks like we're not gonna drop you...for now. 'Course, we're gonna have to raise your rates a skosh make it worth our while...."
FedEx -
Don't screw our suppliers and don't raise our costs.
Signed - Walmart, Target, Lowes etc. etc. etc.
BaltACD Murphy Siding BaltACD I am hearing that FedEx is reversing course as they have gotten a lot of flack from a number of the 'Big Box' customers that in many cases rely on the customers FedEx was targeting for service termination. As the worm turns. "OK fellas, 'looks like we're not gonna drop you...for now. 'Course, we're gonna have to raise your rates a skosh make it worth our while...." FedEx - Don't screw our suppliers and don't raise our costs. Signed - Walmart, Target, Lowes etc. etc. etc.
Murphy Siding Who? Who has any extra capacity to take this freight if FedEx doesn't play the kiss-butt game with the big boxes?
Who? Who has any extra capacity to take this freight if FedEx doesn't play the kiss-butt game with the big boxes?
FedEx - work smarter and harder
Time for those automated trucks!
Dont think it would work on LTL peddle runs, but the driver shortage is very real, as is the labor shortage for convenience stores, restaurants, trailer manufacturers, airlines, etc...could go on and on.
I heard a rumor yesterday that a major trailer manufacturer stated to sales people NOT to take any orders for 2022 until further notice.
Real simple solution to this. Do the best you can with the drivers, equipment, and facilities you have. If that means service slows down...that is the result. We are all facing that now if one is in any service or manufacturing industry.
It is going to take quite awhile to digest this big mess.
Enjoyed reading about others working in LTL and tariffs. That was quite a system back in the day. Lots of tariffs.
My guess is the class system is still in place, it is an efficient system.
Ed
I saw an interesting video yesterday from a congressional hearing. The head of the Federal Reserve board can't figure out why there's 9.3 million openings for jobs nationwide but people don't want to go back to work. Well with the current level of enhanced unemployment you can get 37k a year sitting on your backside at home. Just whom is going to go back to work when they're paying you that much to sit at home.
MS Cat is off topic again.
Shadow the Cats owner The 3 receivers that will scare any transportation company into not cutting service in the trucking industry are Walmart the US Government and Amazon. Those 3 alone can make or bankrupt a carrier if you tick them off. Why Walmart if your lucky enough to get one of their inbound contracts for say produce or meat on the reefer side it means a solid 7 to 8 figure contract for at least 10 years. That goes a long way to get banker's to work with you for equipment needs when it's time to upgrade. There are carriers that have been literally bought out by larger companies just so the larger carrier could get their hands on that Walmart contract. Prime literally bought put 10 different carriers to lock up 60 percent of all the Walmart contracts from the west coast. That give you an idea of what this means for a company.
Which is why I don't work for any of them. One of them (I won't name who) is terribly disorganized anyway, and their process requirements will lead to mental health issues in whoever attempts to adhere to them. 7 or 8 figures are just as easily achieved by working with smaller accounts who actually answer their phones and don't hide behind the internet version of Fort Knox when there's a problem. Give me your 20 employee metals distributor or lumber yard any time of day over the "coveted" Walmart or Amazon.
Not sure what your state's unemployment factors are, but here in VA, claimants are limited to 24 weeks max of claims and the max here would be a bit less than $600 per week.
Having spoken to people who are electing to not go back to menial jobs, they got shafted when Covid struck and had to move in with family or make deep cuts to their lives, so they aren't going back to those old jobs because they have realized they aren't wanted or valued.
I will confess that my sample size is limited and I am fortunate to have weathered it well without any significant loss in my income. I'm not at all surprised that so many people have decided not to return to those low paying jobs though and I doubt that reducing unemployment will change it much.
If one were in a low paying job what was the reason? Not qualified for more money or not motivated to apply yourself when more pay requires more production.
If either of these then why should one expect government to continue support?
MP173 Time for those automated trucks! Dont think it would work on LTL peddle runs, but the driver shortage is very real, as is the labor shortage for convenience stores, restaurants, trailer manufacturers, airlines, etc...could go on and on. I heard a rumor yesterday that a major trailer manufacturer stated to sales people NOT to take any orders for 2022 until further notice. Real simple solution to this. Do the best you can with the drivers, equipment, and facilities you have. If that means service slows down...that is the result. We are all facing that now if one is in any service or manufacturing industry. It is going to take quite awhile to digest this big mess. Enjoyed reading about others working in LTL and tariffs. That was quite a system back in the day. Lots of tariffs. My guess is the class system is still in place, it is an efficient system. Ed
The spector of automated trucks has somewhat ironically made the whole driver shortage that much worse. 18 year old kids nolonger look at these jobs as longterm careers because they don't want to be out of work with no prospects by age 40. Or worse... they're stuck in a job that requires nothing more than sitting and pushing two buttons. Autonomous trucks are still a long ways off I think.. although some kind of autopilot that can be used at times will be along within the next five years or so.
Job market for starters. If the only jobs in your area are paying low wages, what choice does one have? And if one does desire a higher paying job, it often does require more skills, so that means school (trade or otherwise).
Like I said above, its a moot point as those who are claiming unemployment are either doing as suggested and getting better paying jobs, or have decided not to compete anymore and are living with family or gone back to school. Either way, that means that the pool of people willing to work at below living wages is shrinking.
If that's the case, then wages need to rise.
We don't exist in a society where a person can get a good paying job off the street anymore. The old factory days are gone in most of America. That's part of the what is hurting the former mining areas so bad. We're seeing traditionally stable jobs disappearing and being replaced by service industry jobs that pay percentages of what past "unskilled" jobs paid.
For instance, the railroad was once a great place to find gainful employment. With PSR, advanced in technology, etc, it's no longer a good option. Finally, getting a good paying job these days isn't as easy as dropping by an office and asking. With digital HR systems, one needs to have access to computers, access to presentable clothing and reliable transportation, and some basic working knowledge that may not be common among the less fortunate, such as proficency with computers and technology.
Stats will bear it out though and it will be interesting to watch. Alaska, Missouri, and Mississippi have already discontinued thier enhanced benefits. So we'll see how the jobs markets look in a month in those states to see what the effect is.
ClassA Job market for starters. If the only jobs in your area are paying low wages, what choice does one have? And if one does desire a higher paying job, it often does require more skills, so that means school (trade or otherwise). Like I said above, its a moot point as those who are claiming unemployment are either doing as suggested and getting better paying jobs, or have decided not to compete anymore and are living with family or gone back to school. Either way, that means that the pool of people willing to work at below living wages is shrinking. If that's the case, then wages need to rise. We don't exist in a society where a person can get a good paying job off the street anymore. The old factory days are gone in most of America. That's part of the what is hurting the former mining areas so bad. We're seeing traditionally stable jobs disappearing and being replaced by service industry jobs that pay percentages of what past "unskilled" jobs paid. For instance, the railroad was once a great place to find gainful employment. With PSR, advanced in technology, etc, it's no longer a good option. Finally, getting a good paying job these days isn't as easy as dropping by an office and asking. With digital HR systems, one needs to have access to computers, access to presentable clothing and reliable transportation, and some basic working knowledge that may not be common among the less fortunate, such as proficency with computers and technology. Stats will bear it out though and it will be interesting to watch. Alaska, Missouri, and Mississippi have already discontinued thier enhanced benefits. So we'll see how the jobs markets look in a month in those states to see what the effect is.
If the only jobs are low paying jobs then starting one's own business might be the best option. I don't know why more people don't do that.. Even a modest business that is well run offers far more than most jobs do in terms of pay and job security. Anyone can run a cleaning business or a tree trimming business with next to nil start up cost.. beats sweathogging it at the big box warehouse for minimum wage.
Those that think automated trucks are in the pipeline are smoking a substance that would require a drug test in my office. No artificial intelligence system built can handle the crap that an OTR driver deals with on a daily basis. Here's just a listing of what I have seen in the last week watching some of the close calls from the dashboard cameras on the fleet. 15 deer 35 people who were driving with either a knee or elbow while texting or applying makeup 60 more who cut off the truck with less than 2 feet in front of the bumper to make their exit. 20 more trucks that had to make emergency lane changes to avoid someone coming directly off the shoulder into the lane of travel doing less than 20 mph. This is just a small part of what they deal with let alone winds that can literally flip over a truck or mechanical failures. Just how well is an automated truck going to handle a steer tire blowout at 65 mph. Let alone driving on ice snow in fog or other conditions. I know when I leave work everyday my work kids all of them are doing their best to be as safe as possible. They know how much responsibility they have in their hands every single time they fire up that engine and push those buttons in. If anyone of them needs to ask what the worst thing possible could ever be all they have to do is visit the memorial we have in the office to the one of the founding brothers who died in an accident driving for us.
ClassA Not sure what your state's unemployment factors are, but here in VA, claimants are limited to 24 weeks max of claims and the max here would be a bit less than $600 per week.
And the enhanced benefits being cut off in many states were $300 per week.
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