ON ALL OUR LOADS WITH APPOINTMENTS OUR CUSTOMERS KNOW THAT THERE IS 1 HOUR FOR LTL LOADING THEN 1 HR TO UNLOAD AND 2 HRS ON FTL. DOES ANYONE PAY WAITING TIME WHEN IT IS FCFS. I HAVE BEEN DOING A SHIPPER FCFS FOR AT LEAST 4 MONTHS AND THE CARRIER I CURRENTLY HAVE ON IT WANTS WAITING TIME AFTER 2 HRS. YOUR THOUGHTS WOULD BE APPRECIATED. THANK YOU
Waiting Time & Carriers
- Thread starter marylou
- Start date
20
All depends on if it is a regular occurrence at the shipper to wait longer than 2 hours or more. If it is a regular carrier and most of the time they're out in a "reasonable" amount of time it all comes out in the wash for the one-off occasion that they're held. If it is a consistent problem waiting for a lengthy time then I'd have no problem going after the shipper/customer for detention.
Thanks dad2andrew. In this case the carrier knew it was FCFS but did not advise they want waiting time after 2 hrs . On the information I had sent then when we got set up it clearly states waiting time paid 1 hr LTL , 2hrs FTL when appt booked. I want to be fair to the carrier but I will be eating this and taking a loss. Truck was there 6hrs which is the normal turn around time.
30
It's an industry standard 2 hours for Truck Load and an hour for LTL.
However, send Midland, Day & Ross, Minimax into a call and tell them they have to wait an hour for their 100.00 Skid going to Montreal. Guess what, the skid sits and the truck moves on. How profitable do you think a truck is if it sits at every pick up or delivery for 60 minutes before it's worked?
If you own a freight brokerage... and your coordinator sits idle for an hour between LTL dispatches and sits idle for two hours between TL's... how profitable are you?
Shippers and Consignee's need to learn how to ship and receive within a reasonable amount of time. Even more so in this day of ELD's, rising costs and driver shortage (shortage of "Good" drivers that is).
However, send Midland, Day & Ross, Minimax into a call and tell them they have to wait an hour for their 100.00 Skid going to Montreal. Guess what, the skid sits and the truck moves on. How profitable do you think a truck is if it sits at every pick up or delivery for 60 minutes before it's worked?
If you own a freight brokerage... and your coordinator sits idle for an hour between LTL dispatches and sits idle for two hours between TL's... how profitable are you?
Shippers and Consignee's need to learn how to ship and receive within a reasonable amount of time. Even more so in this day of ELD's, rising costs and driver shortage (shortage of "Good" drivers that is).
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We bill the customer after 2 hours at a FCFS because it's a bullshit excuse and if they don't want to pay then we don't want to haul.
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I don't understand the logic of a FCFS facility not paying waiting time 'at all'. Why is it they are claiming they are exempt?
Keep well,
Mike
Keep well,
Mike
Shakey
Site Supporter
30
How does anyone make money for LTL one hour free? That is insane for anything under a half load.
20
We start charging waiting time after 2 hours for a FTL - appointment or not. BUT we make that clear when booking the load - it is one of our terms.
I remember a few years ago, we picked up a load somewhere in TX. It was a full load of kayaks, floor loaded - by hand. The loaders were 2 Latino men and they had my truck loaded and out within 2 hours. When my truck got to the consignee in Toronto, the receiver took one look at the load and said "this is gonna take at least 6 hours!" So, it all depends on how quickly people want to work. Physically, it CAN be done but many don't WANT to do it. (I'm talking about non-union companies, of course. Unionized companies are a whole other ball of wax!)
I remember a few years ago, we picked up a load somewhere in TX. It was a full load of kayaks, floor loaded - by hand. The loaders were 2 Latino men and they had my truck loaded and out within 2 hours. When my truck got to the consignee in Toronto, the receiver took one look at the load and said "this is gonna take at least 6 hours!" So, it all depends on how quickly people want to work. Physically, it CAN be done but many don't WANT to do it. (I'm talking about non-union companies, of course. Unionized companies are a whole other ball of wax!)
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Hi Marylou. I don't mean to sound rude, but I don't think you are being very fair here. The industry standard is 2 hours maximum for offloading. A FCFS facility does not exempt anyone from this rule unless you had a full discussion with the carrier ahead of time and they agreed to this... Had they known that a 6 hour turnaround is standard with this facililty I doubt they would have agreed to it unless they had worked their rate accordingly. Going forward, if it were my business, which it is not, I would be paying carriers after 2 hours and either go after the customer for the waiting time or absorb it yourself because you should have quoted the customer a rate that includes a bit of wiggle room should this occur. When this kind of nonsense happens to a carrier, we tend to remember it and avoid that working with that broker again. Someone has to pay the driver, they are not going to work for free and sitting in a truck for 6 hours is wasting their time. After saying all that, it would be good if you reached out to the carrier and made this right for them. Have a super day!
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You said it Chica123. You may work with that broker once but as a carrier....you'll remember who didn't pay appropriate wait time...and simply 'pass' on the business next time.
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If 6 hours is "The normal turn around time" then as a broker you should offer/sell the freight as that so the carrier knows everything before bidding on/accepting the freight.
30
Well.. first come first serve means first one in gets served first.. number two is served second..number three is served third and so on. By being smart and strategic you can avoid detention. For example.. I won't send trucks in a first come first serve facility if I know the unload is quite involved.. i.e. a load of 40 ft. steel bundles. If its a single coil then I love fcfs.. FCFS makes no sense for loads that involve alot of time.. for those I prefer appointments as it keeps everyone more or less organized, and if the driver shows up for his appointment on time and he is detained then there's no question detention should be paid.
I do have a couple of FCFS receivers who are a pain in the backside, but I can manage things to my advantage just the same. Knowing (in both cases) that thy receive from 7:00 am to noon fcfs I tell the carrier to arrive no earlier than 11:00 am.. By late morning receiver is pretty much done, and my truck gets right in.. (and I know receiver is motivated to get the truck unloaded). It works well.. Prior to doing this I got nothing but grief about guys showing up at 7:00 am and having to wait in line.. By managing their expectations (11:00 am) I at the very least minimize wait time.. and most of the time they show up when everyone else has already come and gone. Knowing how your customer works and lining things up in your favor is how to minimize detention.
The other thing to keep in mind: what are the customers' capabilities?.. some of them are capable of unloading 20 trucks at once.. knowing what your customer is capable of helps you to determine if FCFS is a viable proposition for you.. if its one guy on an old forklift.. probably not.. if they're big and fast with an army of lumpers, cranes, and forklifts.. .. then fcfs might work well even for time consuming loads.. The time to ascertain customer capability is right at the outset.. when you're quoting the business.. by all means ask.. and if unloading means its just Billy with a handjack then you should probably pass on fcfs.
I do have a couple of FCFS receivers who are a pain in the backside, but I can manage things to my advantage just the same. Knowing (in both cases) that thy receive from 7:00 am to noon fcfs I tell the carrier to arrive no earlier than 11:00 am.. By late morning receiver is pretty much done, and my truck gets right in.. (and I know receiver is motivated to get the truck unloaded). It works well.. Prior to doing this I got nothing but grief about guys showing up at 7:00 am and having to wait in line.. By managing their expectations (11:00 am) I at the very least minimize wait time.. and most of the time they show up when everyone else has already come and gone. Knowing how your customer works and lining things up in your favor is how to minimize detention.
The other thing to keep in mind: what are the customers' capabilities?.. some of them are capable of unloading 20 trucks at once.. knowing what your customer is capable of helps you to determine if FCFS is a viable proposition for you.. if its one guy on an old forklift.. probably not.. if they're big and fast with an army of lumpers, cranes, and forklifts.. .. then fcfs might work well even for time consuming loads.. The time to ascertain customer capability is right at the outset.. when you're quoting the business.. by all means ask.. and if unloading means its just Billy with a handjack then you should probably pass on fcfs.