Detention pay

While certain high value products are to be pulled out from a trailer with scrutiny and every single pallet may need to be closely examined and that's ok , that's what the detention pay is for, and a carrier should have known better to expect this due to the nature of commodity. However, siting there for hours, because a product needs to broken down onto 40 additional pallets and making a carrier responsible for, de facto, paying and overseeing this, is by no logic acceptable to me. I don't see why they can't just pull out pallets, count the product and let a driver go... I get it that the cargo may not be 100% homogeneous and pallets could have mixed product on them... Still, it was not like the driver was scrutinizing the load and count, or that it was feasible for him to do so, even if he wanted to. That's what the sealing a trailer is for. So they should just pull out the pallets and sign off. Seal intact, Product to be counted/verified...The rest should be between the shipper and receiver.

 

I made almost $6k last year in detention and layover pay. As an owner operator you have got to fight for it. I have never been blacklisted from a broker or coustemer (except one but was another drivers fault for a previous encounter) Heck I got $2k on one particular load I wound up unloading myself.

It’s a significant amount of revenue. No dispatcher is going to fight for it especially if all the money goes to the truck.

You have to stand up for yourself! It cost money to sit in this buissness just like if the shipper / reciever had to stop production for us. Believe me if you Truck was blocking the entrance to there facility for 6 hours and no trucks or employees could come or go for 6 hours. They would be charging / suing you!

The only reason there is a difference between you and them is there shareholders would fire management for not being reimbursed for the down time.

 

• Case in point. Arrived at 7:45 for 8 am appointment today. Turned away at the gate. I was still unloaded before 9:30. $50 for my trouble.

 

You should have a no haul list anyway. My dispatcher has it on a sticky note right on her computer screen. Mine is in my head.

January 2017 I told my carrier I was changing everything about how I operated my buissness. I garranteed him more revenue than he got from me the year before if I could run my truck the way I wanted to. I only haul loadboard freight anyway. Turns out I had not only the highest gross but the least miles as well. He still runs his trucks the same ol way and tells me I don’t know what I’m talking about. Lol but he lets me handle my buissness as long as I beat a set min gross of $200k. My first year was $163 doing it his way. Granted the market is better in 2017 than 2016. Still way less miles too in 2017.

 

I usually don’t count securement or tarping time in my detention. That’s on me. If it takes me longer than 30 to 40 min to roll after the stuff is on my deck I won’t haul it again unless it’s in the rate to begin with.

I only live load but if my gauges say I’m over they rework it now or they can just take it back off.

Preloaded trailers sound like a house account. I would let them know it’s over and I expect to be paid for my time if I can prove it with a scale ticket. From point of pickup till load is corrected.

We have a coustemer that pays really well. Takes all week to deliver it ( multiple stops to the NE) we load every Friday afternoon. Never less than 6 hours to load. Last time I was there it was 18 hours to load.

Never a penny of detention. That’s fine because I know that going in.

House accounts have a contract and detention is spelled out in that contract.

Loadboard freight is what ever you can negotiate? I have no mercy on them either.

 

@Tug Toy You can be complimented by your efforts and results in getting paid detentions. Typically, it is seldom more than $300 per load (maximum) for a dry van freight at big grocery depots. Most of the rate cons have already set detention terms and I can only imagine it would be another hassle to try to amend that...I just agree to a load but the rate must already include the compensation for the detention risk. Whenever I see Kroger, Walmart, Albertsons etc. I just want to be paid more - $200 from the very start, (and then another $250-300 as detention at the worst case scenario) comparing to the same load which could otherwise be unloaded in 30 minutes. I would rather take a lesser rate knowing that loading/offloading will be quick, but then the next pick up or having addtional time to book it, is not compromised. That is one the biggest challenges in the ELD era when someone tries to do one load per day. Detentions are more forgivable in a long haul.

 

1. Stopped reading at PRELOADED trailer. I dont do preloads. Why? If there is a problem, you're the one that has to eat it. Loaded heavy, flat tires or electrical or any DOT issues, you eat it. Every time I grabbed a preload, I had to take the trailer to a shop. No one pays for it and so I don't do it. Well, unless the money on the load is obscene. And preloads are rarely obscene.

2. Are you paid mileage or percentage? I like to make a minimum of $1000/day. I do a day rate. If I arrive at 0900 and dont get out until 1200, I'm not concerned because it is still the same day.

3. Dont normally do brokered loads, but occasionally I do, but they too have to pay my day rate. And no, that does not include tarps and OSOW. I'm not going to say anything about detention unless it involves another day on the load.

When looking at loads, figure out how much time you will have involved on that load...loading, securing, tarping, driving, unsecuring and unloading. Even on a really short load, you can easily have a full day involved.$600 to go 100 miles? Sounds good! But what happens when there is a delay? You lose big. I want a grand. If it's OSOW and or need tarping, that's $1500-2000. Sounds like alot, right? Only if you're thinking mileage. You can easily have 2 days, dealing with OSOW permits.