Expedited Freight

Expedited freight: on the move in more ways than one

The only thing predictable about expedited freight is that it is unpredictable. From a driver’s standpoint, you never know what’s coming next, when your next expedited load will appear, where it will take you and whether you’ll find a decent-paying load coming back. As a result, you can have the most lucrative week of your driving career one week followed a week later by your worst.
     Clearly, expedited freight  (also known as “time-critical,” “custom critical,” “premium,” “emergency” and “special handling) isn’t for everyone. As noted in the first part of this series, if you’re looking for stability and a consistent routine, get yourself a dedicated run. If, on the other hand, you’re flexible, somewhat adventurous, can manage the ups and downs of the time and income inherent in the expedited niche and dream of delivering freight to customers who actually treat you like a hero when you arrive, expedited might be the way to go.
     The key word here is “flexible.” In order to succeed, you have to be ready to hit the road at a moment’s notice because just about every expedited load is “hot.” With few exceptions, that means the load has to get from Point A to Point B as soon as possible, without stopping, without passing “Go,” without routing you anywhere near home.
     “Some things that would be negative to some drivers are what make it so appealing to others,” says David Hill, a communications specialist with Fed Ex Custom Critical. “Having no set schedules, no set routes and being able to run your own business are big reasons why people choose to get into expediting.”
     Jennifer Whitney, a driver recruiter for Towne Air Freight in South Bend, IN, and its subsidiary, Rocket Expedited Services, has a driver recruiting pitch that is as direct as the expedited segment itself: “I tell drivers that it’s very fast paced,” she says. “I tell them you’re either going to love it or hate it. I don’t really have a sales pitch. I just try to figure out which ones will love it. Those are the drivers we want.”
     Above all else, the successful expedited driver or team has to enjoy being on the road and away from home for extended periods of time and can cope with the down time between runs.
     “The expedited driver who works out really well, and I’ve recruited many of them, is someone who comes to me and says, ‘I love the road and I love to drive,’” says Jeff Curry, president of Express-1 in Buchanan, MI. “That’s what I’m looking for.
     “You also have to be smart,” Curry adds. “It’s like a game of chess. You have to figure out where you need to be in order to increase your odds of getting the next expedited load. Should I stay in Kansas or take a low-paying load to Florida in order to increase my odds of getting the next high-paying emergency shipment?”
     Fed Ex’s Hill also emphasizes the importance of paying attention to the business side of the business. “I just spoke with a husband-and-wife team who’ve made some simple modifications to their truck to reduce their costs,” he says. “They removed their sun visor, which improved their fuel mileage by .3 miles per gallon. They’ve made the decision to drive at a maximum of 55 mph, which has greatly improved their fuel mileage. Those are just a couple of examples, but they look at every detail of their business to make it as profitable as possible.”
     For drivers with the “right stuff,” expedited offers a wide range of driving opportunities combined with outstanding earning potential. Depending on the type of vehicle (cargo van, straight truck or tractor-trailer), the type of freight, the length of haul and the company you contract with, owner-operators can earn more than $2 a mile delivering expedited freight, including fuel surcharges. That’s considerably more than what most over-the-road contractors make hauling conventional freight. In addition, an expedited load is generally much lighter than, say, a fully loaded dry van, which means less wear and tear on your engine and tires and better fuel mileage.
     Like the trucking industry in general, the expedited segment has undergone fundamental changes in recent years. Not so long ago, the auto industry accounted for the majority of expedited freight. Today, expedited freight could be just about anything – from pharmaceuticals to food – and the government has emerged as a major customer along with the manufacturing sector. The growing diversity and amount of expedited freight has also created more opportunities for carriers and drivers alike.
     Panther Expedited Services in Seville, OH, for example, considers itself more than a ground expeditor, says Adam Walter, director of recruiting. The company recently purchased an air freight forwarding company in order to diversify its service. While Panther might compete with Fed Ex and UPS on a certain level, it also counts the expedited giants as two of its customers.
     “We haul some of their air freight and ground freight, so we’re doing third-party logistics,” Walter says. “In many instances, we’re partnering with these big carriers in the expedited market.” Along those lines, Panther has invested in flatbeds, temperature-controlled trailers and straight trucks to accommodate the variety of expedited freight that comes its way.
     “We’re growing, we continue to take on new customers and we’re looking for owner-operators,” says Walter, echoing the state of the expedited market as a whole.