A Question About Dispatch

I have been looking at some driver jobs and a couple of them stated, no forced dispatch. what does that mean? Also, I talked to a recruiter that stated that you go out for two weeks and then you get two days off. They pay buy the mile, so why would it matter if after being out for two weeks you wanted to be home for a longer period of time then two days.

Hey David.

To answer your first question: "No forced dispatch" means they will not force you to take a load. That said, it is in your best interest to accept every load they offer you. This will show your dispatcher that you are willing to make deliveries safely and on time, and they will be more likely to help you out down the line.

To answer your second question: The company only makes money when the truck is moving. It is true they won't be paying YOU when the truck is sitting still, but they are still paying money for insurance, licensing, etc etc. They want to keep downtime to a minimum otherwise they are just losing money on a truck sitting still.

They pay buy the mile, so why would it matter if after being out for two weeks you wanted to be home for a longer period of time then two days.

Steve had a great answer and let me expand on this part a bit. Trucking is hyper-competitive with extremely low profit margins. In order to survive a company has to utilize their trucks quite efficiently, which means turning a lot of miles consistently. Their fixed costs are high, which include truck payments, insurance, registration, operating authority, etc. They would also include things like the real estate and buildings they own or lease. They also have to pay for your worker's comp, health insurance, and other costs associated with having employees. All of those costs have to be covered even if the truck isn't moving. So they need to keep that truck moving.