Dedicated Or Regional Routes
Topic 5436 | Page 1
I've wondered that myself. Eventually, I think I'd like to get on a dedicated account because I hear that the days off are a little more predictable but as a newbie, I'm going to have to put in my time.
I've run both as well as otr. The dedicated to me was hands down better. You are working for 1 shipper and their freight is predictable. You go alot of the same places and learn the ropes. To me that was the best part. Makes good time management. I'm running regional now and its just like otr. Just depends whats available in your area. It's a crap shoot. It pays better to otr but doesn 't have the predictability of a dedicated.
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
I've run both as well as otr. The dedicated to me was hands down better. You are working for 1 shipper and their freight is predictable. You go alot of the same places and learn the ropes. To me that was the best part. Makes good time management. I'm running regional now and its just like otr. Just depends whats available in your area. It's a crap shoot. It pays better to otr but doesn 't have the predictability of a dedicated.
Yea the money for me is important but I want more predictability. I would love to drive from Pennsylvania to Florida and back be off every weekend a pipe dream I know
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Florida is horrible for good freight coming out. I ran dedicated from south georgia or albama to canada and back
Not sure if it will help but Shelton trucking is looking heavily, Alabama, Florida, Georgia
Which is better to deal with as a driver a regional route or dedicated route?
We have at least 4 recruiters in school each week, Werner tomorrow, Schneider, Swift, Dart all have both dedicated and regional. From what I have learned so far, dedicated appears to require multiple stops and some hands on unloading. Regional is more drop and hook freight.....at least this is what they are telling the class.
Dedicated Route:
A driver or carrier who transports cargo between regular, prescribed routes. Normally it means a driver will be dedicated to working for one particular customer like Walmart or Home Depot and they will only haul freight for that customer. You'll often hear drivers say something like, "I'm on the Walmart dedicated account."
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
Drop And Hook:
Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.
In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.
Personally I would prefer dedicated as opposed to regional. I like routine and set routes - dedicated. I'm sure there are gigs out there that are dedicated AND regional , they don't have to be either / or. All depends on the company. Same with whether your dedicated is a multi-stop load or not, all depends on the company and the account.
My situation might be a little different since I'm in LTL , but right now I'm running linehaul regional OTR - that's how you could describe it. I run the northeast and can stay out for 4 days at a time in a 5 day work week. I just finished a run that took me close to the Canadian border after being dispatched out of southern PA - 1080 miles in two days. I'm looking forward to having a set routine where I'm going to the same place every night / day, i.e. having a "dedicated account." I don't deal with shippers / receivers or customers, but having a bid run with a set schedule and destination would be akin to the truckload version of a dedicated account, except I'll get to go home every day.
It all depends on what you like. Some like new places, some like routine. I'd take routine and short distances any day of the week in order to spend more time with my family and settle into a routine.
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
- FedEx Freight
- Con-way
- YRC Freight
- UPS
- Old Dominion
- Estes
- Yellow-Roadway
- ABF Freight
- R+L Carrier
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Linehaul:
Linehaul drivers will normally run loads from terminal to terminal for LTL (Less than Truckload) companies.
LTL (Less Than Truckload) carriers will have Linehaul drivers and P&D drivers. The P&D drivers will deliver loads locally from the terminal and pick up loads returning them to the terminal. Linehaul drivers will then run truckloads from terminal to terminal.
Dedicated account is different from dedicated route.
Dedicated account is carrying product for a specific customers network. You will be going to different places but hauling predictable freight. Central has a Coors beer dedicated account. Its all 48 states and you haul beer or packaging products between the main breweries and distributors across the country. I did this account for a month when I was in training.
Dedicated route is driving the same roads to the same locations. It could be a simple "point a to point b back to point a" or it could be " point a to point b to point c to point d back to point a". But once you finish your route you're starting over and doing the same route again.
Dedicated Route:
A driver or carrier who transports cargo between regular, prescribed routes. Normally it means a driver will be dedicated to working for one particular customer like Walmart or Home Depot and they will only haul freight for that customer. You'll often hear drivers say something like, "I'm on the Walmart dedicated account."
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Which is better to deal with as a driver a regional route or dedicated route?
Dedicated Route:
A driver or carrier who transports cargo between regular, prescribed routes. Normally it means a driver will be dedicated to working for one particular customer like Walmart or Home Depot and they will only haul freight for that customer. You'll often hear drivers say something like, "I'm on the Walmart dedicated account."
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.