How Linehaul Operates During Peak Season

Peak season is the time of year when contractors see additional package volume coming into the network, typically between the beginning of November and the end of December. FedEx has three incentives in place to encourage linehaul contractors to take on the additional volume while remaining profitable. These include peak mileage incentives, bonus points, and temporary run assignments.

Peak Mileage Incentives

During peak season, FedEx Ground offers incentives that allow you to earn a fixed amount per mile past a predetermined amount. This predetermined amount is commonly referred to as your weekly threshold and the incentive that you earn for going over that threshold is called a Peak Mileage Incentive.

An example of this would be if you run a total of 5,500 miles in a week between your different types of runs. If your threshold is 5,000 miles, you will get paid extra for those additional 500 miles. If your peak mileage incentive is 50 cents per mile, then you're going to get an additional $250 for that week for just that run. If you multiply this amount by the number of weeks during peak season, you could be looking at thousands of dollars in additional revenue.

Bonus Points

Every day that you provide service to FedEx Ground, you are awarded one point. These points can be accumulated over the months and years that you provide that linehaul service. Points are used as a kind of currency in the linehaul space because you can use them to bid on new runs that become available.

The more points you earn, the more you can bid, increasing your likelihood of winning that bid. During peak season, each terminal will set point incentives corresponding to certain goals related to the mileage threshold. As an example, the terminal could set up a structure where you earn 20 bonus points for hitting 5,000 miles, 25 points for 5,500 miles, and 30 points for 6,000 miles.These incentives are unique to your business and will vary by terminal. 

Temporary Run Assignments

During peak, FedEx may identify assigned runs that are not being serviced properly and request that you cover those instead of one of your existing assigned runs. FedEx will pay you a flat amount each week on top of your settlement if you agree to service the temporary run. This is always a temporary reassignment but can earn you additional revenue during peak season.

Unlike the pick-up and delivery space where you own a territory, you are only responsible for your contracted runs in the Linehaul space. This means that the burden of delivering the extra volume does not fall on you as a linehaul contractor. However, peak season provides a great opportunity to earn additional revenue and rack up points in order to grow your business.

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