OK here's some info on Urgent Freight from the Nov/Dec Fedex newsletter:
Basically they are saying that they feel that with more companies utilizing the internet for business, that these same businesses will look to the net for shipping solutions. "...The shippers using Urgent Freight are sophisticated in the use of electronic commerce. They are most likely not current FedEx CC customers...."
FCC desperately hopes they aren't current customers or they are taking a risk of losing out to other bidders. It's abig assumption to think that the current customers won't go web surfing for shipping solutions..kinda like assuming that truckdrivers don't use the web or are computer literate
. Also like someone else in this forum suggested the site is a great way to see what the other companies are doing.
Will it be a major effect on fcc's contractors? Who knows? A bigger question is how much slower is the economy going to get? There are many factors such as more expedite companies with more competition lowering prices, also I think it won't be long until regular trucking companies can deliver much of the same services as expediters. Seems to me that the industry has been riding the swell of the economic boom of the last several years and failed to plan on the eninvitable downturn. If you came into expediting from driving for a regular OTR company (like me)you'd probably think expediting is still great(well OK anyway). Hurry up and wait is the name of the game!
Also I think that there are a lot of folks coming into expediting with overly high expectations, especcially when you believe what the recruiters sell you. I think that Fedex cc hurts itself by contracting anyone that can pass the background check and can get a truck- then they gotta weed out the one's that aren't working out. Face it trucking isn't for everyone, and the more you want to be home the worse it's going to be. I think its a shame for recruiters to let newbies have unrealistic goals (our recruiter wasn't too bad as they go, but then there is one I've heard of that encouraged a couple that since thet wanted to get into White Glove, they went out and got all that extra equipment (lift gate, palletjack,blankets, etc)and they had never done any trucking at all and it'll be months before they've got enough experience to even be considered for it-if they last that long) also other drivers seem to do a good job of exagerating how well they've done in the good times too.
As far as sitting around goes, we've been expediting for nearly 2 months and we been moving real good (of course we're a team, don't like to think of how it would be if single). We have a GREAT contract coordinator that helps us get to where the loads are supposed to be. Of course that's the trick- this is expedited freight and ther's no telling where the loads are going to be. I don't think there's such a thing as dedicated expediting. No one wants to go to the slow express centers and then something pops up in an area with no truck and fedex can't cover it. Of course if we got a little more for deadhead maybe they could get folks to move where they need them.
That's my two cents
Basically they are saying that they feel that with more companies utilizing the internet for business, that these same businesses will look to the net for shipping solutions. "...The shippers using Urgent Freight are sophisticated in the use of electronic commerce. They are most likely not current FedEx CC customers...."
FCC desperately hopes they aren't current customers or they are taking a risk of losing out to other bidders. It's abig assumption to think that the current customers won't go web surfing for shipping solutions..kinda like assuming that truckdrivers don't use the web or are computer literate
. Also like someone else in this forum suggested the site is a great way to see what the other companies are doing.Will it be a major effect on fcc's contractors? Who knows? A bigger question is how much slower is the economy going to get? There are many factors such as more expedite companies with more competition lowering prices, also I think it won't be long until regular trucking companies can deliver much of the same services as expediters. Seems to me that the industry has been riding the swell of the economic boom of the last several years and failed to plan on the eninvitable downturn. If you came into expediting from driving for a regular OTR company (like me)you'd probably think expediting is still great(well OK anyway). Hurry up and wait is the name of the game!
Also I think that there are a lot of folks coming into expediting with overly high expectations, especcially when you believe what the recruiters sell you. I think that Fedex cc hurts itself by contracting anyone that can pass the background check and can get a truck- then they gotta weed out the one's that aren't working out. Face it trucking isn't for everyone, and the more you want to be home the worse it's going to be. I think its a shame for recruiters to let newbies have unrealistic goals (our recruiter wasn't too bad as they go, but then there is one I've heard of that encouraged a couple that since thet wanted to get into White Glove, they went out and got all that extra equipment (lift gate, palletjack,blankets, etc)and they had never done any trucking at all and it'll be months before they've got enough experience to even be considered for it-if they last that long) also other drivers seem to do a good job of exagerating how well they've done in the good times too.
As far as sitting around goes, we've been expediting for nearly 2 months and we been moving real good (of course we're a team, don't like to think of how it would be if single). We have a GREAT contract coordinator that helps us get to where the loads are supposed to be. Of course that's the trick- this is expedited freight and ther's no telling where the loads are going to be. I don't think there's such a thing as dedicated expediting. No one wants to go to the slow express centers and then something pops up in an area with no truck and fedex can't cover it. Of course if we got a little more for deadhead maybe they could get folks to move where they need them.
That's my two cents