Newcomer looking into Con-Way NOW

[Eclipse]

I'm new to expediting and I'm looking to lease a 22ft.-24ft., straight truck with Con-Way NOW. I've talked to one contractor, with them, and he was very helpful. Can anyone provide any opinions of Con-Way NOW or any other company that I should consider ? I worked for a contractor with FEDEX Ground driving tractors and I'm not interested in them.

Thanks

 

[redytrk]

I can understand your frustration with FEDEX GROUND....but please everybody,dont confuse Fedex Ground with FEDEX CUSTOM CRITICAL.We are as different as night and day.We have been with FECC 16 years and while there have been moments of frustration,we still feel they are the best.
Other recruters have told us (after learning our yearly income)"you better stay where you are at"

 

[davekc]

As mentioned earlier, I would more inclined to look at Panther or FedEx. If you are looking at just revenue, these two pay the most per mile and have the largest customer base.
We are with Panther and FedEx is the only other company that has gross revenue that is even close to what we are making now.
Davekc

 

[mcbride]

Eclipse,

Hi! We run for Con-Way as a team. We have been with them for about 3 1/2 years. I believe Dave may be right about revenue if you take a run by run basis, FedexCC and Panther do pay more per mile. We stay with Con-Way because it has been consistant...we don't sit for days before we get a load. We have thought of returning back to FedexCC but we are gun shy as we were with them for about 2 1/2 years back in 1999-2001 when their business dropped and they had way too many trucks on. We may go back still this year as our truck will be paid for soon, then if we sit for a couple of days, I won't get so panic stricken about not running. <g> We also looked at Panther seriously for a while but they do a lot of auto freight and FedexCC TPS cured us of dealing with the big three. In addition, when we looked at Panther, some trucks made more per mile than others did with the system they use. If you would like information about Con-Way, we would be happy to speak with you on the telephone. Just email me and I will forward you our number.

mcbride-
--What goes around comes around--

 

[bluebird]

I worked for con-way as a team with a straight truck i ran more van loads then anything plus i got a couple of loads where we had to meet a van and transfor it over to the van good luck

 

[mcbride]

Hi Bluebird,

>I worked for con-way as a team with a straight truck i ran
>more van loads then anything plus i got a couple of loads
>where we had to meet a van and transfor it over to the van
>good luck

When was this? Who do you lease with now?
I can only go by our stats:
2004
Jan-0 van loads-11 total loads-608.4 avg load length
Feb-0 van loads-13 total loads-815.2 avg load length
Mar-1 van load-11 total loads-815.7 avg load length
Apr-0 van loads-10 total loads-902.5 avg load length
May-0 van loads-12 total loads-846.6 avg load length
Jun-1 van load-17 total loads-768.8 avg load length
Jul-2 van loads-5 total loads-1,148.8 avg load length-vacation
Aug-0 van loads-13 total loads-780.8 avg load length

Including this month we have had 103 loads in 2004 and 4 of them have been van loads. I have not included "tractor" load stats. We have never had to transfer with a van anywhere other than at a terminal and that was one time. We did transfer twice at odd locations though with trucks because they broke down and they were unable to get the truck to a terminal. However, we offered to do this to ensure timely delivery of the freight as they usually will have the broken down vehicle towed to a terinal. (We carry a pallet jack and did transfers like this for FedexCC routinely)

In addition, we would surely like to get van loads anyway...it pays the same and with less work out on our truck.

mcbride-
--What goes around comes around--

 

[LDB]

So in 8 months you've run a little over 78k miles as a team, if my numbers are correct. Can you please explain about the van load paying the same amount as the truck load? Thanks.

>Hi Bluebird,

>I can only go by our stats:
>2004
>Jan-0 van loads-11 total loads-608.4 avg load length = 6692
>Feb-0 van loads-13 total loads-815.2 avg load length = 10595
>Mar-1 van load-11 total loads-815.7 avg load length = 9788
>Apr-0 van loads-10 total loads-902.5 avg load length = 9025
>May-0 van loads-12 total loads-846.6 avg load length = 10159
>Jun-1 van load-17 total loads-768.8 avg load length = 13838
>Jul-2 van loads-5 total loads-1,148.8 avg load = 8041
>length-vacation
>Aug-0 van loads-13 total loads-780.8 avg load length = 10150
>
>In addition, we would surely like to get van loads
>anyway...it pays the same and with less work out on our
>truck.
>
>mcbride-
>--What goes around comes around--

 

[mcbride]

>So in 8 months you've run a little over 78k miles as a team,
>if my numbers are correct. Can you please explain about the
>van load paying the same amount as the truck load? Thanks.
Hi LDB,

78K paid loaded miles-this figure does not include paid or unpaid dh miles. <g> Con-Way pays .20 per mile dh after the first 50 on either end, so in otherwords you would always give them 50 unpaid miles dh per load unless you are less than 50 miles away from your next pu location. We average 23% dead head-In all fairness to Con-Way, I would have to say that we have more than average "personal" dead head.

With regard to the van paying same amount-
Con-Way basically pays $1.07 per mile for most of their loads-people who are with them over two years get paid $1.08 per mile-

Remember the $1.07 does not include fuel surcharges, detention time, weekend pickup hold over fees (if you pick up on a Friday and the load can deliver before the following Monday and your delivery time is for Monday you get paid more for keeping the frieght on your truck until Monday), New England surcharges, New York City/Long Island surcharges, border crossing surcharges, hazmat pay...etc.

At Con-Way, if a truck is offered a van load they are offered this load at the $1.07 rate- However, once about a year ago we were offered a van load for $1.00 per mile because they had already booked a van to do it and they didn't show up or something like that...and we did it for $1.00 per mile as a favor.

BTW, I should have included that we do average about 4 or 5 loads a month that are paid full rate. Full rate for us is $1.29 for up to 5,000lbs and $1.39 for up to $13,000lbs. We also have had about 8 or 9 tractor loads this year that paid $1.50 or more per mile. (deduct a penny off each rate for trucks with less than 2 years with Con-Way)

mcbride-
--What goes around comes around--

 

[bluebird]

I run with nations express now i got on avg 1.25 a mile plus there nicer and the tracking system is cheaper.don't get me wrong if i had a van i would run for con-way i talk to drivers they say there getting good miles.but couldn't afford to keep the straight truck there. i found a company i'm happy with

 

[LDB]

So with about 1/3 of your loads being full fare and the occasional semi load added in you obviously average better than $1.07 a paid mile. Do you see or hear of solos getting the same percentage of full fare and semi loads? Do you happen to know how much freight a D unit gets out of Houston?

I'm really having a tough time deciding between FXCC, Panther and Conway. They all seem good and so far I can't even throw one out to leave a coin toss. Just when I think I have it down to two I get more information that picks the third one right back up. Truthfully, Conway is probably third because they charge more per week. The other two give tripaks free and don't charge a risk management fee. That's $31 a week extra Conway is charging, as well as truck insurance being about 14 a week higher through them than Panther.

I want to run your kind of miles as a solo but don't think anyone will give them to me. It would take more loads since I wouldn't get the long distance loads. I'm currently running about 2900 miles a week at USA so I am not afraid to run miles and I know a solo can run some good miles if the freight is available. It's probably pie in the sky but I'd like to run at least 2000 a week paid with no more than 400 dh. Anyway, thanks again for the post, it's really a good one for a newbie like me to read.

 

[mcbride]

LDB,

Hi again. Yes, we average more than $1.08 per mile after all is said and done. You are doing the right thing by looking at all the options available to you. There are differances between the carriers and you really sound like you are checking them all out. We have only been with two companies since coming out here (FedExCC and now Con-Way), so we are not even close to being an authority on any of them. We would probably still be with FedExCC if we could have financially afforded to ride out that bad period of 2001. So,don't think that I am posting as an endorsment for Con-Way. We think about moving back to FedExCC all the time! <g> Everyone thinks the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence! I think the bottom line is: we are just lazy and don't want to go through the switching hassles now. Does Con-Way do things that piss us off? You bet...but we know the hot spots, we know the games they play, we know we will get loads eventually...so we'll hang here at least until our truck is paid for.


Just remember in this business your lease is only as good as the paper it is written on...in other words, if you have a good MVR, you can change companies weekly. I would suggest that you ride it out for a month or so with a company before switching though. Also take what all the recruiters tell you with a big grain of salt. I am not saying that they will lie on purpose to you but many of them haven't even driven out here. They are just relaying what they are told to relay to prospective drivers. Be leery of the recruiter that has to get back to you on something or "inadvertantly" forgets to tell you something until AFTER you have signed on with them. A good recruiter knows their respective company inside and out. He or she will know how many units run for their company, the run count, insurance rates, realistic dead head miles, etc....

Oh, I almost forgot, Con-Way does very good at getting us out of Texas. We usually deliver down by Laredo or Brownstown.
As far as the solo's getting paid more per mile...I think they do average more full rate loads than teams. (shorter runs)

The last advice I would give you is to keep asking several other drivers who drive for the company you have selected about their experiences and don't just go by the experiences of one or two.

mcbride-
--what goes around comes around--

 

[mcbride]

Bluebird,

>I run with nations express now

Yes, we have heard that Nations is a great company to run for. We talked with their recruiter for a while at the truck show is Kentucky. They seem like they have their act together too!

mcbride-
--What goes around comes around--