sedwickl67
Active Expediter
Just looking for some info on Panther anyone working for them currently or past. Are they a good company? How is freight moving this time of year? Or any other info you would share.
Panther Info
- Thread starter sedwickl67
- Start date
IvanTheGreat
Active Expediter
BigCat you said its not a bad company to start with... After i get some experience what/where should I look at for a good company? Input from others will also be appreciated. Thank you!
butterfly610
Veteran Expediter
I wouldn't go into it thinking you'll only be there for so long as then leave. If you are happy there and make the money you need, that's all that matters in my opinion. I just wouldn't start at a company with thoughts of leaving before you know if it's a good match. You might never want to leave.
BigCat
Expert Expediter
What butterfly said. I am just referring to if you are new to expedite they are one of the easier companies to learn the business at. Many have been there for years so they must be content and find it a pleasure to work for.
Panther is a Great company. We left our old carrier in September of 2008 with four trucks. We have grew our fleet to fourteen trucks since then. Remember my new favorite saying, "Confidence is the hinge on the door to success" You will be fine with Panther Expedited Services.
After you get some experience, about a year or so is about average, you will then know exactly what and where to look for a good company. What suits one person about a carrier might not suit another. You'll know what you want, and don't want, out of a carrier by then. Ironically, as was already alluded to, your first carrier may be exactly what you want in a carrier.
MissKat
Expert Expediter
My husband and I teamed in a TVAL White Glove Straight Truck for FedEx for almost two years. Then LTL tractor trailer freight for 18 months. Finally, seven months driving a tractor trailer in the Life Sciences (reefer) Division for Panther Expedite. Never as an Owner-Operator, but driving for owners.
There is a huge culture difference in comparing FedEx Custom Critical and Panther. Starting with the recruiting process. We contacted the owner first, then made app with the Fed, a six day wait, faxed to us on the road and then faxed back. Orientation was three days, regimented, and lots of rules. The Fed will NOT get involved in disputes between Owner and Driver. You are not allowed to walk freely in the Green headquarters. You cannot sleep in your truck on the property. Your Contractor Coordinator for the most part is not your best friend. The dispatchers are demanding, rude, and threatening if you refuse a load offer they think you should take, if you call for directions or need to confess you will be late, heaven forbid they should ever hear you and you co-driver not agreeing about which turn to take, they write you up for attitude problems. At the Fed you are competing with other trucks in the area or that may have more equipment, more seniority, more purple shirts than your truck. You live for the beep or the notification on your phone that a load is available, and you have ten minutes to respond. You can accept, counter or reject. Calling won't help. We spent almost every weekend stationary or deadheading to a better service area. If you are a reefer unit, count on days of testing where your truck may or may not fail. You have the datalogger in both companies usually. You are paid to assist in unloading, and for dry runs.
At Panther, you call recruiting, fill out the paperwork, and they or you will find an owner to drive for. Some owners have a flat rate deal with Panther, and you always know what the load is paying you. If you have a reefer trailer, there may be loads where you earn more money for "babysitting" the freight over a week's time, and are paid for each stop to work a liftgate. There is no uniform at Panther, although you should look and sound professional no matter what carrier you decide to drive with. At Panther you can call and talk over the load offer with the department that is offering to you, negotiate, reason with, and feel a partner in the deal. If there is a delay or situation, they seem to get it. No demeaning threats. You have a heirarchy at Panther. If the dispatcher does something you don't get, there are higher ups you actually can discuss the issue with. And even be right. Never did we have that privilege at FedEx.
Orientation at Panther was two days, and physicals and drug screens are done the first day, in house. This is a wide variety of folks at a Panther Orientation. Most pay their own way to Seville, and the owner's truck is waiting for them. You do not get a paycheck at Panther for 3 weeks after Orientation, a long time to wait, eat, pay bills, etc. You can get paid a week sooner but it costs you. It was two weeks at FedEx.
So Big Cat, who drove for the same owner I did at Panther, was giving what I think is excellent advice. If you have never been an expediter, you will find the dispatch system at Panther easier, because you can ask questions and its less of a competitive sense in getting a load offer.
But remember please, that no matter what company you choose, Expedite means emergency, the shipper got a late order, they forgot to send something and it needs to go NOW. There is not an emergency load pickup in every town. You have to learn what service areas work best for your type of truck and your company.
They usually are not looking for freight for YOU, they are looking at the CUSTOMER's requirements First. If a Customer calls with a load that needs to be picked up, your company determines THEIR needs and checks to see what trucks are in the area that meets the requirement. If they have none, they broker it out to other expedite firms. The requirements may be refrigerated, time sensitive, security, Canada crossing, team, size of box, lift gate, and time of pickup. If it is impossible for a truck to get to the pickup in time in order to satisfy the DOT, you won't get the load offer, for example.
There is a lot of waiting, and a lot of frustration in expediting. But it was the most personally rewarding of trucking jobs we had. The shipper was thankful for you and the receiver was happy to get their freight. You have time to smell the roses and see and do things this great country has to offer.
Lastly, if you need benefits for your family, it is rare to have them available as an independent contractor. If you drive for yourself or a small owner, there is only one truck, and if it is down, you are down. Sometimes you get dispatched a couple of days in advance, or preplanned on the next load while still in service on one. These are great, you can plan ahead.
I found that if I stopped to do laundry in between loads, we usually got a load offer that had to move on quickly, resulting in damp clothes.
Hope this gives you something to think about, it is not meant to demean any expediting company out there. I do believe the questions to ask are which company meets your philosophy and I strongly encourage anyone considering expediting to work for someone first, then decide to make an investment.
There's a whole chapter on how to choose an owner on EO.
We retired from trucking after nine years on the road. We drove for Knight, Interstate, YRC, and Central Refrigerated, as well as Western Freightways in addition to expediting. We have hazmat, doubles, tanker endorsements, and passports.
You can PM me anytime if you have questions.
Kat
There is a huge culture difference in comparing FedEx Custom Critical and Panther. Starting with the recruiting process. We contacted the owner first, then made app with the Fed, a six day wait, faxed to us on the road and then faxed back. Orientation was three days, regimented, and lots of rules. The Fed will NOT get involved in disputes between Owner and Driver. You are not allowed to walk freely in the Green headquarters. You cannot sleep in your truck on the property. Your Contractor Coordinator for the most part is not your best friend. The dispatchers are demanding, rude, and threatening if you refuse a load offer they think you should take, if you call for directions or need to confess you will be late, heaven forbid they should ever hear you and you co-driver not agreeing about which turn to take, they write you up for attitude problems. At the Fed you are competing with other trucks in the area or that may have more equipment, more seniority, more purple shirts than your truck. You live for the beep or the notification on your phone that a load is available, and you have ten minutes to respond. You can accept, counter or reject. Calling won't help. We spent almost every weekend stationary or deadheading to a better service area. If you are a reefer unit, count on days of testing where your truck may or may not fail. You have the datalogger in both companies usually. You are paid to assist in unloading, and for dry runs.
At Panther, you call recruiting, fill out the paperwork, and they or you will find an owner to drive for. Some owners have a flat rate deal with Panther, and you always know what the load is paying you. If you have a reefer trailer, there may be loads where you earn more money for "babysitting" the freight over a week's time, and are paid for each stop to work a liftgate. There is no uniform at Panther, although you should look and sound professional no matter what carrier you decide to drive with. At Panther you can call and talk over the load offer with the department that is offering to you, negotiate, reason with, and feel a partner in the deal. If there is a delay or situation, they seem to get it. No demeaning threats. You have a heirarchy at Panther. If the dispatcher does something you don't get, there are higher ups you actually can discuss the issue with. And even be right. Never did we have that privilege at FedEx.
Orientation at Panther was two days, and physicals and drug screens are done the first day, in house. This is a wide variety of folks at a Panther Orientation. Most pay their own way to Seville, and the owner's truck is waiting for them. You do not get a paycheck at Panther for 3 weeks after Orientation, a long time to wait, eat, pay bills, etc. You can get paid a week sooner but it costs you. It was two weeks at FedEx.
So Big Cat, who drove for the same owner I did at Panther, was giving what I think is excellent advice. If you have never been an expediter, you will find the dispatch system at Panther easier, because you can ask questions and its less of a competitive sense in getting a load offer.
But remember please, that no matter what company you choose, Expedite means emergency, the shipper got a late order, they forgot to send something and it needs to go NOW. There is not an emergency load pickup in every town. You have to learn what service areas work best for your type of truck and your company.
They usually are not looking for freight for YOU, they are looking at the CUSTOMER's requirements First. If a Customer calls with a load that needs to be picked up, your company determines THEIR needs and checks to see what trucks are in the area that meets the requirement. If they have none, they broker it out to other expedite firms. The requirements may be refrigerated, time sensitive, security, Canada crossing, team, size of box, lift gate, and time of pickup. If it is impossible for a truck to get to the pickup in time in order to satisfy the DOT, you won't get the load offer, for example.
There is a lot of waiting, and a lot of frustration in expediting. But it was the most personally rewarding of trucking jobs we had. The shipper was thankful for you and the receiver was happy to get their freight. You have time to smell the roses and see and do things this great country has to offer.
Lastly, if you need benefits for your family, it is rare to have them available as an independent contractor. If you drive for yourself or a small owner, there is only one truck, and if it is down, you are down. Sometimes you get dispatched a couple of days in advance, or preplanned on the next load while still in service on one. These are great, you can plan ahead.
I found that if I stopped to do laundry in between loads, we usually got a load offer that had to move on quickly, resulting in damp clothes.
Hope this gives you something to think about, it is not meant to demean any expediting company out there. I do believe the questions to ask are which company meets your philosophy and I strongly encourage anyone considering expediting to work for someone first, then decide to make an investment.
There's a whole chapter on how to choose an owner on EO.
We retired from trucking after nine years on the road. We drove for Knight, Interstate, YRC, and Central Refrigerated, as well as Western Freightways in addition to expediting. We have hazmat, doubles, tanker endorsements, and passports.
You can PM me anytime if you have questions.
Kat
7 months with Panther and I'm still here today. You'll have your good days and bad days just gotta take the good with the bad sometimes,only thing I don't like about Panther is they favor the drivers who been here a long time that's just my opinion. Dispatch most of the time are nice and professional but you get a few who not take NO for answer. It's a good company to gain experience I think most folks who quit within 6 months or year don't give it a chance you gotta learn which areas to be in cause Panther don't have freight in every state. Best freight area is east coast but there few freight lanes in west coast. I personally stay east of the I-35 and don't have much issue finding loads. There are some bad areas like FL VA WV but most east coast states got good freight.