ewilson303
Seasoned Expediter
For the last few weeks now I have been researching working for an American company as a Canadian, I'm not sure if anyone else has thought about this but I thought I'd share what I've been told so far. If we are talking Fed Ex or Landstar it is fairly easy as they both have Canadian terminals, as for Panther who I spoke with several times it's a little more complicated. Panther does not have a Canadian terminal but does hire Canadians. I spent about 2 hours with one of their recruiters at their terminal in Seville, OH. They have hired and will hire more Canadians, and their rates are very good compared to what we get up here, but we can not get insurance for Canada through them so what they say is that we run under their authority and their insurance in the US but must have our own authority and insurance for Canada. My first question was is that even legal and the short answer is yes but good luck finding an insurance broker up here that will write that policy. I have left calls with several brokers and only one called me back, what he told me is that it can be done but he would not personally write that policy, his reason is that they see it as two conflicting policies, one US and one Canadian and if an accident or claim should arise it is a real battle to see who will pay. I would think that if the accident happened in Canada then the Canadian policy would apply and vis-versa in the US but he says it is not always that simple and he just prefers to avoid possible problems by not writing the policy. Having said that, he told me there is one insurance company up here that may write that policy
( Markell ) however the cost would likely be prohibitive, so curious I asked and was quoted between $ 5-$7,000.00 /year for a new cargo van with my clean CVOR, thats just for the Canadian end. So yes I agree that is cost prohibitive. When my last tractor was due for replacement I decided against it, costs are just too high, I thought I would give expediting a try and run a van, I have a new Sprinter on with Thompson Emergency out of Windsor. My last 10 years were spent with Yanke out of Saskatoon, all as an owner/op. Thompson seems like a good company, very nice people and I enjoy the work however their recruiter sold me a real load of crap as to how much money I could make with a van. I've been in trucking for more than twenty years but new to expediting and I don't need a fortune anymore but I still have bills to pay like everyone else. I have spoken with a few other expedite companies since I started with Thompson and those that are hiring were honest enough to say " no real money here either " so I find myself thinking about the old saying, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. I will likely make a change soon but who am I supposed to trust, Panther didnt sound too bad ( as a Canadian anyway, there own guys are not too happy either, I'm told Canadian trucks are busier because there guys either can't or won't cross the border) but the insurance thing sounds bad. When I made the decision to try expedite I thought I had done all the homework, I couldn't find anything really bad written about Thompson and honestly I dont have anything bad to say about them either other than the fact that their recruiter embelished the numbers a bit, I have talked to other Thompson guys and some claim to make real good money even with a van, so I ask myself is it the economy, is it the company or is it me. I stay available, I deliver on time and pick up on time, I don't holler at the dispatchers if I sit longer than I think I should. I am trying to learn the expediting business and how to stay loaded, where to be and when, Thompson doesn't seem to offer a lot of help in that regard and I feel a bit like I jumped in without a life jacket, I can swim but for how long I wonder. I guess what this ramble really boils down to is do I stay put and hope the economy picks up or do I try a company that is less reliant on the auto industry, whether that be a Canadian or a US company. Any opinions would be appreciated.
( Markell ) however the cost would likely be prohibitive, so curious I asked and was quoted between $ 5-$7,000.00 /year for a new cargo van with my clean CVOR, thats just for the Canadian end. So yes I agree that is cost prohibitive. When my last tractor was due for replacement I decided against it, costs are just too high, I thought I would give expediting a try and run a van, I have a new Sprinter on with Thompson Emergency out of Windsor. My last 10 years were spent with Yanke out of Saskatoon, all as an owner/op. Thompson seems like a good company, very nice people and I enjoy the work however their recruiter sold me a real load of crap as to how much money I could make with a van. I've been in trucking for more than twenty years but new to expediting and I don't need a fortune anymore but I still have bills to pay like everyone else. I have spoken with a few other expedite companies since I started with Thompson and those that are hiring were honest enough to say " no real money here either " so I find myself thinking about the old saying, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. I will likely make a change soon but who am I supposed to trust, Panther didnt sound too bad ( as a Canadian anyway, there own guys are not too happy either, I'm told Canadian trucks are busier because there guys either can't or won't cross the border) but the insurance thing sounds bad. When I made the decision to try expedite I thought I had done all the homework, I couldn't find anything really bad written about Thompson and honestly I dont have anything bad to say about them either other than the fact that their recruiter embelished the numbers a bit, I have talked to other Thompson guys and some claim to make real good money even with a van, so I ask myself is it the economy, is it the company or is it me. I stay available, I deliver on time and pick up on time, I don't holler at the dispatchers if I sit longer than I think I should. I am trying to learn the expediting business and how to stay loaded, where to be and when, Thompson doesn't seem to offer a lot of help in that regard and I feel a bit like I jumped in without a life jacket, I can swim but for how long I wonder. I guess what this ramble really boils down to is do I stay put and hope the economy picks up or do I try a company that is less reliant on the auto industry, whether that be a Canadian or a US company. Any opinions would be appreciated.
