US Express Suprises Drivers

[cheri1122]

I don't think the 'forced team' idea will last very long. Of the drivers who agree to try it (out of necessity, not choice), you know a significant percentage will quit in anger, sooner or later. Often in the middle of a load.
I'd quit before even trying it though, because of the shabby way they announced it, and because it's simply unreasonable to demand that drivers not only work, but live with a stranger - no, thanks!
I wonder if a driver who was injured by a codriver he/she didn't want would have a legal case against USX?

 

[Suds43]

I see your point Cheri, BUT, if a driver just ups and quits in the middle of a load, you know the company will put 'vehicle abandonment' on their DAC.........THEN try to find another driving job.
Besides, these companies don't give a hoot if a driver quits. Too many waiting to take their place. As for the driver just quitting, the job market is tough out there, can't just up and quit with nothing for a back-up, and these companies know that!
I wonder how the people that make these decisions sleep at night???

 

[miker]

Too many waiting to take their place.

another thread said that they had 300 completed students that have graduated and awaiting training

 

[Moot]

I'm pretty sure our comanies can create some sort of relay system that will allow "solo" drivers to remain profitable.

I always thought that Con-Way's expedite division had a huge advantage over other carriers when it came to solo drivers. Especially since the hours of service changes. Even as a solo van driver I would often swap freight at their nationwide LTL terminals.

Hey Suds what's with the "retired old Moots" line?

 

[Suds43]

Read it again Moots! It says COOTS, COOTS!!

someone ahead of me in the thread mentioned something about 'retired old coots'......I was waiting for one of them 'you know who's to go ballistic!! LOL

 

[Moot]

HOOTS??? Speak up sonny.

 

[Suds43]

Hey "MOOT".......there I got it right this time!! lol

ya'll need to move a little further south where it's warm!! Get some of that frostbite out of them thar ears!!

 

[fish62]

I trained at U.S.xpress,correct spelling by the way,last summer.....with a 300 lb.-6'5" trainer,nicest guy in the world! He even took me home to meet his family and all of us went out to dinner on his dime.Any ways I'm glad he was hygenic and made time for me stop for showers. Even as big as he i s it was'nt that bad room wise in a nise roomy Volvo tractor. The bad part is U.S. is phasing those out and buying smaller tractors for their "willing teams" even before they implemented the forced team status!

 

[scottanhelen]

This paradigm shift towards teams is not going to wash! That is unless companies can find older retired couples who are willing to team with one another (or husband and wife teams where the wife does not actually drive and is just there as a premanent fixture). Then the companies can deal with all the old retired coots who do not want to drive at night and like to take weeks off in between runs. But as far as the "real drivers" they are going to have to find a better way to keep us busy under the new hours of service. If not, I can see a large number of drivers banding together to create their own companies to shove a thorn up the sphincters of the bigger carriers.

I am not so sure that the shift toward team only can not work. My wife and I work for a larger fleet owner and they only take teams. I do feel the the comments about, husband and wife teams whare the wife is just a premanet fixture and the old retired coots is alittle narrow minded and steriotipical. My wife and codriver is hardly a permanent fixture, does just as much as I do in the truck. I hardly think she is the exception in this line of work. As far as the old coots, before my wife and I drove I worked in a wharehouse and we had a team that came in every day they had a milk run for Toyota. They pulled a soft side trailer and they unbuckled it and pulled the tarp back every day. They were a old couple they looked like they were eather retired or should be. Every day they backed that 18 wheeler up a ramp as long as the truck and into the building with no problem. (something I saw several younger drivers have alot of trouble with) Oh I forgot to mention the lady (AKA the fixtrue) was usualy backing up the truck.

I just do not think we should count the "old coots" or the ladys out they just might suprise us.

 

[nedeki]

I curious to see how some of these 'teams' are going to react when they get alot of 'solo driver' load offers. They'll all be screaming at dispatch on how their a team and need 'team miles'!!
oh well, just my 2 cents worth
-----------------------------------

my 'ole co-driver and I used to call those load offers "dink & dunk"... dinky pay for a load that can be quickly slam dunked by one driver.

at 10am a load offer for 300 miles at 1.00/mi. would come in and we'd roll our eyes. 'Dink & Dunk' would come out of our mouths at the same time and then type "not a team load" on the c-link

 

[Suds43]

from nedeki.............my 'ole co-driver and I used to call those load offers "dink & dunk"... dinky pay for a load that can be quickly slam dunked by one driver.
at 10am a load offer for 300 miles at 1.00/mi. would come in and we'd roll our eyes. 'Dink & Dunk' would come out of our mouths at the same time and then type "not a team load" on the c-link

My point exactly!
When I went thru orientation we met and became friends with another couple. We'd usually call each other everyday just to see how each other was doing. I was running solo, my wife as a rider, and they ran team. They quickly starting refusing loads because they were not 'team miles'. They'd constantly call dispatch after every load refusal complaining that they were a 'team, give them 'team' miles.
They ended up sitting more than I did. I'd do the usual 300-400 mile runs during the week, then occasionally get a 900-1000+ mile run, pick up on Fri. deliver on Mon. for the week-end. Did we sit on week-ends?? Occasionally. But more times than not I'd get more miles for the week than they did simply because they were always waiting for that 'team run'. A solo driver can make a living from all those "dink & dunks"..

 

[dodgeboy]

I just do not think we should count the "old coots" or the ladys out they just might suprise us.

Sorry, I was referring to Sprinter teams (and a handful of straight truck teams) where the wife is only riding along in the truck so that the male driver can have team status on the truck. I have met quite a few trucks like this out on the road where they wife rides along in the truck and the husband does all of the driving. Even if the load if 1500 miles straight through, the husband does all of the driving.

 

[dodgeboy]

A solo driver can make a living from all those "dink & dunks"..

What company do you drive for suds? There is an exception to every rule in the expediting business. Like my friend at panther. He just pulls into chicago and refuses load after load until he gets one going to North Carolina and then sits in North Carolina untul he gets one back up to Chicago. He runs two loads a week like this and makes like 1500 bucks with very minimal deadhead. Sometimes he will go from Chicago to North Carolina to Dallas back to Chicago in a 7 day loop. You just gotta figure out how to work the system and what truly works for you.

 

[ericmoss37]

US Express is now promissing cheaper expedited rates with team drivers. They are pretty much taking away our freight and trying to reduce truck load hours by a day or two. With teams they can enter our segment of the business.

 

[TeamCaffee]

USX does not have the on time pickup and delivery that Expediting has and they are also famous for using drop yards. They also do not have the extra touches we provide such as lift gate, inside pickup and delivery, pallet jack, blanket wrap, nor do they have reefers. Most of our customers are in a whole different world then we saw when with USX and our customer are not going to put up with some of the drivers USX employs.

Never once did we pickup an envelope with USX or a 15 pound box even though the pay for these items is much more than most over the road guys get. We just do not service the same type of customers.

 

[davekc]

I would agree with Linder on this. Kind of like several whether CRST expedite or Schneider etc. Most have a much different customer base than the typical expedite company.

 

[gotta go]

Here's another example of the changes in trucking as we've known it.

"Last week, national news sources reported the driving schools at Wisconsin-based Schneider National are taking a permanent vacation.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the company is shutting the doors on the Schneider Training Academy and will now fill its driver positions exclusively with veteran drivers. That’s something the company has not done since the mid-1980s"

 

[gotta go]

Here's another example of the changes in trucking as we've known it.

"Last week, national news sources reported the driving schools at Wisconsin-based Schneider National are taking a permanent vacation.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the company is shutting the doors on the Schneider Training Academy and will now fill its driver positions exclusively with veteran drivers. That’s something the company has not done since the mid-1980s"

http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_news/Daily/2009/Jan09/010509/010809-05.htm

Clarification: Schneider academies will train experienced drivers only

Wisconsin-based Schneider National has issued a statement pointing out that the company has moved to a “100 percent experienced driver hiring model, resulting in the elimination of its inexperienced driver training program.” Schneider will continue to offer training to experienced drivers.

The company also stated that “As a result of this business change, some training associates – who are drivers themselves – will no longer work in a training role and will move back to driver roles within the company or may ultimately choose to pursue other positions within the broader Schneider organization. There are no layoffs, nor are any training academies closing due to this change.”

 

[Moot]

http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_news/Daily/2009/Jan09/010509/010809-05.htm

Wisconsin-based Schneider National has issued a statement pointing out that the company has moved to a “100 percent experienced driver hiring model, resulting in the elimination of its inexperienced driver training program.”

Well raise my rent and take off all your clothes. Does this mean we have reached the end of a 30 year driver shortage?

 

[BillChaffey]

I'm not sure as I understand why an "experienced" driver would need to go to school, unless they are going to compete with Allied, Mayflower, etc and learn how to pack a moving Van.