teaming with celadon

Celadon bought the company I used to work for last September. We are an experienced expedited team. We get weeks of 5000-6000. When the truck doesn't break down. . If you ask to run the Expedited board and you have a reliable truck, and you demonstrate too them that you can really roll hard and keep the doors closed, maybe you'll do okay. But, just so you know, almost all of the approximately 68 teams that came over, almost all of them have gone elsewhere. I intend to do the same. I'm just going through the drawn out process of getting onto a private fleet.Yes there's quite a bit of Socal to NJ,

 

Why do you plan to leave? Do you know why the others left?

 

Many teams were very unhappy with Celadons' routing and forced fuel plans .They call a routing 'suggested' but the fuel stop locations are mandatory, which effectively creates a forced routing. These routes are specially designed to avoid toll roads and use specific fuel stops for their discount; the routes are NOT meant for Time Sensitive freight like FedEx U.P.S OR R+L. And they often add alot of unpaid miles.I will give you some more specific information when I can get out my laptop.

 

This is to expand on post #4.. Here's an example of how Celadons fuel plans would effect you.. Let's say you get a load from the L.A. area to Keasbey, NJ. (map these out, and you'll get the idea.).
The conventional route for Time Sensitive load would be ..I-10E To I-15N To Barstow, Ca., then I-40E to OKC, Ok. Then the Ok Tpk/I-44 to St Louis, Mo. Then the I-70E to the I-70/I-76/Pa Tpk from New Stanton, Pa to Carlisle Pa., then I-81N to I-78E to I-287/NJ440.
Celadon mandatory fuel locations for this load?
Barstow, Ca.
Cedar City, UT
Aurora, Co., Ft Morgan Co., or Sterling, Co.
somewhere in IA.
then Valparaiso, In.
Or Seville,Oh.
Or Drums, Pa.
The actual "Suggested Routing" from L.A. is as follows.
I-10E. to I-15N. to I-70E, across Utah and Across the Vail Pass in The Rockies, to I-76 E to I-80E. To I-65S. then to the US-30E To I-71N To I-76E to I-80E To the Pa-33S to I-78E to I-287/NJ440.
So, this "Time-Sensitive load" uses a routing that will take many hours longer to complete, and you get No additional miles beyond the standard HHMG "Short miles. And your load WILL be late, and they will say' Why are you so far behind?"
They don't want to hear about the extra time it takes to go through a few hundred miles of The Rocky Mountains, or why the 68 traffic lights on the US-30 between the IN I-65 and the OH I-71 (and the dozens of speed limits changes from 65 mph all the way to 35mph ) might somehow cause a longer transit time..
I left Celadon in 2009, I would NEVER have returned to work for them, had they not bought my employer out. As I said earlier, I'm working on moving to a private fleet position where a Required responsibility of the Driver is to do all his/her own trip planning, using the safest, most efficient routing, planning their own fuel stops, and deciding, without needing authorization from "upper management" when the use of a toll road is needed to meet delivery times. They actually make sure the driver can work independently of any supervision, and regard that as a strength. At Celadon, you really are only a number attached to a power unit. They don't want drivers capable of making responsible independent decisions, they want only those who will do exactly what there told. That's not me. So, I'm moving on..as soon as the long, drawn out hiring process at the new company is completed.

 

Thank you, Fishnman. I can see how that would be more than irritating to someone that has experience and actually knows what they are doing out there. Good luck at the new company it sounds like Celadon is losing a good driver.

 

You dont plan yojr own routes? Which companies will let me think for myself?

 

We Are On The Same Bonus Plan As At our former employer. Basically, stay bout at least 24 days each month, split .04 c.p.m but my ccalculations never agree with Celadons numbers, and they run us around when trying to get a straight answer. I can't tell you about any of the other bonuses they have, as we don't get those. QUOTE=Debraw66;3983393]SNI does the same thing. Does Celadon make you jump threw hoops to get your bonuses ?[/QUOTE]

 

That's a great question, I just can't give you an answer. It took me a Lot of searching to find something that meets my needs. Get some experience doing O.T.R. develop a solid safety record. And while you're doing that, spend some of your down time talking to other drivers and searching the NET.