what's going on with fedex freight?

Yeah you guys run a solid 65. Your trucks can pull too. I ran a meet last year that you guys did too so I got to check out all the new equipment fxf runs and it really is top notch for an LTL outfit.

 

I have to say that you said a mouth full...I have never done ltl freight but I have pals that do I here alot of stories,,I run a regional tanker doing multi stop loads ..fairly similar to your business...run a very tight time schedule regardless of weather, traffic etc. guys think we are overpaid have no clue what either of us do...I have seen many guys come and go cause they couldnt play the game....

 

Ran with one of their guys for a bit Sat.. He's out of the Knoxville term. Said it is really slow for them there.
He's been putting in a lot of dock time to make ends meet..
Took the Sat. run what he called a meet and switch. He was meeting a trk. from Mo. in Ky. then going back to Knoxville.
Says he normally runs nights, but takes any run he can get now.

 

Well in my area they blow my doors off. I think they can do 70. I can run 63mph they are going alot faster then 2 mph when they pass me. Now ground I used to run 78mph thru Kansas and wy. That was nice.

 

Back in the day when I had a truck that would run I would use a bird dog when needed. I could differentiate between a FedEx company driver and contractor because a company FedEx truck would set the bird dog off every time. Someone told me it was the black boxes they have on board? They have something unique on board that puts out a signal.

 

we just got new linehaul tractors last year. volvo 16 speed automatics they have a 6 button contouring driver seat I think it is Those have hill assist.(no roll back when switching from brake to gas on a hill) older autos you had to hold the brake while you hit the gas to avoid this pause or PITA, vorad,crossing lane warnings, etc. if you have the cruise on and you get following too close to somebody it'll turn it off and even apply a certain % of brake pressure by itself. not good if a 4wheeler cuts you off and its icy. It also does this when it senses roll over.


all fedex freight trucks are governed at 65mph. ups freight where I used to work can go 68mph. Nicer for passing 62mph trucks like Crete,USA truck, etc.

 

I never passed a Crete truck. The majority of trucks I pass are Prime. Reddaway governs their trucks at around 63 or 64. As for autos, I absolutely hate them. I drove a few for about 100k miles when I was in the military, and I would never drive one again. As for FedEx, I am glad they are picking up again. Maybe the economy will pick up with it.

 

This is exactly the biggest problem I have about signing on with an LTL. From what I understand reading many LTL 'requirements of drivers': One needs to be on the LTLs 'beck and call' and just get 10-25 hours per week is another form of 'indentured servitude'. You don't dare pick up a part-time job because if you are called and then do not answer the bell, bye-ah-bye.

I am also not to thrilled about spending more than a few hours per day driving forklift instead of 18-wheeler (Conway). Being that I am on the 15 or 16th fairway of life, I believe I do not have time to get on with an LTL to 'put my time in' and then get a cherished 'there-and-back daily' linehaul.

 

I worked for Prime for a little while and a local job surfaced, so I left them.
(A little off topic - I thought they were an excellent company - not perfect but I would rate them near the top for new driver at huge carrier driver jobs, as best as I can tell anyway)

Prime wants all to run at 55 MPH, regardless of speed limit. The reason - 55 MPH = 8 (eight) plus MPG at 80,000 lb gross.
Their logic: 8.0 MPG vs 6.5 MPG for a 500 mile day -- 500 / 8 = 62.5 gallons. 500/6.5 = 77 gallons. 77-62.5 = 14.5 gallons X $4.00 per gallon = $58 per 500 mile fuel savings. 100,000 mile fuel savings = $11,600 per year savings X 4,000 power units = $46,400,000 fuel savings per year. Nice piece o' change. I'm not here to tell if this is right or wrong or how the variables vs. fixed cost factors pan out. Just to report that's what they're up to.
It's not about the drivers enjoying to block traffic or even very low power engines -- their road speed is 100% financial / bottom line.
If the company drivers can achieve 7.5 MPG per trip, I believe they get $0.05 per mile for their troubles as a fuel bonus. I wasn't there long enough to fully grasp the slding scale bonus pay amounts. The higher the MPG, the higher the per mile bonus, up to $0.0X per mile and so forth.

Some are getting 9 consistently, but I would have to think that must mean 45 or 50 MPH and fuel friendly terrain. Not sure

I kid you not.

I wouldn't have believed those numbers until i saw it for me own eyes.

Best case - when you see that Prime logo up ahead, get over as early as you can so you don't get boxed in, not that you needed me to tell you that.

It's not the drivers or the HP to weight issue - the low speeds are a required practice in order to get the per mile fuel pay, which is a significant pay bump each week. (Sidenote - I asked my trainer what the HP in his truck was - He replied: "1500". I let it go at that. Didn't want to sass my superior. ;-/)

The Prime company equipment I was familiar with - 57 MPH on the pedal & 62 on the cruise control. Everything you do is sent through the Qualcom.

I worked four weeks at Christmas for UPS Package division hauling doubles at night. I lucked into the #2 day driver's late model Mack. It would do 68, not that I was too interested in 68 while being paid hourly.

UPS Brown up ahead doing 55? I call that (with no hate intended) the Teamster Two Step. $27 or $40 an hour after 8 hours - what's the hurry?

UPS Brown's labor contract comes up soon. I would think the forty something cents plus per mile labor costs of the Freight division vs. $27 plus per hour labor costs of the Package division will become "interesting" contract negotiation discussion, to say the least. The package drivers I talked to are dead set upon no package loads to go upon Freight division equipment, no how, no way.

You didn't think UPS corporate got into the for-hire TL freight business because it's just so much darned fun, did you?

 

Wonder if that $0.05 fuel bonus is enough to offset the lost mileage you get for running 10 mph slower. Theoretically you lose up to 100 miles after 11 hours behind the wheel (if traffic conditions were right). I can see their logic though. Makes sense. Honestly, I would forfeit their fuel bonus and just hammer down to my next point as fast as the truck lets me without going over the speed limit. Just my view. Thx for sharing that though