Which company should i choose??

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by scorpiorias, Dec 29, 2009.

  1. notarps4me

    notarps4me Road Train Member

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    Last edited: Dec 30, 2009
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  3. RickG

    RickG Road Train Member

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    Oh believe me . We are convinced you won't be in the industry long . Since you have a bachelors in economics please explain why in a recession proof industry a company like Werner reduced its fleet by 10% , moved 11% less freight in October 2009 than 2008 and is constantly hiring people . I looked at Werner's data on Safestat just a few minutes ago . They had 12651 drivers in 2007 and the first half of 2008 . In the second half of 2008 that dropped to 11215 and is now 10663 . Why do they have 2,000 less drivers than they had a year an a half ago ?
    If the trucking industry is recession proof how do you explain these job losses ?
    http://www.etrucker.com/apps/news/article.asp?id=83698
    We are glad you are here because we are all too ignorant to figure out why these carriers keep hiring from these CDL mills . Perhaps you can enlighten us .
     
  4. jtrnr1951

    jtrnr1951 Road Train Member

    Geeze, help me, I'm agreeing with Rick !!!!!!!!!!!

    The numbers do NOT lie on this one...........
     
  5. scorpiorias

    scorpiorias Light Load Member

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    :biggrin_2557:

    Well; your input on the decision I am trying to make will be greatly appreciated, PRIME or FFE?
     
  6. notarps4me

    notarps4me Road Train Member

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    To me prime is jacked up. I leased there and it was the biggest trucking mistake I ever made. There are a couple posters there that went in as newbies. They seem to be ok, but I don't know of any veteran drivers that have went there and liked it. Once you have something to compare prime with you will find they are jacked up.

    FFE I have talked to a few of their drivers, not to good there either. Talk to lonewolf as soon as he cools down. Right now you are liable to get cussed at for mentioning FFE.
     
  7. lonewolf4ad

    lonewolf4ad Road Train Member

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    I think you had better do some long hard thinking on this call. I'm out here a year tomorrow and let me tell you there are days where the sun shines, the birds sing, and then the company bends you over and reams you. I give as much information as I can on another thread about FFE. I do so from as objective and honest a view as can be given (or at least I believe I do a fairly good job of it). I will stand by any company which does me right, but with the bottom feeders such as FFE or PRIME you are asking for your turn to be used abused and thrown away.

    That being said I have learned alot on the road this past year, and while the money isn't what you think it will be (expect to average about 2500 miles a week if you're LUCKY) I would possibly do it again. I had the same attitude as you that if I kept my head down, my nose to the grindstone and did what was asked and more I would be ok. The honest truth is that those in the office no longer care how hard you work, or what favors you do them for the most part.

    Trust those out here with more experience, they may sometimes seem like old codgers who have a problem with us younger guys, but we often bring those problems on our own heads. Not listening to the advice they give freely from their own hard earned experience, or thinking we know better and they are just out of touch reality.
     
  8. notarps4me

    notarps4me Road Train Member

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    Review my posts. You will see a lot of positive things I had to say about trucking. I used to enjoy it when I made good money and got home on weekends. Then the pay dropped and I was out at a month at a time making a lot less than I used to. Times are changing. Trucking is real iffy right now. Look at arrow. 1400 trucks and they closed the doors. No warning to drivers. Fuel cards cut off. No way to get home. You think any of them are going to speak positive enough for you?
     
    Last edited: Dec 30, 2009
    otherhalftw and LavenderTrucker Thank this.
  9. notarps4me

    notarps4me Road Train Member

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    Well put lonewolf. Touch of class I might add....:biggrin_25520:
     
    otherhalftw Thanks this.
  10. RickG

    RickG Road Train Member

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  11. scorpiorias

    scorpiorias Light Load Member

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    Businesses go under for various reasons whether the economy is in good or otherwise condition. Bad management, and efficiency issues are in the frontline here. Talk about Enron, or the companies that cut budget or even got it worse as a result of the .com bubble burst. On the brighter side, talk about Exxon, and how much profit they made in a bad economic period (remember, the transportation industry played a huge roll here).

    It is not a secret that government spending naturally drops in the midst of economic turmoil. With that said, no sector is absolutely protected from economic downturn of the magnitude we experience today.

    With government spending at all time low, the money multiplier is affected adversely and consumption is as well. But regardless of how bad the economy of a modern era gets, it is still faced with what I call the necessities of life, ie protecting life and property from external/ internal forces (defense department budget on Iraq, Afghanistan, counter terrorism and more) so there is still employment in those sectors.

    Now tell me what you know about Giffen goods, necessity goods like food, fuel, clothing, health products, the substitution effect; and how people manage in bad economic times (a water down of consumption, simple supply and demand in bad economic times)....hold me by my words I will surely educate you on recession with respect to the TRANSPORTATION industry.

    One thing I should say is that while some sectors fair better than others in recession, no sector is absolutely recession proof.
     
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