Swift A Goner

Its true we are reducing the fleet, but not by laying off anyone. Just through attrition. Every few months we get rid of a large bunch of older model trucks, and replace very few of them. We are currently running at about 15,800 trucks. (Whomever posted the safestat truck count, that is unfortunately one of the downsides to safestat, its only updates the truck count every few years)

To give you a better perspective of how large the trucking industry is: There are about 3,000,000 Commercial trucks on the road. Swift has 15,800. That equates to .005% of the overall trucks. Even if you combine every big trucking company you can think of off the top of your head, you would be lucky to approach 5% of the overall. Monopolies need a higher percentage or potential percentage of market share.

As for the intermodal. Customers that don't need to receive product fast request to ship it on the rail. The cost is cheaper for them. So there are lots of companies willing to offer intermodal service because of it. They dont make allot per load as a company, but its pretty consistent with very few variables for revenue.

Wes

 

Wow,..how did you arrive at the opinion that I have all the facts? Or that I can obtain "supporting documents" from a trucking company? Zero benefits? Who would work for anyone without any benefits,.surely you are not talking about the period of time it takes everyone to become eligible for coverage.

Anyway, let see if I can explain the way experience beats inexperienced everytime. The reason that companies will pay someone over .40 a mile is simple, they are more valuable to the company than a greenhorn.

Experienced drivers will have so low a percentage of chargeable accidents the company will show more revenue on the loads the experienced driver pulls as compared to the inexperienced.

Experienced drivers will run more miles in a 30 day period than inexperienced drivers, thus generating more revenue than their inexperienced counterparts.

Experienced drivers will treat equipment safer and maintain equipment more diligently than inexperienced drivers, thus saving the company more money by providing skilled assessment of potentially hazardous conditions that may arise out of flawed or uninspected trailers and tractors.

Experienced drivers will run safer and more efficient routes than inexperienced drivers saving the company money in both fuel and the potential for off route violations and tickets.

Experienced drivers will take better care of the companies customers thru on time deliveries and the arrival of cargo undamaged, thus saving the customer money.

Experienced drivers are like money in the bank to trucking companies, otherwise they would not have a pay scales to reflect that value. I make .41 a mile and have averaged over 12K a month the last quarter and this is in some pretty stiff times as far as freight is concerned. I know I am more valuable than a kid with 3 months exp, but after 18 years of driving he cannot be expected to be. The whole concept is simple,..I make sure they know through my work ethic how valuable I really am,.beyond the rate at which they pay me.

I trust this has answered some of your questions. I am by no means an expert, but I have been around the block a few times.

 

Was it no benefits for the first year? Usually you get benefits within so many months. I am not familiar with that company, but usually a decent company gives you medical,dental, vision, life insurance, 401k with some kind of match (those are basic benefits). 11 cpm as a team is pretty low, we are at 16.5 cpm for new drivers.

But to answer your question on how exp drivers make more money then new drivers:

Less accidents

Less mechanical problems with their truck (especially transmissions)

Less out of route miles

Consistently more productive

Can find a destination on their own using old school skills (fire department, phone book maps, taxi cab/pizza companies etc..)

Can fix minor mechanical problems on their own (which increases productivity)

Less citations (especially going into CA)

Its an amazing difference between a new driver and exp. driver. That .26 per mile that your company was paying doesnt come close to offsetting all those variables. Of course you may be different, I have heard that before from 16 year olds with drivers licenses, but the underlying fact is the majority of new drivers will cause damage to something, have less miles because they have not developed road wisdom or stamina. The differnce between .26 and .40 cpm, at 120,000 miles is $16,800. A good exp driver can save/generate more then that in revenue.

Wes

 

If only SwiftQuit thought this way. They may be a great company. Instead they're more or less a 'training company' and must rely on drivers with as few as 6 months' experience to train. It's obvious the label 'experienced driver' doesn't mean that much at the Quit. Something doesn't add up here with your post, Shadow.

Thank you. Finally. It took someone who actually KNOWS what's going on to come here and clear the air.

 

Well dont let Math get in your way,..tell us what doesnt add up? What do you mean by Shadow? Dont be shy, Inquiring minds want to know.

 

Kudos to both Danc694u and IH Scout. You both have given excellent points in your posts from differing perspectives and truth be told your both correct.

For IH Scout the cost of recruiting is around $5,000.00 per new driver. This includes the advertisements, transportation, orientation costs, motel costs, feeding the new recruits, as well as DOT physicals and drug screens. The truth is there are highly paid company drivers at each company which help keep their customer base happy by providing reliable service. Companies do indeed try to retain these veterans through higher pay, better load assignments, and even dedicated runs.

Now for Danc694u post he is accurate as well. The large companies have developed training programs to take advantage of government programs that give tax breaks to hiring people from below the poverty line. This is a wonderful source of additional money for the company as well as a fresh supply of recruits coming through the doors to offset the outflow from veteran drivers finding better jobs, retiring, or from drivers that have been fired due to accidents.

 

Here's a better one just for you, IH:

Company like SwiftQuit knowingly allows itself to be bled with high turnover costs, a completely avoidable expense. How goes the law go that applies to publically-held companies? I remember: "Thou shalt maximize returns for the stockholders." Hey, bud...Swifty is a publically-traded company, yet allows itself to be bled with these high-cost turnover expenses. Maybe I'll go buy some Swift stock so I can start asking wtf is up and why the company doesn't stop the bleeding.

So what is the rest of your fairy-tale story? Does it involve government hand-outs? You bet it does.

 

Once again you show your lack of knowledge about a company that all you want to do is tear down. Swift is no longer publicly traded. Check the "Investor Relations" tab on their website, it no longer brings anything up. Check the AMEX, NYSE, and NASDAQ and you will not find them listed anywhere. Jerry Moyes repurchased the company last year and it is now privately held; no investors to worry about.

 

I realize the rest of the trucking world was aware,..but Swift is a private company, not public. "Knowingly allows itself to be bled?" Were you kidding when you typed that Tip??? High turnover is a known factor in the transportation industry as a whole and is not indicative of any one company, all carriers suffer from it. By being the largest TL carrier in the country, Swifts numbers sometimes look skewed on the whole, but put in perspective they are not any worse than a carrier 1/5th its size. I am still waiting on you to reply to my last post,..what doesnt add up? Who or what did you mean by "Shadow". Are you high on something when you do some posting on here? Some of your statements look kinda awkward.

Fairy tale Story??,..what are you talking about,..slow down a bit, dial down the Swift-hate for a minute so folks can understand what you are driving at, you are incoherent with some of your statements/questions.

 

I have to admit. I did not know SwiftQuit had returned to "private" status. So now they're like Crete. Let me go check ripoff and see how many entries both Swifty and Crete have these days. The number of reports should be about the same if one accounts for the difference in size, at least if you SwiftQuit cheerleaders' irrefutable logic is any guide. Let me account for that difference, mind you, and I'll get back to this thread.