Real truckers say no to rail

KEEP THIS IN MIND GUYS: Everyone wants to make money. Part of HAVING money is keeping what you earn, as well as keeping your wheels moving and earning more. We are ALL consumers here, and while trucking companies get the product there faster, IML service keeps the cost of that product down when it hits the shelf at the store. Freight costs are figured into EVERYTHING you buy that is not made onsite at the store where you bought it. The more it costs to transport - the more the overall costs to produce it go up. There's plenty of freight out there to be had by everyone.

Just keep reminding the public: Nothing gets anywhere until its first on the back of a TRUCK.

 

I've hauled intermodal for almost 12 yrs, it has it's good and bad. I could spend all day posting about it.

 

Having been hauling intermodal for 12 yrs, have to disagree with you. We regularly do runs from Denver to Billings, MT.(500 miles one way), Shelley ID (600+ miles one way), Alb. NM (470 miles one way) with intermodal cans to either pickup or deliver. That's the way it will always be.

Loading and Unloading??? In 12 yrs, I can honestly say I've fingerprinted on avg. 1 load per year against my will, we have one customer who the drivers would always help unload (mom/pop place that only had 4 employees) and they would give us $20 to $50 cash + lunch for helping. In fact I would say with intermodal, you'll more than likely be doing drop & hook all day. In a typical 12 hr local day for me, I do 10 moves, 8 of those are drops or pick up dropped trailers.

When did you come up with this fantasy? The railroads don't give a #### about damage to the containers, if anything, unless it's major, the damages billed to the trucking companies are pure profit. I record all visible damage on all containers, I also keep a notebook of every domestic can I haul with the number and the damage. I've hauled some EMHU cans 6 or 7 times and the same damage is still there from 8 yrs ago, it's never been fixed, I know it's been reported probably a dozen times at a dozen different ramps, but it's never been fixed. Last year we were billed $900 for repairs to a container by UPRR, I recently hauled that same container and the damage is still present. Also, unless it's an OOS violation, the railroads don't fix things. Colorado has been super tight on mud flap enforcement for the last 9 yrs. It wasn't until 2007 that the UPRR began replacing missing mudflaps on request, since it's not an OOS issue, they don't want to spend the money.

Where do you get off thinking that only teamsters haul these containers? There are no union drayage drivers in my area, except UPS/YRC who only haul their own trailers from the ramps. The teamsters have tried to organize us a couple of times only to be laughed out on their ears.

Secondly, it's not much cheaper to haul by intermodal. The UPRR gives a cheaper rate, but they charge a larger FSC, and since they don't have much competition (actually all the rails do this) they can charge what they want for a FSC. During '08, when the trucking companies were getting 50% FSC's, the UPRR was getting 75% FSC's, even now they are still getting 35 and 40% FSC's. So you don't want to pick up from a railyard, don't, know one is forcing you to, but understand it's here to stay. But then again, perhaps you would prefer to sit at a loading dock in California for 18hrs waiting for a load to be transloaded from multiple 40' sea cans to a dock, then have the load repackaged, rebuilt and put on your truck.

Another thing on this, the company I work for used to have 8 O/O leased to us (becuase it's so slow, we only 2 now). These guys were true independents, they have to carry all their own insurance, authority, etc., but they are also compensated well for it. Whereas the other 4 drayage companies in our area only pay their O/O's 75% (they also don't have to carry their own insurance or authority) ours were getting 95% of what the company charges the broker. When we were really busy the last few years, our hardest working O/O was pulling down $5,000 to $6,000 to the truck, for a 5 day 60 hr work week and never drove more than 1,000 miles for the entire week. If they knew what they were doing, they were making #### good money.

BS, if the railroad is damaging your frieght, that's not your fault. We get damaged loads constantly from stuff coming off the train, we also get damage claims filed against us a couple of times per month, last time I checked, our insurance paid fewer than 10% of the claims, the rest are passed off to the railroad to pay.

 

Things are always changing. You can either adapt to the changes or become obsolete.

 

You missed my point...but proved me right.

Length of haul: I was referring to the fact the trains are hauling the long loads (1,500+ miles)...and neither you nor I are getting those miles. And while you may not want those miles....some of us do (including me)

Loading and unloading: I was referring to the rest of us guys that don't haul intermodal and the fact that we have to load and unload evrey single day...sometimes twice in one day. For that to make sense...you must remember...I pull a flat bed.

 

Thats true...and I have adapted (but that don't mean I gotta like it)

 

The stuff I listed are the norms, since we are not the cheapest, we miss some of the longer stuff, but a couple of competitors regularly run cans to P. of Houston, Long Beach, Seattle, and a few Philly. It's hit and miss, as in the past, the railroads will get too big for their britches and people will balk and ship by truck to teach the railroad a lesson. Keep in mind, right now they are able to keep things cheap for intermodal because of coal, which is where they make their money. If the Dem's and enviro's have their way and get us off coal, then the railroads will have to make that money someplace, and it will come from intermodal, which will drive up the cost and put stuff back on trucks. Something else, whereas in trucking we have to compete on cpm and fsc, the rails don't. At one point the UPRR was charging $750 to run a can from Long Beach to Denver with a 50% FSC, you either paid the UPRR, paid a truck double that, or let the load rot.