Ways swift can lower turnover rate

Swift hardly makes billions,
fourth-quarter profit of $67.4 million.

 

That on 1.2 billion in revenue is awful

 

Of course it is the business plan.

The plan is to get drivers in the door and driving.
The mega's provide the opportunity for new drivers to break in to the industry. They are the ones that train new drivers, because the others don't. They want experienced drivers of at least a year or two.

Everyone seems to rely on the mega company to get started, then complain about everything and move on to a 'better' company.
Bite the hand that feeds you, is what they do. No gratitude.

I understand the desire to move to something better, to make more money and all that.
But those starter companies are what fuel this industry by giving the newcomer a first time chance and beginning.
Turnover, for them, is a given fact of life.


And don't forget, many of the drivers that leave those starter companies go back to them at some point because the grass is not always greener on the other side.
They find that the working conditions are too intolerable on the other side, even though the mileage pay might be a little more.
The bottom line is not always about how much you are being paid.

 

Making conditions better in the terminals is actually better compensation, to those that use the terminals.
I am not one of them, however.

But making a better working environment for the drivers is not a waste of money.

A lot of this conversation reminds me too much of what goes on in Washington.
The people against Trump will complain about everything he does, even the good stuff. The same happened with Obama haters. And Bush haters...

Tunnel vision.

 

It’s not like a high turnover model can’t work in your favor.

Back when I first started, I put in an online app to swift and literally the next day I was on a plane to Phoenix for their CDL school. 3 weeks after that I was on the road with a trainer and a month after that had my own truck. Swift has their new driver pipeline down to a science and for those of us who don’t want to waste time with BS, it’s a good system. As long as you appreciate it for what it is, don’t expect too much from it, and are prepared to move on when you out-grow it.

 

As I'm sure you know trucking for the most part, particularly van truckload, is a very low margin business after paying all the bills. Not contradicting your statement and no idea what the margins are for other large OTR carriers.

 

That was helpful.

I guess there is nothing new under the sun after all.

 

Absolutely a 6-7% return is a wheel run machine.

 

I started with the Swift Academy back in late August and began solo on November 1. Almost 5 months now. For the most part, Swift has been good to me and earned some loyalty from me. I think many don't make it far simply because they aren't cut out to be a trucker. This is not for everybody and I think many that try it, find that out. As for me, it is suiting me well. I retire completely in 7 years and I'll probably drive for those years. I don't like everything about being an OTR trucker, but I like much of it. I like traipsing around the U.S. and enjoying the beautiful scenery of our country. I like driving, there had always been a 'zen' to driving for me. I also enjoy being alone. It is so much easier for me to stay emotionally centered and grounded. Most folks are not like that I think. I like the adventure of it all. It is always something.
Anyway, unsure if I'll drive for Swift the whole time or not. For now, I'm good where I am at. I'm still pretty green and learning. I definitely understand why many companies want drivers with at least 2 years of experience.
Anyway, my complaints with Swift have to do with being Nannied in their truck. You have to drive the route they choose, unless you get them to allow you to deviate, which I have actually done quite often (hey, I was a map maker for 20 plus years, I figure out the route I prefer, call my DL, make my case and usually, not always, get to go the route I prefer). The truck has the stupid camera in it (not driver facing, those have been disabled and most have tape over the inward facing lense) and their idle crap shutoff when it is either not cold enough or not hot enough, by their judgment, especially annoying since their trucks do not have APUs. I also don't like the governed at 65mph crap. Not that I'm a speed demon, but it can be frustrating in traffic and trying to pass when you are governed.
As for pay, I'm a veteran and get a few more cents a mile because of that and also drive refridgerated which yields a couple more cents a mile. For a beginner, I'm not complaining about my cents per mile rate, especially considering this is about more to me than just the money, although I wouldn't do this for free! Perhaps I'll move to a different company at some point. But, for now, I'm OK where I'm at.