Big company training and big scams associated with them !!!

utahhomesick · Oct 26, 2009

Big Don said: ↑

Some how, the picture of cactusjack with his panties in a twist is NOT pretty!

OK, to get back on track here, (never let it be said that I would be one to derail a thread)

I had heard that SWIFT actually owned another trucking company out of SLC. I can't remember now which one it was, but I'm thinking either Central Ref or PRIDE.

Also there is, (or at least there used to be) an outfit out of Tucson that was supposedly a "stand alone" company, but all they did was contract hauling for SWIFT. The interesting thing about this, is that the few drivers that I talked to for this company seemed to be both intelligent and happy with the company.

This is sort of confusing, seeing as how unhappy most of the SWIFT drivers are that I have known. How can a contractor for a company be better to work for than the company itself???

Also, when I worked for KNIGHT, they would not even talk to someone with less than two years verifiable OTR experience. I have heard that has changed, but as rough as they were to work for as an experienced driver, I would really hate to see a rookie have to deal with them.

Also I believe they own, or used to own Roads West, out of Phoenix.[/quoteen

Central Refrigerated belongs to the same family as Swift does. However you will hear arguments galore if you say that Swift owns Central Ref. or is a sister company; because it's a member of the family (daughter, son-in-law or something) who owns Central and not the Owner of Swift that owns Central. Does that make sense? I just know that sometimes we do drops or repowers at the Swift Yard back East and spend our 10 hours there sometimes. When you do the drop or pickup you are given the gate codes to enter if it's after dark. So, I don't know; it's a cliffhanger.
Click to expand...

utahhomesick · Oct 26, 2009

Big Don,

I can't reply to your message in private because I don't have the minimum number of posts. Yes, I do work for Central; I just haven't changed the profile because I don't usually post and I've been on the road with limited access at truck stops. I wasn't a driver when I joined this forum but I was a s/o of a Central company driver. I then took classes at his urging and now I am a driver for a few months now.

cactusjack · Oct 26, 2009

utahhomesick said: ↑

Big Don said: ↑

Some how, the picture of cactusjack with his panties in a twist is NOT pretty!

OK, to get back on track here, (never let it be said that I would be one to derail a thread)

I had heard that SWIFT actually owned another trucking company out of SLC. I can't remember now which one it was, but I'm thinking either Central Ref or PRIDE.

Also there is, (or at least there used to be) an outfit out of Tucson that was supposedly a "stand alone" company, but all they did was contract hauling for SWIFT. The interesting thing about this, is that the few drivers that I talked to for this company seemed to be both intelligent and happy with the company.

This is sort of confusing, seeing as how unhappy most of the SWIFT drivers are that I have known. How can a contractor for a company be better to work for than the company itself???

Also, when I worked for KNIGHT, they would not even talk to someone with less than two years verifiable OTR experience. I have heard that has changed, but as rough as they were to work for as an experienced driver, I would really hate to see a rookie have to deal with them.

Also I believe they own, or used to own Roads West, out of Phoenix.[/quoteen

Central Refrigerated belongs to the same family as Swift does. However you will hear arguments galore if you say that Swift owns Central Ref. or is a sister company; because it's a member of the family (daughter, son-in-law or something) who owns Central and not the Owner of Swift that owns Central. Does that make sense? I just know that sometimes we do drops or repowers at the Swift Yard back East and spend our 10 hours there sometimes. When you do the drop or pickup you are given the gate codes to enter if it's after dark. So, I don't know; it's a cliffhanger.
Click to expand...

Swift Transportation Co., Inc. is the second largest trucking company in the United States, and the largest publicly owned one. The firm operates throughout the United States and in Canada and Mexico, where its 2001 merger with M.S. Carriers, Inc. significantly increased its presence. Swift drivers focus on short- and medium-length routes, averaging 509 miles per run. Major clients of the company include Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, and Volvo. Swift is based in Phoenix, Arizona, but owns or leases more than 35 terminals across the United States.
Swift Transportation got its start in 1966, when brothers Jerry and Ronald Moyes and their father Carl moved to Phoenix, Arizona, from Utah and formed a trucking business, initially with just a single truck. In 1969 they purchased Swift Transportation, a firm that had served the trucking needs of the Swift meat packing company. The firm grew slowly during its first two decades, concentrating on business only in the southwestern United States. Beginning in 1980, deregulation of the trucking industry helped smaller regional operators like Swift better compete in the marketplace, and the company began to see new opportunities for growth.
In 1984 Jerry Moyes became Swift's president, chairman, and CEO. After his father's death the following year, he bought out the ownership stakes of his brother and another partner, Randy Knight. Jerry Moyes had been more interested than the others in growing the firm, and his new ownership and CEO status gave him a clear path to seek out other trucking companies to acquire. Swift's annual revenues at this time stood at approximately $33 million.
In 1988 the company made its first move outside the Southwest when it bought Cooper Motor Lines of South Carolina. The following year Swift also expanded its fleet by nearly a third. The company now employed 1,700, and its revenues had grown to an estimated $85 million. Swift was offering service to the contiguous 48 states, expanding from its previous regional focus, though a sizable portion of its business remained in Arizona and California.
In the early summer of 1990 Swift stock debuted on the NASDAQ exchange, with revenue from the 1.65 million shares earmarked for retirement of debt. In the fall of 1991 the company purchased the assets of a bankrupt carrier, Arthur H. Fulton, Inc. of Virginia, for $9 million. Fulton owned several hundred trucks and operated terminals in Richmond, Virginia, and in New York City, all of which were taken over by Swift. Fulton's customer contracts also went to Swift, and these included Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing. They were added to Swift's own growing list, which included Michelin Tire, Target, J.C. Penney, K-Mart, Mervyn's, Scott Paper, Kimberly Clark, and James River.
The Fulton purchase was part of Swift's continuing expansion efforts, which also included new terminals in Fontana, California, and Dallas, Texas. This gave the company a total of 11 around the country, with more in the planning stages. In the fall of 1992 Swift issued 1.5 million more shares of stock, 750,000 of which came from Jerry Moyes.
Swift Transportation's established niche was the short- and medium-haul trucking market. The company's drivers were averaging 659 miles each direction of a run, which gave them the opportunity to be home with family more frequently than longer-haul truckers, who sometimes were away from home for a week or more. One of the industry's constant problems was driver turnover--nearly half of new hires typically quit the business within a year--and it was important to treat them well to retain their services. Swift took particular care in this area, emphasizing safety and the comfort of the company's cabs, which were sleeper models complete with air conditioning, television, and other amenities. Trucks were replaced an average of every 36 months, and wages for drivers could more than double after only a few years with the firm.
Swift preferred to train its own drivers from scratch rather than hire seasoned ones, and the company had founded its own driving school in 1987 for this purpose. One reason for the practice was Swift's insistence on a maximum speed of 57 miles per hour, which was sometimes balked at by outside drivers that came to the company. Swift trucks were in fact fitted with engine governors that prevented driving at faster speeds. Part of the company's motivation for this was fuel savings, and part was safety. While the industry average for accident claims stood at about 6 percent of revenues, Swift reported an average of only 2.9 percent.
The company also concentrated on offering premium service to its clients, with computerized onboard tracking systems enabling it to locate shipments instantly, and extra equipment maintained on standby to handle last-minute jobs for important customers. Swift located its terminals near its most important clients as well, and often assigned administrative employees to a single account to make sure that these customers had their needs met in full.
Swift's growth was rapid during the early 1990s. By 1992 revenues had jumped to a record $233.4 million, with earnings of $9.8 million. In the winter of 1993 another acquisition took place, that of West's Best Freight System, Inc. of Lewiston, Idaho. The stock trade deal was worth $3.8 million, and gave Swift an additional 105 tractor units and 321 trailers. A terminal facility owned by West's Best was acquired separately for $800,000. Swift's planned acquisition of Vernon Milling Co. Inc.'s trucking division, based in South Carolina, was scrapped at the same time because of difficulties in integrating the two firms.
During the summer of 1993 Swift was reincorporated in Nevada from Delaware to take advantage of the desert state's more favorable tax laws. The company maintained a headquarters site in Sparks, Nevada, but continued to be run out of Phoenix. The year 1994 saw Swift add two more trucking firms to its stable. The largest of these was Missouri-Nebraska Express (MNX) of St. Joseph, Missouri. The $41 million deal gave Swift more than 530 additional tractor units and 1,800 trailers. The company also purchased East-West Transportation, Inc. of Decatur, Alabama, for $11 million. East-West owned 157 tractors and 250 trailers, and counted International Paper Co. and Georgia-Pacific Co. as customers. Swift was now attracting attention on Wall Street, and its stock price soared to $44 during the fall of the year. Forbes magazine named the firm one of the 200 best small companies in the United States for the second year running.
In 1995 Swift started construction of a $16 million, 80-acre terminal and headquarters facility in Phoenix. The site would house Swift's administrative offices, facilities for training and truck maintenance, a convenience store and restaurant, and space for drivers to shower and rest. The following year Swift acquired the dry freight division of Colorado-based Navajo Shippers, Inc. for $7.3 million. The deal brought the company Navajo's terminal in Pueblo, Colorado, and 428 trailer vans. Leases on 258 tractors were also taken over. At the same time Swift won a contract from Volvo Cars of North America, Inc. to transport all of its new vehicles on the West Coast to locations in Florida and New Jersey. Swift also was becoming involved in "intermodal" transport, which consisted of partial shipment by rail. The company ran a train between Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, once a week, which shipped specialized containers that could be offloaded and then trucked to their final destination.
Late in 1996 Swift announced a secondary stock offering of a total of 3.5 million shares, one million of which came from Jerry Moyes. This followed additional growth in the share price, which had increased nearly 75 percent in value in a year's time. After the sale Moyes would still own some 30 percent of the company's stock, with another 15 percent held by a family trust. Soon after this another acquisition was announced, that of a portion of the assets of the bankrupt Direct Transit, Inc. of South Dakota. Direct had earlier been in line for acquisition by leading U.S. trucker Schneider National, but the latter had backed out of the deal prior to completion. Also during 1997, Jerry Moyes and his brother Ronald provided financing for the management-led buyout of Central Freight Lines, a deal that did not involve Swift itself.
In the summer of 1997 the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed suit against Swift on behalf of a number of women who it claimed had been discriminated against by the company in its training programs. Cited was Swift's practice of using only female instructors to train women drivers. Since there were few of the former, the number of women who could be trained was restricted, and women interested in working for the company allegedly were forced to endure long waits before they could begin the process. Ironically, the Swift same-sex training program had been created in response to concerns that pairing female trainees with male instructors was leaving the company open to sexual harassment complaints. The suit was settled in 1999, with Swift agreeing to pay $530,000 and change its policy to permit coed training. Another EEOC suit regarding six female driver/managers who had been paid less than their male counterparts was settled some time after this for $450,000 in back pay and damages.
Driving for Swift, while hard work, was lucrative, with first-year drivers earning $30,000 and more experienced ones pulling down $45,000 to as much as $95,000. Owner-operators employed by the company could earn even more, though they were also responsible for the maintenance costs of their trucks. Because of Swift's rapid turnover of tractors, used ones were readily available for drivers who wanted to go this route.
In 1998 new $7 million terminals were announced for Atlanta and Salt Lake City, the latter of which would replace a smaller facility. Planned construction of a new terminal in southeastern Idaho was abandoned, however, with an existing site in Ogden, Utah, expanded instead. Swift continued to increase its use of Amtrak's "Roadrailer" service during this time as well. The year 1998 also saw the company raise its mandated speed limit to 60 mph for single drivers, 62 mph for teams, and 65 for owner/operators.
In March 2000 a joint venture involving six of the top public trucking companies was announced. Transplace.com was an online service that facilitated cooperative purchasing of supplies, coordinated shipping among carriers to combine loads, and performed other logistics services. It was expected to create substantial savings through a reduction in costs resulting from the pooling of resources among the firms.
After a three-year abstention from acquisitions, 2000 saw Swift purchase 49 percent of a Mexican carrier, Trans-Mex, Inc. S.A. de C.V. The company planned to acquire the remainder of the firm by the year 2004, when U.S. laws restricting ownership of Mexican companies were to change. Swift also bought the van division of Cardinal Freight Carriers, Inc. and purchased land in Tacoma, Washington, for a new $8.5 million terminal to be located there.
In late 2000 Swift announced plans to merge with M.S. Carriers, Inc. of Memphis. M.S. was only slightly smaller than Swift, and the combined companies, to be headed by Jerry Moyes, would be the largest publicly traded trucking firm in the United States, trailing only the private Schneider National in size. The $383 million stock swap deal was completed the following summer, making Swift a $2 billion-plus company. Swift issued an additional 1.2 million shares to help finance the acquisition. M.S., formed by Michael Starnes in 1978, brought Swift an additional 3,200 tractors and 14,300 trailers, which when combined with Swift's equipment would yield a total of 15,000 tractors and 45,000 trailers. M.S. concentrated on shipping in the eastern United States, Canada, and Mexico, where it owned half of the largest trucking company, Transportes EASO. The two firms, whose CEOs had known one another for ten years, complemented each other well, and both Moyes and Starnes were supporters of Swift's continuing plans for expansion.
After 35 years in business, Swift Transportation had grown from a single truck into the largest public trucking company in the United States. Its network of regional terminals, its contracts with a string of top companies, and its emphasis on quality and service put it in the driver's seat as a premium provider of truckload service, and its prospects looked good for a continued run of success in the field.
Principal Subsidiaries
Swift Transportation Co., Inc.; Swift Leasing Co., Inc.; Common Market Distributing Co., Inc.; Sparks Finance Co., Inc.; Cooper Motor Lines, Inc.; Common Market Equipment Co., Inc.; Swift Transportation Co. of Virginia, Inc.; Swift of Texas Co., Inc.; Swift Logistics Co., Inc.; Swift Transportation Corporation; Swift Receivables Corporation; M.S. Carriers, Inc.
Principal Competitors
Schneider National, Inc.; J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.; Knight Transportation; Covenant Transport, Inc.; U.S. Xpress Enterprises, Inc.; Werner Enterprises, Inc.
Further Reading
Breskin, Ira, "Swift Sticks to Regional Hauls to Become a Leading Trucker," Investor's Business Daily, April 24, 1997, p. A29.
Degen, Dorothea, "Six Transportation Firms Merge Logistics Businesses," Dow Jones News Service, March 14, 2000.
Foster, Ed, "Swift Transportation in High Gear," Arizona Republic, November 12, 1995, p. F1.
Jones, John A., "Swift Transportation Hauls in Profits As Economy Grows," Investor's Business Daily, June 1, 1994, p. B12.
Kelly, Lidia, "Truck Companies Hit Bumpy Patch--Swift CEO Steering Through Potholes," Arizona Republic, August 7, 2000, p. D1.
Larson, Jane, "EEOC Lawsuit Alleges Sex Bias by Truck Firm," Arizona Republic, July 19, 1997, p. E1.
Rhye, Shirley M., "Arizona-Based Swift Transportation Co. Recruits Drivers in Indiana," Knight-Ridder Tribune Business News, September 25, 1997.
Schulz, John D., "Safety Pays--Literally," Traffic World, November 11, 1996, p. 26.
------, "Swift's One-A-Year Plan," Traffic World, September 9, 1996, p. 36.
------, "$2 Billion Truckload Giant," Traffic World, July 9, 2001, p. 31.
Thompson, Richard, "M.S. Carriers Accepts Buyout to Form No. 1 Trucking Firm," Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tenn.), December 12, 2000, p. A1.
Wichner, David, "Valley-Based Trucking Giant Makes a ... Swift Move," Phoenix Gazette, November 26, 1992, p. E1.
Wiles, Russ, "Trucker Pulls a Swift One," Arizona Republic, April 27, 1997, p. D1.
 Frank Uhle
Click to expand...

see more at>>>>>http://www.answers.com/topic/swift-transportation-co

THIS SHOULD JUST ABOUT ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT TOPIC.
M.S. CARRIERS WAS THE MERGER
Click to expand...

Big Don · Oct 26, 2009

WOW! Thanks for your hard work on this thread cactusjack!

That quoted article almost makes ME want to go to work for SWIFT, and I know a whole lot better than that!

I think you have a very valuable thread going here, and I for one, appreciate the information.

Thanks again.

BrenYoda · Oct 26, 2009

Thanks for all the info. I have wanted to become a truck driver for years, but had family obligations that kept from doing so until now. So a couple of months a go I decided to start the process. I went thru Drivers Resource, filled out the app, got a call saying had been approved by three companies, paid my $200 and got referred to CREngland, Central and I don't remember the other company, CREngland was the first to call, but after reading thru several posts, decided that maybe Central ws the way to go, but then some wise words from an experienced trucker "... you only get one chance to make a start in this industry..." got me thinking, so I ended up going to private local school. JTL Truck Drier School Omaha NE, it was just over $4,000 for 4 week class, your time is divided by 4 1/2 hours class and 4 1/2 field a day. There was only three of so, so we got plenty of time behind the wheel, since not all students learn at the same pace, your training also depends on you, I was a head of my classmates, so I got extra time behind the wheel driving around town with an instructor, while my classmates stayed back at school practicing the skills tests, or the shifting circle. So in my case, at JTL, being head of the class got me more advance training, I was not held back by my classmates. However, that is not usually the case with many school, at a lot of schools the worst students sets the pace. The pre-trip test for the DMV was easy to pass, the Pre-trip test to graduate from the school was much tougher, you had to know the names of each part (and more than just the parts on DMV test) and be able to explain how it work. I had never smelled a transmission dip stick, and didn't know it could smell metallic. I won't go into all, but, I had passed all my tests and had my cdl and all my endorsements in a week and 3 days, the next two weeks and three days was spent learning to couple and uncouple, moving tandems and the 5th wheel, driving around town, and backing into more difficult and tighter spots. My classmates, took a lot longer to get their cdls, so i don't think they got into the more advance training that I got, like floating gears, and better shifting techniques.
So, to anyone looking to get into this industry, do youself a favor and don't just jump in and rush off to a company paid school and hope for the best, because the best isn't going to happen, the bare minimum will more tan likely be the case.
So, now I have graduated, and what I want is a company where I will get good training. The thing that worries me, is that many companies will let yo become a trainer with only 6 months experience, and many (not all) drivers become trainers just to make extra money, not because of any real desire or commitment to train someone.
Right now, on the table, is Werner, Roehl and TransAm, but I am open to suggestions, again, I want to become well trained, I am not just wanting to run quasi team for a week or two and get my own truck. Where can I get the best training....

Big Don · Oct 26, 2009

utahhomesick said: ↑

Big Don,

I can't reply to your message in private because I don't have the minimum number of posts. Yes, I do work for Central; I just haven't changed the profile because I don't usually post and I've been on the road with limited access at truck stops. I wasn't a driver when I joined this forum but I was a s/o of a Central company driver. I then took classes at his urging and now I am a driver for a few months now.
Click to expand...

I know you can't send a PM, but I think you could have replied to the visitor message in your profile. Of course I'm not sure about that. As I said, I was not trying to give you grief, I was just confused.

I put that in your visitor profile so as not to derail this thread. Anyhow, thanks for the clarification!

I notice in your updated profile that you are out of Vegas. Shoot, we are practically neighbors. I'm in the St. George area.

And now~~back to the thread...

cactusjack · Oct 26, 2009

BrenYoda said: ↑

Thanks for all the info. I have wanted to become a truck driver for years, but had family obligations that kept from doing so until now. So a couple of months a go I decided to start the process. I went thru Drivers Resource, filled out the app, got a call saying had been approved by three companies, paid my $200 and got referred to CREngland, Central and I don't remember the other company, CREngland was the first to call, but after reading thru several posts, decided that maybe Central ws the way to go, but then some wise words from an experienced trucker "... you only get one chance to make a start in this industry..." got me thinking, so I ended up going to private local school. JTL Truck Drier School Omaha NE, it was just over $4,000 for 4 week class, your time is divided by 4 1/2 hours class and 4 1/2 field a day. There was only three of so, so we got plenty of time behind the wheel, since not all students learn at the same pace, your training also depends on you, I was a head of my classmates, so I got extra time behind the wheel driving around town with an instructor, while my classmates stayed back at school practicing the skills tests, or the shifting circle. So in my case, at JTL, being head of the class got me more advance training, I was not held back by my classmates. However, that is not usually the case with many school, at a lot of schools the worst students sets the pace. The pre-trip test for the DMV was easy to pass, the Pre-trip test to graduate from the school was much tougher, you had to know the names of each part (and more than just the parts on DMV test) and be able to explain how it work. I had never smelled a transmission dip stick, and didn't know it could smell metallic. I won't go into all, but, I had passed all my tests and had my cdl and all my endorsements in a week and 3 days, the next two weeks and three days was spent learning to couple and uncouple, moving tandems and the 5th wheel, driving around town, and backing into more difficult and tighter spots. My classmates, took a lot longer to get their cdls, so i don't think they got into the more advance training that I got, like floating gears, and better shifting techniques.
So, to anyone looking to get into this industry, do youself a favor and don't just jump in and rush off to a company paid school and hope for the best, because the best isn't going to happen, the bare minimum will more tan likely be the case.
So, now I have graduated, and what I want is a company where I will get good training. The thing that worries me, is that many companies will let yo become a trainer with only 6 months experience, and many (not all) drivers become trainers just to make extra money, not because of any real desire or commitment to train someone.
Right now, on the table, is Werner, Roehl and TransAm, but I am open to suggestions, again, I want to become well trained, I am not just wanting to run quasi team for a week or two and get my own truck. Where can I get the best training....
Click to expand...

My honest opinion out of the three that you have on the table . I would pick Roehl . Now go and do research on all three . You might even call an few companies that take from accredited schools and see if the school that you graduated from is accredited in their eyes . Only you can find that out and do the research... It will take hours of your time to do it right but when you get down to the short list and get the company that you want... You will know and be confident that your time was well spent !
Good luck and god bless !

cactusjack · Oct 26, 2009

Big Don said: ↑

WOW! Thanks for your hard work on this thread cactusjack!

That quoted article almost makes ME want to go to work for SWIFT, and I know a whole lot better than that!

I think you have a very valuable thread going here, and I for one, appreciate the information.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

Thank you Big Don,
You had me LMAO at your statement about swift......
We all know better than that...or i hope we all do !
Once again Thanks !

cactusjack · Oct 26, 2009

THE DRAGON TRUCK !!!!

JUST SOMETHING HUMOROUS FOR HALLOWEEN !!!!

KINDA COOL THOUGH.... DOT WOULD HAVE AN #### FIT IF THEY WOULD SEE THIS GOING ABOUT 75 MPH ON I 80 ........

Big Don · Oct 26, 2009

I wanna take it to LA!

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