Con-Way Freight or UPS?

Tractor Trailer.

 

at con-way u will make the same amount whether is driving or dock work. I no at my ABF interview they have u paid 14 for dock work and 20 for driver, but after 75 it stays at 20 for either

 

Hey Boonie I saw your PM so I thought I'd throw in my .02 for you. I get a little long winded sometimes trying to explain but I'll do my best.

First off the UPS Freight and ABF driver both made great points and threw out some great information for you.

I have worked for Con-way Freight for 8.5 years now and will be the first one to acknowledge that UPS Parcel is about the best job on the road - both UPS Freight and UPS Parcel are better jobs than Con-way Freight if you're at top scale and have the seniority to bid what you want. Even at Con-way, turnover is pretty high for drivers with less than 4 or 5 years - almost nobody quits once they reach 5 years though.

I know the pay rates at all 3 companies and both UPS companies are much better than Con-way's. Other than that I can only tell you about Con-way. I'm not sure where you are but location makes a difference - I know you're in an X or U terminal area because of the OT you mentioned - I'm in the Mid-Atlantic on I95 but used to work in what's considered the "rust belt" and there's a huge difference as I'm sure there is at UPS companies and all LTL's. My terminal is much bigger, but let's say we had 100 drivers... At 8.5 years I would be around 37 or 38 out of 100 in seniority - put my 8.5 years at a big Ohio, Missouri, Indiana, or Michigan terminal and I'd probably be around 70 or 75 in seniority.

As far as some of the operational things go here.. I ate a lot of crap sandwiches here but overall I have a pretty good opinion of the company and it has improved substantially in the last year or two after bottoming out in 07/08. I think LTL or Parcel is where most people need to be if they want to make a career out of driving period so I'm not endorsing Con-way as the only way to go by any means.

At this point almost all trucks here are A/C units. We're pushing 100 units here and we probably have 5 or 6 without A/C. All of our equipment is somewhat stripped but maintenance is better now than I ever remember.

Bottom of the board sucks. Depending on the terminal you will be night or day "flex" which means you're on a call in basis depending on extra work. At some terminals you could make 60K your first year whereas you may make 20K at others. Some terminals you may run line-haul all the time and at others you might do P&D all the time on the flex board.

It took me 4 full years and a lot of crap sandwiches here before I finally felt it was worth it. By the start of my 5'th year I had enough seniority to hold a good road bid and now it is what it is. After a couple years on night line-haul I took a year off while taking a 30-35K pay-cut at the same time but I'm gonna be back at it next year.

Whatever job you decide to take just understand you'll start at the bottom and can learn a lot from the senior drivers if you seek out their advice. After writing that freakin book..lol.. I guess the best advice I could give you is you're not gonna go wrong with either one if you pay your dues and stick out the first couple years..

Good Luck man..

 

At UPS a package driver is the guy you see in the little brown trucks around the city going door to door.

A TT or feeder driver is the guy driving the semi tractor pulling a trailer, or two or three... At UPS you will either be a dock worker making $8hr or a driver making between $25-$55hr depending on senority.

At Con-Way you will be driving a semi tractor and pulling a trailer and also working the dock unloading and loading trucks

At UPS Freight you drive a semi tractor as well and also work the docks, just like Con-Way

Now to get to your answer you are looking for.... UPS is hiring "package handlers" as seasonal part-time help right now. Every year they do this and hire about 20 guys depending on area and then once new years comes, you are let go (or they may offer you an unloder/loader part-time position on the docks)

At Con-Way you will be getting training and have a set pay and if I read correctly, you will be a full-time hire

As for the "75" YES, that is hours a week. Trucking is not for those who want to work 40hrs a week, almost EVERY driving job is between 70-80hrs a week so prepare yourself for a long hard day, after day, after day.

 

After the book I just wrote I can probably simplify things a lot now..haha..

At UPS you'll drive a package car for 10 years or so - at Con-way you'll drive a tow motor for a year or so.

In 20 or 25 years you'll be better off at UPS.... In 4 or 6 years you'll be better off at Con-way.

Both are very very good driving jobs..

 

Con-Way runs 24 hours, so you will most likely get stuck on nights for a long time till you get enough senority to move up...... don't worry about the UPS job as it will take you about 10 years to get into a route.

I'm trying to explain that the UPS job you are offered will only last you a month and you will most likely be unemployed by 1/1/12...... I'd take the conway job, but it seems to me that you are looking for a 9-5 day job, which you are not going to get at either.