A&R Transport Inc in Morris, IL

Sorry to get back this late , but it was Springfield , Mass and I was a company driver , it was the biggest mistake I made I resigned yesterday , it's all talk by management and those great drivers are all fed up , drivers are leaving in droves , also they are in process of turning all trucks down to 61mph, and empty miles are at times more than loaded miles , and delay pay is like pulling teeth , a driver from my terminal was on trip pay due to he went to plant to yard doing pre loads Morris changed his way of getting paid cause he made to much , now is this the craziest thing you heard and he still works there , this Company is a joke since the owner sold out most of his ties , shareholders big oil runs it now !!

 

i worked out of Florence SC...the reason the tks are clean is because the drivers washed them at the terminals ...the company has sold out ,and Mr Jim is no longer the pres. investors have taken over,,,i was there 6 years ,,had enough;...they have really changed ,,it used to be 2 goods for 1 bad,,,not anymore ,,,its all badd....try talking to jason in safety,,,what a ###,,,he worked at a funeral home before a & r... but he knows everything there is to know bout trucking,,and tommy in florence drinks way to much to be a terminal manager..but thats my 2 cents...all my buds also have quit,,,,its not the same as it was,but things change
i now pull a hopper and wouldnt go back,,[ jason called and asked ] BTW i had a bud there and they told him he needed to resign or be fired ,[ csa score]all warning tickets ,so he resigned and then they denined his unemployment,,,they lied about everything,, they are on the long slow road downhill,,,,STAY AWAY

 

also ,,dont get hurt on the job with them,,,,they will make sure you dont have have job ...ask ole " Dollar Bill" he worked there 16 years and hurt his shoulder pulling on that big 6 '' load line...he had to get a lawyer to get his workers comp...then they fired him after they starved him for 2 months trying to get him to quit

 

I remember inquiring about them years ago when they had just a few rigs and you could never miss their trailers. Easily recognizable when on the road, but over the years they seem to have expanded at a tremendous pace, so my concern would be as to how they could match that expansion with the increase numbers of freight. I looked at their counter parts Oakley out of AR, and it seemed very interesting but as an O/O you had to have a blower installed on the truck and that would have cost $7000!!
I politely declined the invitation. No idea whether they hire company drivers.
It's hardly surprising that these investment companies want to have a go at running a trucking company but in many ways they usually make a hash of it. I suppose they think it's easy money. And with the fact they want to improve the bottom line, its the driver who gets it in the shorts above all else. I would be wary of dealing with a company where the movers and shakers are clueless about trucks. How can they when they don't even have a CDL between them.

 

ncmackman speaks a great deal of truth about A&R. I've been with them a year and I'll simply say its been rough. The investors however sold in December and things have changed, not sure if its for the better though. They did cut a lot of overhead. Jason is now recruiting. Safety dpt has seen a lot of cuts as a result of computer logs. We will be 100% elog by years end including O/O's and the company trucks are being cut back to 66 cruise/64 pedal. Since this began Morris has had an enormous turnover. Of course I can see why, too many competitors in the area paying more $ and offering better looking trucks. Oh and we're getting new volvo's to replace the old trucks but california is getting them first. Of course rumors of a pay raise still linger about, but I'm not holding my breath. And for anyone looking at their website you will see avg driver salary was $65,000. I refuse to believe it. I'm out 3 weeks at a time and don't expect that kind of money. And have met very few that say they're doing $60,000 but most guys like to stay close to home and have time off weekly so I would expect their $$$ to be less.

 

All the safety people are still there. My buddy's truck and others are 67 cruise / 65 pedal.

 

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I maybe hiring on this next week , so your pretty happy so far ?? I'm moving to Texas so maybe highlands terminal or the one by port lavaca or ft worth ??

 

both terminals are good. Ft Worth is growing with tons of opportunity. The info I gathered from the people I know there

 

A squawk or two about. But overwhelmingly positive reviews. Definitely worth investigating.