My new adventure with Gordon Trucking

This is what i always said about gordon...

You could make good money here but you have to be willing to work..

These guys that want to be home every weekend are not going to run 3000 miles a week ..

You can only be dispatched so far if you have to stay close to home.

 

Hey! hofr!

You say that's an OTR division and don't say how many drivers in that division. Agreed that low does NOT look 'low'. Midwest US Fleet has/had 120 drivers (per tow). HTLD is, like Gordon, mostly regional. Got some regional stats? One of the anecdotal reports about HTLD is routed in the opposite direction when driver due home and got close to home. In retaliatory fashion. That dispatch talks down/looks down on drivers. Wouldn't happen at Gordon.

Even when things were not good, DMs were still pretty good. Not always prompt to get back to a driver (even after QCing the driver and the driver responded). NEVER talked down. What is the HTLD dispatch:driver ratio??? How does that compare with GTI?? How many terminals have regionals dispatched out of those terminals?? What about the RUMOR of dirty, trashy terminals?? Size of regional fleets?

Gordon could in jekyll-hyde fashion, ignore driver's hometime at one moment and be heroic at lining drivers up the next. The RUMOR--HTLD intentionally more harsh.

sc00ter, my point was that 'median' GTI load a mere 300-350 miles, YMMD and that's okay, just doesn't represent GTI across the board. Across the board 66.1% of loads under 400 miles.

Who knew??

This thread flat denied it. Now we know. Public record.

 

tow, give it up.

66.1% of loads under 400 miles.

That's not 66.1% 400-mile loads, that's 66.1% UNDER 400.

26% UNDER 100. Median 300 miles to 350.

At least a couple driver/cheerleaders need to man up.

Drivers run those peewee loads--and that's not going to change.

Almost NONE of the 17% one-year and less drivers at GTI move on to two years. Or three. Or four.

Almost NONE.

Gordon hired 'em. They left.

Better money elsewhere.

It COULD be that HTLD with higher per-mile pay is actually one of those better elsewheres for regional drivers.

No reason to discount the possibility.

Dunno.

Gordon as a long haul carrier, though = Myth.

 

Vic, you are leaving out the part that over 65% of Gordon drivers have 5+ years experience. It is a very experienced group of drivers, and as evidenced by the CSA scores, some of the best drivers in the industry. What I have learned so far is that many of GTI's drivers that have been there for many years have come through the limited training program. It isn't the same as some of the other training programs with the very high turnover, Gordon actually retains most of them.

 

We have been down this road before...

The guys running the bulk of these short loads do so because they chose to run regional and those are the drivers who do that.

The US fleet is open to everyone.. it is a sacrifice in lifestyle but you get the miles.

You can run the regional and still do well if you hustle..

Short runs medium runs .. do not matter

 

Yes. Both companies have similar core of 5-year plus drivers. GTI's student program--probably the best in the industry. Absolutely. HTLD tried to avoid the <1-year drivers. Required 1-year. So HTLD will look at that for sure.

Here's the potential irony:

HTLD might just be a better home (financially) for the bulk of regional drivers.



/tow, Midwest US Fleet is mere sliver, 120/2000. Do the math. Give it up. Both companies were/are short haul regional fleets. That's why so many terminals. Much more powerful now. Synergies not a myth.

 

There are 'local' operations out of Rancho and Lathrop and other places that are mixed into that percentage and skews the length of haul averages. When you run the numbers on just the over the road stuff, the length of haul average, median, whatever, is a lot longer.

 

Gerdin put it succinctly. He said there will always be loads that miss the boat or train.

That's the exception.

My Q is which was/is better for the regional driver.

Pay-wise, I'm not sure that HTLD's not better.

Regional's the bulk.


/Once again, joseph's on my ignore... don't see his posts.