Heartland Express posts record annual revenue

I don't think anyone saw this acquisition coming. And, yeah, it matters who acquires you. A lot. The acquirer is going to set the tone and standards. Often these deals take forever to fully absorb because of this clash of cultures. Hasn't happened financially despite the human cost at Gordon. A lot of drivers that Gordon acquired in the Northwest before the big move into the Midwest--I forget the company names--told me they felt they got the short end in their transition into Gordon.

The Gordons came out of the acquisition with no debt, a bunch of cash and stock that has more than doubled in value. They were facing $150-million in debt to pay off at an operating revenue rate of $6 per $100 available to retire debt. Who wouldn't lose sleep over that?? If Gerdin told them he was going to point his money-making machine to take their Wal-Mart freight and undercut them, what would you do if you were the Gordons? Enter into a long, death-spiral battle with Gerdin or join him?

What would Wal-Mart have done with the prospect of cheaper rates from Gerdin? Tell him, thanks, no thanks? Not!

So far, it looks like they (Gordons) made a darn smart decision. The Gordons' future in a long, drawn out battle with Gerdin would have been ugly--and for the drivers, too. I think HTLD's operating revenue at the time was about $72 in costs per $100, compared with Gordon $94. They were equal-size companies but very unequal performance-wise.

 

I think it was a year when I looked into Millis back in 2006, but not anymore. A quote from a post in the Millis forum....

 

It doesn't matter how much money he has, you're still not getting cab curtains or towels for your shower.

 

You expect a trucking company to have towels for you at the terminal showers? Where they hell have you been working that would do that? Dumbest complaint I have ever seen in my time on this forum.

 

Con-Way Truckload does both (towels & curtains)

 

Big G has towels and curtains..gordon had towels and private showers

 

The way Heartland runs they like to let you sit at their customers for your break.
Then you run all night and they do it to you again. Whatever they pay you just
deduct about 10cpm to figure what your really being paid. They don't care about
you at all. Its all about their PSP score and getting awards from their customers.
Your personal life and health means nothing to this company. Getting paid a higher
CPM does not equal higher pay. Its the miles you drive that your paid for.

 

I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. Been driving 5yrs safely. Working for a local outfit here in Dallas Tx. Looking to get back out on the road for a while, but regional only. Have been approved for TLI, Heartland and Knight. Does anyone have any recent experience with these companies... all help is good. Thanks in advance

 

I did my two years of sefdom at Heartless Express, some months I barely made 7000 miles. I had three dispatchers while I was there. Two were good (10k+/m); one terrible and a control freak to boot. Worst company I ever worked for in my life.
I had International 9400 when I started, but when they upgraded to Prostars terrible. Couldn't idle for more than 10 minutes between 40-75 (even though it might be 85+ in the truck). If they found a power inverter they would fire you. No fridges. I ended up split shifting alot, starting out on day shift and ending on night. Crap home time, got home Saturday afternoon dispatched out on Sunday evening. I once was within 120 miles of home and they dispatched me 3 states away - because they can.
Alot of JIT freight, short runs and very micro-managed. They also had alot of issues with overweight loads when they changed to Prostars: they had sugar and water freight which was too heavy with a Prostar, so you had to do an mt scale and don't load with more than 1/2 tank of fuel. If you lived in a northern state and had to idle on home time your truck would end up running 62mph or less, because you had too much idle time. Crap terminals, poor showers, inspection lane idiots and arrogant shop managers. They once asked me why I wouldn't haul a loaded trailer from their terminal at night to a shop to get the lights fixed - because the mechanic didn't want to come in on the weekend and fix it: which he ended up having to do because I refused to hook up to the trailer.
Or you go pick up a trailer and it didn't have a landing gear crank, I used to carry one. The list goes on and on....
Don't work here unless you expect to be disrespected on a daily basis. This was the only place in my life where I ever contemplated leaping the counter and giving the arrogant dispatcher a knuckle sandwich.

 

I have been gone from Heartland for about 1 year and 9 months. But quite a few of the things you mentioned were fixed before I left. At least on the truck end. They no longer slow down if you idle. Many of the trucks now have the idle system that will allow you to set a temp and it goes on and off.(not all yet).
They started installing inverters in all the new trucks about 3 years ago. Now all should have a factory installed 1500w. You are not allowed to use your own, but they are in the trucks. I was never micro managed, but then I knew what I was doing and never needed it. I have seen some that made me wonder what they were even doing in a truck, and they supposedly had several years experience.
And the average trailer is about 3 years old. So the crank issues are a thing of the past. Yea, people can still break them or steal them, but for the most part they have some of the best trailers on the road.
Heavy loads still happen. Sugar and water out of Florida and Michigan. Water also out of PA and Maine. It is a job, not the best around but far from the worst.
They got rid of the 9400s over 5 years ago though, so that was a post based on the company that is not very up to date.