"freight is slow"

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by jethro712, Feb 28, 2016.

  1. Johnny-FlipFlop

    Johnny-FlipFlop Bobtail Member

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    Oct 10, 2009
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    The economy is down. Advice is to eat less, drink less, shower without a shampoo, but instead use the laundry soap bar, drive 55 and bring -40F rated sleeping bag because you will need to shut your truck off every night this winter. Oh and vote Bernie.
     
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  3. TruckerNerd

    TruckerNerd Light Load Member

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    Jun 20, 2015
    Orlando, FL
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    I'm trying to understand that if freight is slow they why continue to hire aggressively?
     
  4. gokiddogo

    gokiddogo Road Train Member

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    If you get a raise based on time at the company .. and earn a few cents more per mile, the thinking is they can hire someone new and save a few pennies per mile. The more available drivers they can slowly ratchet down the pay.
     
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  5. Lepton1

    Lepton1 Road Train Member

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    Yukon, OK
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    Freight isn't always slow. By the time the current crop of trainees graduate to solo driving and get a month or two under their belt, freight will begin to pick up again for major retailers. Back To School starts shipping in June to distribution centers, followed by Fall and Holiday. Building supplies is now in full swing. The first quarter is always the slow quarter for general commodities.
     
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  6. Toomanybikes

    Toomanybikes Road Train Member

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    They can continue to sell schooling during the slow season. That is nothing but money for them

    They slowly rebuild the fleet size after the first quarter firings. The turnover is high but the drop out rate is astronomical, it takes several months to get enough reliable drivers for the 4th quarter seasonal surge.

    With their business model it is always easy to reduce the size of the fleet because there will always be some drivers with safety issues. Should they ever over do it in hiring, they just call in Safety to bump off a few drivers with safety issues.
     
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2016
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  7. Dna Mach

    Dna Mach Road Train Member

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    Texas
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    I've driven for 15 years and I've never experienced "slow freight." Back when I was pulling vans and reefers I never had an issue maintaining 2500 miles per week.
     
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  8. w.h.o

    w.h.o Road Train Member

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    Jan 10, 2011
    Chicago, il
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    I only been driving for 5. Started with pop and on a commission base pay so it slow down after Christmas. Could tell after seeing my check.

    Food, well never really but after Thanksgiving maybe a hiccup

    Flatbed, winter time tend to slow down.

    I did intermodal work and it too slow down but still manage to keep rolling.

    If I'm sitting a lot, then it's slow. If I'm kinda sitting and getting low miles/cheap freight runs = it's gna slow down
     
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  9. Lux Prometheus

    Lux Prometheus Heavy Load Member

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    Oct 28, 2013
    San Venganza, Tx
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    You need to make this a separate thread and sticky it...
     
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  10. Dna Mach

    Dna Mach Road Train Member

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    Schneider and Knight, hate to say ANYTHING positive about Knight but they always kept me moving. Probably had to do with my location in DFW but they always kept me running. Past three years I've pulled tanks and on a dedicated account, so it's the same every week.

    Now Knight, they would say me for a weekend away from home a few times. I had to fight to keep moving. Took me to long to realize that if you're fighting your employer to work then an ASAP exit from that company is mandatory.
     
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  11. w.h.o

    w.h.o Road Train Member

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    Chicago, il
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    Yup sni did try to keep me rolling, even if I had to bobtail 500 miles
     
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