Celadon Trucking Service, Inc. - Indianapolis, In.?

not me, but yet another "buddy" of mine does. when i worked for Highway Express out of Richmond,Va, i left long before Celadon bought them out. this buddy of mine stayed on, and he has no complaints as to this day, and its been about 4(?) years now that he's been with them. i can't tell you pay/benefits, etc, but i can tell you they gave him a brand spankin' new rig when he stayed on. (bribery?) maybe, but he just didn't see any need to leave, and Celedon was repalcing the rigs anyhow, maybe he just got lucky to get into the new ones sooner.

 

Ever since this new Add Campaing started i hear everyone Raising there Pay per mile but when u check them out on there website or talk to another Driver from there their Average Weekly Milage continues to go down..
Any way i was caught off guard when talking to a Celadon Driver this morning and hearing their adds on XM about there new bonus program.. which goes for Every 30k miles you drive u are rewarded with a $1,000 bonus and a weeks Vacation.
That being true i would with my current milage will be eligable for 3 weeks of vacation and a 3k bonus, by the end of this month
But what i am curious about is are they lowering their Average milage to less than 2200 a week..

Anyone have any information about that Carrier or Personal Experience?
Is it a decent company to work for?
and i dont See any other company changing their paid vacation program if they have one

 

Let me give you a glimpse into how Celedon "welcomes" a new driver. And as far as I know, this has not changed.

I drove one of my cars to Indianapolis to lease on with them in January of 2000, after being convinced that they had something I was interested in. I was told by the recruiter that they had an "onsite motel".

I almost NEVER allow a company to transport me to orientation, and the rest of this post will explain why I stick to that rule.

When I arrived, I checked in at the "Driver's Facilities" building as instructed.

I was given an electronic key to a room upstairs. As I climbed the stairs, it became noticeably hotter the higher I went. I found the room. When I opened the door, it was the immense heat that almost knocked me down. It had to be almost 100 degrees in that room. Then I noticed that there were ONLY 4 military style cots in the room and nothing else, and all of them had other driver's stuff on them. As luck would have it, the empty cot was directly under the heat source which was blowing out heat at the pace of a wind storm.

I closed the door, went back downstairs and inquired of the man, who looked like someone who would be running a half-way house, what the deal was. He shrugged his shoulders, and said nothing. I cited the heat in the room, and asked if I was expected to sleep in that room with three other people, and his thoughtful response was, "If you want a job here...you do."

I handed him the key, went back to my car, and drove 468 miles back to the house.

That recruiter hounded me for a week. When I finally answered the phone, he was incredulous that I was put off by their wonderful accomodations. I simply made it clear that if this was the way that they welcomed a new associate, then I sure didn't want to see what the rest of the package was like.

First impressions are the longest lasting, and that one did me for a lifetime.

 

Yes, I drive for Celadon and NO they do not pay .66 per mile for OTR. Celadon has good miles and newer model trucks but their pay scale is a little low... .31 - .35 depending on years exerience and .50 pay increase every 60k miles. You also get a $1000 "Bonus" every 30k miles you drive. That equates to 3.3 cents per mile. See their website: www.celadontrucking.com

I'm thinking of moving to Crete. Crete is .41 for one year up to .47 for seven years. They also pay "practical miles" as opposed to Celadon who pays "Short Miles" which is about a 12-15% additional advantage.

Celadon is a pretty good company and I probably wouldn't switch if it was just a penny or two difference. But .08 - .09 cents? That's about $10k more per year! Too much NOT to switch.

 

no, i don't think they make that much. as my previous posting indicated, i didn't know the exact pay, but he isn't making that much, cuz if he were to be, i'd be there as well, as he would "recruit me" back to the same terminal as celadon took over, and resume my career there. and he'd take his brother as well............

 

Crete may pay you more per mile but are you going to get the miles? Probably not. If your happy where you are then stay! Companys are offering you more per mile for a reason. Look at JB hunt the offer experienced drivers up to .45 per mile. But ask there drivers and the Avg 1500 miles per week. remember if its sounds to good to be true,,,, It probably is. I have bounced from company to company for the same reasons and it all ends up being the same. Leaving companys cost you money! here is a few examples of why:
When you leave one company to go to another you have down time. i.e orientation. You will be sitting in class when you could be making miles.Figure a weeks pay and take that off your year to date.
Insurance. you have to wait another 90 days to get covered. Just hope you dont get ill in that waiting period because you will be out hundreds if not thousands. Take that of your year to date.
Knowing your route: If you have been with your company for any length of time then you probably know there customers. When you get a load you know where your going and how to get there. The obsticles in between and there shipping and recieving policies. This saves you time. And as we all know "time is money to the trucker" Take that off your year to date.
Equipment: The drivers who have senority usually get the newer equipment. Look at down time cause your driving one of the least desired trucks in the fleet. Take that off your year to date,

Anyway good luck with your dessisions. I hope no matter what you do it turns out to be in your best interest.

Gator
Smith Transport