ABF Freight

Are you still having a hard time surfer joe? Why don't you move on....I would have by now.

 

Varies by location.

 

Thanks for the info..I had been thinking about trying out for ABF...been hearing a lot of stories like this...

 

I kinda got the same feeling a few years ago when I applied and they called me back 3 months later. Had already found a new job but thought I'd go to the interview anyway. Terminal seemed like a place that was about to go out of business and the terminal manager talked me out of wanting to work there.

 

How did he talk you out of this?
....the major no, no for me is not enough hrs or doing line haul on the graveyard shift.
I don't mind working the dock and then peddling some frt off or pick ups
....but i have to have enough income to support my family and i refuse to leave them alone at night working a 3rd shift

 

Made just a little less with the fuel job I had with better benefits and a TON less physical back breaking work

 

Now that made me laugh...

 

I started running linehaul the first week of July and have not seen a single ABF on my route now that I think about it. Seen a bunch of OD, UPS, FedEx, Saia, etc but not them and I run 55 and 70, not exactly the sticks...

 

The rule of thumb for hiring onto an LTL is to know exactly what you're getting into beforehand because those jobs are heavily influenced by seniority. Are they hiring to cover summer vacations, or because they picked up a new account, or there's a couple drivers hurt? You might want to stay away then because if/when those situations flip, you could be hurting for hours/miles.

Then again, is there a general economic expansion, they're replacing drIvers retiring/fired etc? Still could be a dice roll, but your odds are alot better.

Only way to really know is to talk to drivers from that terminal. They'll give you the real scoop and the basic gist of what you're getting yourself into.

I've known drivers who hired on to an LTL and within a year had a bid run and 10 drivers underneath them. Then I've also known drivers stuck on the bottom board for a loooong time fighting tooth and nail for hours/miles.