Con-Way Any Freight Updates?

You catch on quick - this company does waste a lot of money but overall I feel they're a very well run company from a financial perspective. Even some of our grouchy co-workers who swear this place sucks won't go anywhere because they know it's a great driving job at a good company.

Nobody is recession proof in LTL but my honest opinion is Con-way and FedEx are the two most stable LTL carriers out there right now. Old Dominion also but they do not have anywhere near the market share of the other two. It's impossible to say, but I've never seen it so busy from January through now in my 6 years so my opinion is you should be in pretty good shape. According to what we've been told - you'll learn to take these things with a grain of salt, the part time dock workers would be cut first should things slow down. At this point in time though, lay offs are the last thing on anybody's mind - we're really trying to figure out how to move all the freight every night with the lack of drivers and trucks at many locations.

I'm a thousand miles away from you but I know XKC is a heavy volume terminal. I used to build a lot of direct loads for XKC with all the different Kansas terminal freight when I ran Newark, NJ last year. Turnover is high at the bottom of the big terminals so if you stick it out at a terminal that big, you should move up pretty quick in the next year or two.

Again, I'm not writing anything in stone but that's just my take based off my experience here.

 

I've just finished my two wk. traing period and fri. was my first solo line haul. Training consisted of three days classroom, three days of P&D followed by three nights of LH. I must admit the most difficult thing for me is the transition over to nights and figure it will be easier on me as my body settles into a routine. My run to XTM (Tomah,Wi) is 366 w/ 4-6 hrs spent on the dock. Fri. was 20 degrees and snow. I think I'll need some proper equip. come next winter!
I'm amazed at the level of controlled chaos demonstrated each day and night by truck drivers on a forklift.
F**king awesome.
Now I've operated forklifts in the past but I think I need another year or two before I can even come close to the skill levels I've witnessed.
Nothing screams old school freight hauler like spring suspension,air starter and delete radio. Being a new guy I did not realize I'd get the latest fri. start which also meant getting the oldest truck/dolly.(memo to night dispatch-just cause computer says it's available in yard doesn't mean it's physically there!)

I also didn't know the bottom or least senior guys would finish off the last half dozen trailers so the senior guys could get the w/e started early. Oh well, 2 weeks in and I have 3 guys under me already!

And on a closing note if any drivers reading this see a con-way truck pulled over west bound I-90/94 with the driver snoozed over the wheel give them a pull of your horn. They are holding us junior guys up.

 

Cool.. This is my second year bidding night line-haul. Last year we had to run those old school trucks on the longest runs to get the miles on them - it was no fun driving a spring ride 520 miles. The new truck assignment is real nice and done the proper way - a certain number of trucks are assigned to your run based on the miles, newest truck longest run. I have an 04 since I bid a medium length run (420'ish).

I'm a thousand miles away from Tomah but I've heard that place is busy. We build a ton of direct loads there from Newburgh, NY, Newark, NJ, and Hagerstown, Md. If it makes you feel any better, it was in the mid 50's and crystal clear every night this week at the hub I run..lol.. It's in the high 70's outside right now.

I remember feeling the same way the first time I saw a busy hub. After a while you'll be right in the middle of it. The hub I run this year is small, but last year I loaded a heavy lane every night - usually 2 vans and about 8 pups in a 4-5 hour period. You'll get the hang of it and fit right in.

Good luck & and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

 

Still hiring at 5 locations in MN including 3 outstate sites.Gonna cover a zone run next week.I'll be staying in Thief River Falls,MN. and running the L/H portrion of the program. Just over 500 miles round trip each eve plus per diem and mileage pay for driving up and back. Made my first visit to XDM (Des Moines) last night and was impressed with this new facility, so luxurious..lol. Big numbers last night as they had near 90 drivers in.
Prolly bid P&D till I'm at scale then take a money run.
See ya on the road, I'll be over in the right lane.

 

Good deal. Sounds like you're doing pretty well so far. Good to hear. Wait till we get busy in a few weeks and vacations start - not sure how we're gonna move all the freight. I suppose that's a great problem to have in the current economy.

Quick question - are you on a 60 or 70 hour log book out there? Used to be all the X terminlas were 60 but I recently found out some mid-west terminals were now running 70. The N and L southern terminals were always 70 as were the U terminals out west, but it was news to me some X terminals were now using it.

 

Forgot to ask - so what are your impressions of this place so far?

 

They are now on a 70 hr wk.
My wish is to run a 65mph truck. Just a bit closer to the limit here. I think they can make a successful run at the frieght biz. Seem to have decent upper management in place and the local white shirts are fairly sharp.
Training is only so-so in my book and needs to be more comprehensive in the procedural dept. Most of that is left up to the individual to pick up and learn via a hand slap then your told what's expected and correct. I've been trucking 35 yrs. but never a frieght hauler so every day is a learning experience for me. Most drivers are good on the lifts but there still seems to be a lot of preventable damage which may be a case of the strive for speed.
Starting to retro trailers next wk to the tune of 10 per wk for the permanent adjust. load bars and a slower transition to composite dunnage to eliminate the plywood.
They talk a mean game but I have not been around long enough to know if there just blowing smoke or that ##### gets done.
I also hope the goals are reached soon in order to restore the pay, 401, etc. so I can add to my retirement funds,since I have 2 others and a pension from my union days.
IMHO- So far, So good.
Have a great W/E.
Dennis

 

Agreed on the procedural training - guys that have been here 20 years still don't know because things change so fast.lol..

Sometimes things get done sometimes they don't - they seem pretty committed to the trailer system so I would imagine they'll do it. Haven't seen one myself but our drivers that have say it will work great but wonder how well it will hold up.

Have a good weekend yourself - time to go put on the smurf suit and run some Friday night line-haul.

 

Still learning the system but after a week of zone line haul fill in work I can see how those guys got the easy money whipped.That particular zone has 2 line drivers and 3 P&D drivers and each night is a 510 round plus 4-5 hrs on the dock just working their own trailers,waiting on the zone freight from others and hustling back so the P&D guys can kick off the stops,make the p.u's all while rolling up 300 + miles per day. I thought he said he did 97K last year. Can't wait to make scale. That is all.