ESTES Express (5 Year Review)

Yes there are actually 2 big Atlanta terminals on the same street. 041 & 141

More terminals just means more stopping or short dispatches. I don't like that personally but money can still be made. We are now paid $10 for every extra dispatch now so if you hit extra terminals it's more money potentially. I just prefer to drive 600+ miles door to door and be done. Both those terminals have big shops for repairs.

Every terminal at Estes has it's own life so there's no real one size fits all. I work for Estes so I'd give them the nod but odfl is known to be more structured and controlled. Estes is kinda chaotic and the equipment isn't a good as odfl. Estes is also a PRIVATE COMPANY WHEREAS ODFL IS PUBLIC. During the pandemic... We weren't laid off while the guys at ODFL were. Do with that what you will.

I don't work for ODFL but I have ODFL stocks. lol

 

Estes is the wild wild west brother. You can come in day 1 and secure a run but if things get bad you'll get knocked and have to go to the board. The guys I got hired with had runs day 1 while I chose to run the road. When things got bad they all got knocked to the extra board. To secure a big money run it's gonna take a while depending on the cut time.

 

There are some big money runs out of Wichita despite it being a smaller terminal. One of the hardest ones is Wichita to Albuquerque, NM but it pays so good. I've always liked going there because it's a money pit but it's one of the smaller terminal. When it's pumping with freight it's hard to maneuver around it. I don't really have anything bad to say about it because I've always made big green when pulling out of it.

Memphis also pumps ALOT of freight to Wichita. The other good thing about it is it's surrounded by bigger bulk terminals... Dallas, Arlington, Oklahoma City, Kansas City & to a smaller extent Tulsa. If there's no freight... They'll dead head you to one of those terminals. I've also had times where I did double OKC turns out of Wichita... 600+ miles with alot of breaks and hooks!

 

Hub/combo is when you do a combination of things like...

1. Work the dock at your home terminal, run linehaul to another terminal, and then come back. (End of the day)

2. Work the dock only if there is no available freight to run.

3. Fill in for any linehaul operations as needed.

4. Run linehaul to another terminal, work the dock/load your own trailers, drive back to your home terminal. (End of the day)

5. Work the dock at your home terminal, drive to another terminal, work the dock there/load your own trailers, drive back to your home terminal, and also work the dock if possible. (It happens if freight is pumping crazy and you have the hours)

I've also seen combo guys do yard jockey alongside working the dock. Combo/hub guys are like Jack of all trades. The main DOWNSIDE is combo/hub seniority is SEPARATE FROM LINEHAUL/EXTRA BOARD.

A GUY WITH 20 YEARS COMBO SENIORITY CAN NOT GO LINEHAUL AND TRUMP A NEW HIRE WITH 1 DAY LINEHAUL EXPERIENCE.

You have 4 lanes are Estes. City, Linehaul/Extra board, Combo/Hub, & Team. As far as I know... TEAM IS THE ONLY ONE THAT'S TRANSFERABLE WITH LINEHAUL/EXTRA BOARD.