Good reefer companies?

Try j&r Schugel .they haul a lot out of Kraft in champaign and from lenders in mattoon. They have a 5 and 2 program in that area or you can stay out longer. They just bought all new trucks and new trailers so equipment is good. Its a laid back place to work . Pm me if you have any questions about them.

 

been hauling produce west to southeast since 93, girlfriend just got CDL and has about 6 months experience. we work for a S-L-O-W south alabama company with trucks at 57 m.p.h and have done 70k miles since january 1, sitting a cpl days on each coast most of the time or shorthauling to get out of florida that pays 60$ to the team, spend alot of time asking for more miles but the dispatchers are not on top of the game!....we want to roll a month or two at a time and want a nice truck at least 65 m.p.h....any info on these companies greatly appreciated

 

I see your an Iowa fan, you should check out seaboard transport. Ive worked for them for the last 9 years. Reefer company with a plant in St. Joe MO. Not far from IA. Pay is 90 cpm plus fsc and all deadhead. Check them out. Get you home for the Iowa games if you want. Rock Chalk

 

I'm quit trucking and I'm now taking classes in logistics & supply chain management, which includes a lecture on how the freight industry works. As a reefer driver, you've observed the vast majority of your freight are perishable food bound for a grocery DC. Regardless whether you pull a box (straight van) or reefer, the volume of freight you pull relies on consumer spending. When there's news reports of job layoffs, housing foreclosures, employers not hiring, college grads who can't find work (& settle on a low-
skilled job), or recession (economic slow down), consumers will react by cutting back on spending. This consumer behavior is why you're experiencing a lack of freight haul, not because you're dispatchers are not doing their job to find freight. Further evidence to support my contention is to look at other reefer haulers, observe how many are sitting idle at truck stops. As you drive or walk through the truck parking area, pay attention to truck tires on the trailers. When they're loaded with freight, the tires are sagging on the bottom from supporting so much freight and the trailer doors will have a padlock or seal; attributes of a loaded trailer, which means that driver is not sitting idle waiting while dispatch is looking for his/her next haul. If you quit because of consumer behavior (lack of spending), which your dispatcher has no control over, then you're only going from one low-freight carrier to another low-freight carrier.
Generally, when you're first hired, they'll keep you busy for 2 weeks tops, then tell you "…the freight is slow right now…" -- and all you've done is damage your resume by making it look like you're a job hopper; a person who's never satisfied with any employer.

I've completed a class in intro business management, which includes a lecture on human resource management. Depending on the industry, the textbook & lectures teach us that a person who averages 2 (or more) employers a year is a "red flag" job candidate; this person will likely quit after management invested time and $$ in training him/her. Digressing from the main topic, this is the reason there's lobbying effort to legalize undocumented aliens (Immigration Reform) in Washington DC. Illegal aliens are less likely to quit and find better pay than American workers. A lot of the lobbying $$ to legalize undocumented aliens are coming from American employers. I've supervised illegals in warehousing work, and I agree they work better than Americans. They're willing to work with no rest breaks or lunch breaks to get the job done. This is why you've noticed most warehouses are staffed by Hispanics who speak little or no English; they increase warehouse productivity and not likely to unionize.
You see illegals protesting for Immigration Reform, while Americans remain silent as employers across the country are hiring illegals over Americans. Illegals' initiative to stand up for what they believe is why they're superior over Americans as a labor working force. There's over 11.2 million illegals in the USA in 2011. There's not enough jobs for Americans and illegals, but if we're to compete with China (and other countries with low labor cost), we'll need to replace blue-collar low skilled Americans with more illegals. However, with the growing support for Immigration Reform from Republicans and Democrats, calling them "illegal aliens" will be changed to "legal workers."

Back to the main topic, you're only hurting your job resume to quit now, then realize the next company is just as bad (or worse) than your present carrier. If you're adamant on quitting, don't rely on this forum to make your final decision because the poster might be a driver recruiter who gets paid by meeting his quota of driver applicants. Pay attention to which carrier has the most number of loaded trailers in the truck parking area. When you pick up freight, pay attention to which company has the most freight shipping out from that shipper. Carriers will give a volume rate discount if shippers commit themselves to sending most of their outbound freight with that carrier. This market strategy is why JB Hunt, Shneider, Swift, etc… had grown so big; they gave cut-rate discounts to companies who committed most of their freight to them. A lower profit margin from cut-rate discounts kept drivers content (more miles) and lowered the cost of hiring and processing new drivers to replace driver resignations. What the trucking industry calls "driver shortage" is actually "driver turnover" from resignations by drivers like you, not getting enough miles.

 

if you are in Flora,

You might want to call my boss. We are looking for drivers now.

Home weekends for a 34 hour reset. Do a lot of hauling that takes us by your place going from Springfield MO to Champaign.

 

So... it it even advisable for someone considering the trucking industry to get trained and start driving anymore? What are your thoughts?

 

The beautiful thing about the trucking industry is there the strict regulations on having a cdl, keeping a good csa score, and still presenting yourself as a "top notch" driver which often dissuades illegal immigrants from flooding the trucking industry. its true what passingtrucker said about immigration and its impact on American society as a whole....as well as the effects of volume rate discounting. But I should add that just because a carrier has a lot of frieght doesnt make them a good carrier. In my 7 measly years as a driver Ive noticed those bigger carriers were usually to big to give a #####...and they usually dont treat their drivers well because they have hundreds, if not thousands of other drivers making them money so why should they care if they have a driver sit in west bubble#uck for 3 or 4 days (just an example). Not to say that smaller companies are ALWAYS better because they have plenty of bull with them also but a smaller company that only has a limited amount of trucks and drivers usually will cherish the guy who gets out there and bust ##### because they dont have as many trucks and need every dollar they can get from every truck they have...and if your not moving you can be sure they are bustin hump in that office to get you moving soon. What makes a good "refer" or trucking company is three main things...1. How that check looks at the end of the week/month/year 2. How well they treat you (hometime, strictness, benefits, etc.) 3. How that all matches up to what YOU are satisfied with/or able to bend a little to accomodate.

 

You should try magnum they have peterbilt equipment well maintained and pays up to .50 per mile and good benefits packages mail me if questions