I work at The Sygma Network

I work for the highplains divison outa Lubbock, Tx. It is a grocery divison. I guess if you are in good with somebody above you and you get along with them, than they will pick you up as their partner, and it wouldn't be so bad. I guess I am more of a loner. I get along with everyone fine, but would prefer to work alone. We bid on routes every 6 months. They give us a bid book with all the routes in it. They are grouped togther by the trans office into packages. Most packages are 2 to 3 routes a week. They start with the senior most driver first, he gets first pick, then on to the 2nd most senior, so on and so on. The last bid we had in October there were 39 packages to chose from. So when they had got to the last package left, the guy that got to bid had been there 5 years!!!!!!!! It took him 5 years to finally pick up his own bid!!!!!! Thats not saying he didn't run with someone else in the past that had a bid of their own, but the fact remains, it took him 5 years to be able to bid on his own!!! We have lost business over the past year or so, and that really doesn't help guys like me at the bottom of the totum poll!! There more accts we have the more loads created, the more packages they have to put out, the more chance I have of picking up my own, but I guess the ironic part to that is, even if I could bid on my own package, I would have to pick a partner still, NO SINGLE RUNS!!!!!!! I think one of the drivers made a little shy of under 100k last year, but he also runs his butt off, and is in pretty good with the dispatcher in charge of handing out those extra loads. I made a little over 50k, and im fine with that, I would say most guys that run a bid avg about 60 to 70k a year, but again their work is more consistant. I have applied for several ltl jobs, fed ex, saia, con-way but from what I understand those are mainly reserved for people already within the company, close to impossible for an outsider like myself to land a job like that.

 

Hey Sandal, I sent you a message before I read your last post. I to work for Mclane grocery out of Ky. Wow, you guys only had 39 pkges? Last bid here I thought was a bit light and we had 60. Our running area was trimmed over the last 2 yrs. but xtra board drivers here with 2 yrs. are still above 60k per year. I made just under 80k this year but that was running a 3 run bid and only 5 or 6 candy loads. I would tell you to hang in there but it sounds like that division must do alot of short runs. But then again, it still beats the hell out running otr.

 

Are you kidding me?! 60 packages?! When I started here 2 years ago, it was i believe 44, or 43 and every bid since it has been 1 or 2 less. But you said we must have short runs, but we dont! Most are out for 24 to 36 hrs at a time, if fact some of the other drivers said our divison has the largest area to cover, about 500 mile radius of our divison. I think that we may lose some area though once Missouri is up and going, I know Temple took Tulsa, and Dallas from us right b4 i started, a bunch of the senior drivers said they were pulling out with 40k, revenue maxxed, and would do 1100 miles easy going to tulsa. We actually lost part of our easter candy, they said hershey is doing a trial thing to see if they can move it themselves, from what I heard greatwide got that business. Is that the same with yall?

 

Ya most the sygma routes are about that long as well. Though that was a non stop run without a layover unless you ran solo.

 

I'd try to find a job in the ltl industry. I've been with an ltl company for amost 4 years now, and they seem to treat us pretty well. The pay is hourly for p&d drivers, and mileage for linehaul/combo drivers. On average you'll make at least $20/hr to start.

 

hey bobtailin what company do you work for? do you drive ltl? or better yet, what is the difference between p&d drivers, linehaul/combo drivers? I know one usually pulls doubles and just does drop and hook with another truck somewhere in the middle right?

 

I work for southeastern freight lines based out of Columbia sc. I work out of our north atlanta service center. P&d is a local city driver that usually delivers a set route and has set pickups. Combo is dock/p&d/linehaul (short runs only). Most drivers start out as combo. All dock workers and p&d drivers are paid by hour. Linehaul is mileage based. Hope this helps anymore questions don't hesitate to ask.

 

No southeastern divison where I live....

 

One thing to remember is that not all LTL companies are created equal. I've never driven for an LTL company but I frequently speak to drivers who do.

I know that Con-Way here in Danville, IL starts you out at a little over $17/hr, working 40-50 hours per week. But, like a lot of LTL companies, if you have little seniority you will be laid off during slow times. I also knew a guy who relocated to take a job with Roadway and was laid off about a month after he started.

The pay and how hard you'll get worked seems to vary greatly from one company to the next. A Vitran driver I talk to every once in a while seems to always be in a huge rush to get all his deliveries and pickups made on time. He always seems stressed to the max. On the other hand, a FedEx Freight guy I talk to seems to be in no hurry at all.

I'd stay away from Central Transport. The local guy here says they work you like a dog, don't pay squat, and have horrible equipment.

Don't assume that all LTL work is no-touch either. The local Estes and Vitran drivers say they spend a considerable amount of time breaking down pallets (depending on the shipper/receiver) every day.

I think a lot of OTR drivers assume that LTL is a cakewalk, when, in my observations, it looks like it could be hard work, fast paced, stressful, and you could be looking at long hours (Of course, I'm talking about city drivers here).

As always, the best thing to do is talk to drivers before making the plunge.

 

Not to hijack this thread,as I have the utmost respect for you food service drivers,I think you earn every cent of your paycheck.

I've been doing LTL City P&D for a year now and it's more work than I thought,but I don't mind, it keeps this old guy in shape.

Over 50% of my stops don't have a dock,so I use my pallet jack all day long.Moving a 4,000 #skid with a manual jack is not easy,one little toothpick size piece of wood on the floor will stop you dead in your tracks.I don't have a liftgate or ramp,so ocassionally I have to break down skids and use a 2 wheel dolly to take the stuff into the customer.

As for the stress,I think it's all about your attitude.I've had many other drivers from my company and others say don't worry about the deliveries,they're already paid for,just don't miss any pickups.Missed deliveries are job security for tomorrow.

With the economy the way it is many of our customers have reduced operating hours making our job harder.I have customers that stop recieving as early as 10 a.m.,and I don't leave my terminal until 9 a.m.or later,and it's an hours drive to get to them.It all depends on how bad they want the delivery if they unload you or not.

I had a good one last week,1 skid for a refrigerated grocery warehouse that stops recieving at 10a.m.My boss made an appointment for 10a.m.(the latest time they will accept).They had me ready to roll at 9a.m. as I don't work the dock(sometimes I wish I could load my trailer,but that's not the way my company does it.My boss does his best to load me in the right order,but he doesn't know my area as well as I do,so I have to shuffle skids around).

So I get to my appointment 15 minutes early and they assign me a dock which has a dropped trailer in it(there are 5 empty docks right next to it).So I go back in and tell them about this and they say they will move the dropped trailer WTF!!!.After about 20 minutes a bobtail moves the trailer and I bump my ASSIGNED dock at 10:15.I go up on the dock and lock my trailer to the dock and raise the dock plate(some places don't want you operating their equipment,but this place is cool with it).

At 10:45 my boss calls me on the 2-way and asks how's it going there(after 15 minutes at a stop I am supposed to call and tell him I'm being delayed,but all our drivers use their own discretion on that depending on how busy their day is).When I get to a stop I hit arrive on my phone(gps equipped)so they know where I am at all times.

I tell him I'm still waiting to be unloaded and he says go to the office and tell them NICELY you have to leave in 5 minutes.I go up to the office and tell her this NICELY and she says"WHATEVER".5 minutes later they take the skid off my truck and the forklift driver says he is going to lunch and he will count the skid when he gets back from lunch.This skid has about 50 cartons of 2 different kinds of drink mix on it.

So an hour after my appointment time they are telling me I have to wait another half hour or more to get my bill signed,I call my boss and tell him this and he tells me to put the skid back on my trailer and leave.During my time waiting to get unloaded there were guys sweeping floors and standing aroud talking,WTF!!!

That evening when I got back to the terminal there was an expediter there to pick up that skid because they needed that product pronto.Gotta love those grocery warehouses,they think they are gods.

I cover an area of about 900 square miles and there are days when I get pickups on the beginning of my route that I know I won't be able to make it back to before they close ,so there have been times when I have to take all my deliveries off my trailer at the pickup site(if they have room on their dock),put my pickup on,then put my deliveries back on.This all depends on the amount I am picking up,if it's just a few skids I will put them on the back of the trailer and work my deliveries around them.

Some forklift drivers have unloaded my deliveries for me,and put them back on,in order to get their shipment on.Other times I have done this all with my pallet jack.Some forklift drivers won't touch freight that isn't theirs and I don't blame them,they have their own work to do and there is the liability issue of freight getting damaged.

Throw into the mix oversize skids that can't be moved with a jack and limited space on my trailer and it can make for a fun day.I occassionally haul flatbed type freight and it can be a real PITA to work with,dragging it to the back of the trailer with chains or straps.I've had 7'square steel plates 3"thick,20' long plates of steel,and a lot of other crap not meant for a box trailer.But it is cheaper for the shippers to send it in a box than on an LTL flatbed.

I always felt an LTL P&D would be a dream job,naively thinking that they all went out and did their deliveries,took a nice long lunch break,and then did all the pickups.There might be one day a month where I actually have all my deliveries off before I do any pickups.

I think most of the LTL companies require a 2 hour notice for pickups,and some shippers really take advantage of this,calling in at the last minute.I get calls for pickups as late as 4p.m.,and I might be an hour away from them and have other stops along the way.

Between the constant trip planning and replanning every time a pickup comes on my phone,always thinking 2 or 3 stops ahead to work around lunch breaks and break times,the manual labor,and chatting for a couple minutes with many of my customers I have become good friends with,my days ALWAYS go by quickly and I am never bored.

OK,there are times when I get delayed somewhere and I have a bunch of stops ahead of me and I get a little stressed,but I am working on that.When I ran OTR I used to HATE IT when they would let an LTL cut in line at a dock,and before they were done another would show up and do the same.

Some places I go to LTL gets preference,and others I have to wait for a truckload to get done,or come back later and lose my place in line.With 10 to 15 stops a day this can make for a long day.

I averaged 50 hours a week last year working 5 days a week with weekends off,so all in all I love my job.