I'm Sick & Tired of Reefers...

I agree totally. If your at the customer more than the standard 2 hrs and some companies are less than that then you go on the clock. Period. Stevens should be charging JBS for having a truck sitting there that long over the apt time. At the paper mill I haul from they have the standard 2hrs then the carriers start charging the mill. Believe me they get guys out of there.

 

The carrier is probably getting detention, just not passing any of it on to the driver.

 

Born, raised and live in Colorado so I'm no stranger to cold weather. BTW, who waits around for reefer loads? I pull for a well-managed carrier.

 

Don't know how Stevens works, but that Greeley plant is the worst! I was a driver for JBS, most of us hated to go there! The guards were also the worst. I think whatever you drive that at some point your going to have delays, but, from what I've experienced in driving reefers it's a lot of hurry up and wait! Hope things pick up for you, and you get experience and the job that fits you! Safe travels,

 

Marshalltown Pork plant is the worse. Our customers want fresh product. You don't just kill something and box it up. There are government regulations and test done to make sure the meat is good. As said earlier the company is just probably not passing the detention to the driver. We also pick up paper and I have set at paper mills for hours as well. I have set hours picking up Sugar down in Louisiana as well. There is no part of the trucking industry that doesn't have to sit and wait sometime. IF a company doesn't pay detention. Don't work for them. I spent way more time sitting at Cargil plants in my years of hauling meat. So no more Ottumwa,Ia Friona, Dodge City, and Fort Morgan for me.

 

After 8 months with Stevens I ended up getting a job driving a car hauler. Its not for the lazy man as its long hours and hard work but Im home almost every night and make in a week what I made at Stevens in a month.

As far as sitting, I dont. As soon as I get to the yard I print my paperwork off for the day then load and leave. It takes me 30-45 minutes to load and 15-30 minutes to unload and I am one of the slow guys. There are no appointments so the load gets there when it gets there. When I run local (most days) I normally run 4 loads and it takes me about 11-13 hours.

There are better jobs out there, just look around.

 

The biggest problem with the meat loads is that they want the empty trailer there by midnight on a specific day, the load is then DLDd (supposed to be ready) by a specific time which may be 24-36-48 hrs into the future. Supposedly, Stevens does not get paid until the DLD has passed. Of course, even when the DLD passes without the load being ready, the driver still doesn't get any compensation, and if they are solo, they usually lose the load as well, because Stevens refuses to reset the delivery appointment.

 

And now a lesson about meat...
Tyson is a very efficient operation. One of the reasons they are so successful.
The addage goes, "Tyson won't begin to kill the cows until the trailer is there!"
There is a lot of truth to that.
So we need to get the trailers there so they can process the cattle, because they don't warehouse the meat. It litterally is process down the line and packed into the trailers in the dock. Ribeyes here, hamburger there, tongue somewhere else.
Tyson is very good about meeting DLD's. Their rate is in the 90 percentiles.
I don't know about compensation, but keep in mind, there are lots and lots of trucking companies standing in line for the freight we haul.
If they blow a DLD, the competitive pressure dicates we suck it up and run. Yes, it often means at the expense of the driver, but the alternative is losing freight from Tyson.
There is a score system that Tyson keep that dictates who is their #1, 2 and 3 carrier for the next quarter. OTD plays heavily into that score.
That is why things happen the way they do.
Now if you want to talk about blowing a DLD, let's talk about Swift! They wouldn't know a deadline if it hit them upside the head!
And truthfully, if push comes to shove, we'll take care of a Tyson load before a Swift load.
Swift abuses everyone.
Some of the problems arise from people within Stevens that don't understand the dynamics of trucking.
I had a load to try and repower tonight. EIGHT drops! Four one day, four the next. Most drops were one hour apart.
I know the logic..."well it's only a couple cases to drop there, it won't take long!"
Needless to say, it didn't get repowered. Who in their right mind will take that load, knowing full well it will turn into a 4 day delivery?
It will eventually end up on a grad driver or a D&D team because they don't know any better.
But we will be forced to reset the appointments.

 

I will take an 8 drop JBS or Tyson load any day over a Smithfield load. Hands down THE worst experience I've ever had in my 3.5 years out here.

Nothing redeeming or joyful about that place, its employees or (in my case) its customers. It was 4 days of pure hell. Never again.

 

I've only done one Smithfield load an must have gotten lucky... pig parts to a Sausage maker in IL. Load was ready when I got there and waited maybe two hours for unload.