Mike's Book Club: The Legend of Werner Enterprises 1956-2002

Mike2633 · Jun 3, 2018

Hello everyone will be back off of hiatus soon. I stepped in it a little on my other thread haha, so I’ll just stick to truck issues I seem to do better there lol.

bzinger · Jun 3, 2018

I have a little update ...met a Werner company truck on 54 in Kansas pulling a nice new flatbed in Werner colors .
Then this morning on 54 in new Mexico I met one of the Freightliner classics and it looked like new !
Even said Werner on the roof ...I thought I was seeing things .

taodnt · Jun 3, 2018

Mike2633 said: ↑

@taodnt
Are you working anywhere yet or selected a company to apply for?
Click to expand...

Answer to first part : no
Answer to second part : yes, several

Hope to be driving soon. Thanks for asking.

Mike2633 · Jun 4, 2018

bzinger said: ↑

I have a little update ...met a Werner company truck on 54 in Kansas pulling a nice new flatbed in Werner colors .
Then this morning on 54 in new Mexico I met one of the Freightliner classics and it looked like new !
Even said Werner on the roof ...I thought I was seeing things .
Click to expand...

That Classic must be some special million mile guy or something. Unless Werner is suddenly under old management all of a sudden.

bzinger · Jun 4, 2018

Mike2633 said: ↑

That Classic must be some special million mile guy or something. Unless Werner is suddenly under old management all of a sudden.
Click to expand...

I don't know pal ..,keep in mind I met him at 65 mph .
That truck looked pristine !

Mike2633 · Jun 9, 2018

Hi guys here's the link to our new thread for our new subject:
Talkin' Trucks With Mike:A History of the TNT Companies

13 Speed Road Ranger · Dec 20, 2020

Mike2633 said: ↑

WERNER ENTERPRISES 1999-2001 Crossing New Borders.

In 1999 Werner Enterprises entered a new era. The man who is now the CEO of the company Derek Lether's was put in charge of Werner's international division. Because of NAFTA being passed in the mid 1990s it was now easier to do business in Mexico and Werner started partnering with Mexican Trucking Companies to haul loads in and out of Mexico.

Werner also to a smaller extent increased Canadian operations as well. In years before NAFTA shipping to Mexico and stuff was being done, but it wasn't as profitable and it was harder to do. At the time M.S. Carriers was still in business they hadn't been bought out by Swift yet and the CEO of M.S. Carriers said that, back in the old days you would send a trailer into Mexico and hope you got it back and if you got it back it came back in one piece.

So with International operations on the rise Werner expanded it's shipping reach and also it's logistical service offerings.

However the fun didn't last forever. In the year 2000 the economy started to slow down a bit and Werner was not immune to this, there trucking started to slow however Werner did pay off a lot of the companies debts by this time and the operation was pretty much debt free by this time, but they did not expand the fleet any. They said in the late 1990s Werner was growing at a rapid pace as 1999 company revenue surpassed a billion dollars. C.L. Werner said "My second billion should come easier then the first billion."

However the interesting thing about Werner was they said there driver turnover rate was 65% which was lower then the 100% turnover rate at other carriers, but they still had a hard time getting drivers and because of the fact that they couldn't find enough drivers they had a hard time expanding. It was funny because they said drivers had a chance to earn as much as $40K a year at Werner. Which I guess $40K a year in 1999 dollars would be what $50K a year in today's dollars.

Now I think a good driver at Werner could do better then $40K a year that sounds low to me. Anyhow by this time though the Werner's I think Werner's son was the CEO of the company at the time the late 1999s came around because C.L. him self would have already been in business 40 something years and he was already starting to slowdown him self. C.L. said in the mid 1990s that "Working full time used to mean 80 hours a week, now it means 35-40 hours a week."

I think by the late 1990s it was even less then that for C.L. I think he pretty much was just around and was starting to be more of a figure head at that point.

What's funny is the Werner's now aren't really involved in any faction of the business. C.L.'s 81 he's pretty much retired and I'm sure doesn't keep up with company operations as close as he used to or did. He might get an overview once a year, but I'm pretty sure he's just like a powerless figure head now and the kids have all gotten the shake down and shaken out of the company. It's like J.B. Hunt Johnny is dead and Jonhnelle comes around picks up her check for a billion dollars every month and then goes back to her mansion on the hill.

The people who were in operations at Werner at the office said Werner was not a micro manager they gave you a task to do and it was on you to do it they didn't tell you how, or any of that. They said back in the late 1990s and early 2000s Werner did not have a ton of bureaucracy. I'm sure that's changed some.

Anyhow early 2000s the freight market went kind of quiet and then September 11 2001 to economy really took a dive and while Werner stayed alive they said 2000 and 2001 were not the companies best years. However they did open an international terminal in Laredo, Texas around that time, but they said September 11 2001 was a pretty slow day for them as I think it was for the entire country there was other things to do that day. Someone in operations at Werner said "Yes, we didn't move very much freight that day."

I was in 7th grade at the time and we didn't do a ton of school learning that day. Pretty much watched the TV and listened to the radio all day.

Do any of you guys remember that day?
It was a sunny day here in Ohio same as it was in New York City and it was like any other day and then the bottom fell out and after that it was pretty eerie the rest of the day.

Anyhow after that the economy did slow down a bit and they said trucking company's started to close shop because there was a lot of contraction in the economy. People in those days weren't in the mood to buy stuff or go out to eat.

However Werner Enterprises because the company was so conservatively run well structured kind of just tightened there belt they didn't expand the truck fleet and just worked with they had during those years.

Anyhow that wraps up Werner Enterprises 1999-2001.

The next chapter is 2002-the future. Which will see because usually those last chapters are just a commercial for the company, but the thing is all the information is already 15 -16 years old and not even current any more I'm sure some of what they predicted came true and other stuff didn't. Seems to be how it goes.

Anyhow join me for the next and final update as we wrap up The Legend of Werner Enterprises the companies history to 2002. Anything after 2002 is for us to write ha-ha.
Click to expand...

13 Speed Road Ranger · Dec 20, 2020

I was covering the dock bid at my small 6 driver Cf terminal. Started at 10:00 pm the night before & had already taken my mandatory nap from 3-4 am & loading route trailers when office Mgr/dispatcher came and told me to stop & gave the news. Heartbreaking is an understatement. Worked until 2:00 pm went home & watched the tv crying. 9/11 was a sad day in the USA. 9/2/02 sucked pretty bad also.

Banker · Dec 20, 2020

13 Speed Road Ranger said: ↑

I was the dock bid at my small 6 driver Cf terminal. Started at 10:00 pm the night before & had already taken my mandatory nap from 3-4 am & loading route trailers when office Mgr/dispatcher came and told me to stop & gave the news. Heartbreaking is an understatement. Worked until 2:00 pm went home & watched the tv crying.
Click to expand...

I had already left CF when they went out, but it was my first trucking job. I ran city 2-3 days a week as a side job from my full time FD job. I really enjoyed working there.

13 Speed Road Ranger · Dec 20, 2020

Banker said: ↑

I had already left CF when they went out, but it was my first trucking job. I ran city 2-3 days a week as a side job from my full time FD job. I really enjoyed working there.
Click to expand...

I went there in 1999 when Nationsway closed. I went to Cf cause this little terminal was only 10 miles from my house. Iliked Cf alot.

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