My Experience With U.S. Xpress

Hey, guys. I just wanted to write about my experience with U.S. Xpress (USX).

I've been with USX for over 2.5 years. I've driven both solo and as teams through all 48 states. I'm currently in the process of finding a better trucking company to get with, and here's why:

Notice: all of the following pertains to solo driving.

1. Too much waiting (I understand waiting is a part of the game out here, but it seems way too excessive with USX. You rarely get paid to waste time waiting on things to happen, and the amount of time you spend waiting will exceed your driving time, way too often. The killer when it comes to waiting: 95%+ of live loads do not pay detention, which if you are new to driving that means that you will make $0 on a 5 hour load/unload. Outside of that, USX will give you a measly $50/day if they can't find a load for you that day. If that day is on a Sunday--you get $0. Several areas of the country, like South FL or the NW, you may end up waiting up to 2 days for a load).
   
2. Too many live loads (60%+ of all loads are live. Over half of those you will have to wait at-least 2 or 3 hours for. Maybe 20% of those loads you will wait over 4 hours on -- you're most likely not gonna get paid on all of these loads. Live loads with USX are your 14 hour clocks' worst enemy.
   
3. Extremely slow shops (usually over a 12 hour wait time on very small things such as replacing a tire. While this is happening, I always see guys standing around chatting about random stuff or looking at their phones, with available bay spots not being used).
   
4. Repetitively inaccurate order info (wrong addresses, wrong shipper names. The macro to report order errors is not monitored because I have reported many, many repeated order errors multiple times to no avail. I eventually figured out just asking your FM to tell the CSR about the error is a better idea, however even this does not always fix them. Also the company GPS routing software hasn't been updated in several years -- no joke -- it shows the last update right on the SATCOM).
5. Tractor Supply Store loads (USX has a huge account with Tractor Supply out of Maryland. These loads are THE WORST. The miles are extremely low, and it takes at least 2 or 3 hours for them to unload your trailer. Also, you can't stay in your truck during the unload process--this isn't a huge issue, but the thing is they don't always have a place to sit inside (typically they send you to the break room, but several times their manager didn't want me in there because of training). The last TC store load I requested a seat, but was told there were none. I asked if I could just stack 3 bags of dog food to sit on or anything else, but that request was refused. I spent 2.5 hours sitting on a broken pallet at this particular TC store.

• TC store loads ctd: One thing I hate is they add a huge amount of buffer time to the load to make OT delivery (ex: a store delivery 2 hours away means they will give you an appointment time that is 6 hours after the PU, if delivery is on the same day. Delivery on the following morn still includes too much buffer time (ex: PU 15:00, 3 hr drive, DEL 08:00 next day) Delivering early is not an option. Picking the load up past the PU time is not optional either. They also push you to break at the TC store if there are 10+ hrs in between the PU and DEL. That sucks because there are no access to facilities overnight behind a TC store, unless it's near a 24/7 Walmart, which is very rare. So, what do we have to do if we gotta go? Find a nice spot in the grass or on the pavement to take a piss. Like a dog. Gotta go #2? You're screwed.

• TC store loads equate to very little money, a ton of waiting just so you can make OT delivery, and the worst part is I've heard USX office employees brag about how big and profitable their TC account is. What they don't want to admit is that drivers suffer on these loads.

USX is all about waiting on your butt. Waiting at terminals. Waiting at truck stops. Waiting at rest areas. It's so much waiting. I put in work to reduce waiting, such as keeping my PTA up to date, delivering early as much as possible, etc. I've complained about it (politely) to my FM many times. It's still as bad as it always has been.

Things are better with a teammate (less TC store loads, too), however I like the privacy of being solo much better.

My average pay: $850/wk at $.38/mile (take home)

While I was doing teams:
Avg pay: $1,000/wk (take home)

And I'm a good driver. I don't give people crap. I treat people I talk to at shippers/receivers respectfully, and am cool with my FM. This is not the result of me being a dick, or not running my clock improperly, or just not giving a f, as I've had exceptional training and do care about doing a good job out here and making those deliveries on time. The issue is there is just too much waiting in almost every aspect of what USX does.

It feels like USX has the same mentality as some forklift drivers out there (no offense to many of these hardworking guys, btw): "Making you wait is the least of my worries because I get paid hourly." That's what it feels like.

Pay isn't horrible, but without all the waiting I feel it could be much, much higher.

So, I'm switching to a company that has guaranteed detention pay so I can at least make some cash while waiting. That coupled with decent miles and a higher pay floor will improve everything.

Thanks for reading.

Tips for USX: give drivers guaranteed detention pay (ex: $15/hr after 1 hour of waiting) and include a mileage bonus on low mileage loads or a higher pay rate on those loads. Just doing that would dramatically improve life out here for your drivers.

 

Thanks for the tip. I will send him a message.
Appreciate it.

 

I'd rather not post my exact home terminal, but I am based out of GA. Thanks.