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.

 

Great post! Finally, a clear and concise explanation of what is wrong with a company.
No screaming and yelling, no wild accusations, just the plain ordinary reasons why one particular driver is moving on.
I hope USX reads your post and I hope other drivers learn from it.

 

^I agree. Many times the shenanigans at USXpress has been documented but this probably the best detailed post I've seen about the company ever. @Anon99, you might want to send a PM to @Chinatown,our resident truck company guru. He might be able to suggest a decent company for you depending on where you live.

 

Id say that is a relatively fair post. For the solo guy there can be a lot of waiting. I usually have to flat out tell them I'm going to stop, but I'm a trainer. The Tractor Supply info accurate except for the picking up time. I'm my experience they don't care when you pick it up as long as you deliver on time.

The pay issue. Ive noticed that that is a symptom of the industry at large. The way I keep from going insane is that I look at my pay at the end of the week and if it is enough to justify the work I put in that week then I don't worry about it. I do that at every job Ive had not just USX because its pretty standard for trucking companies to skim 5-10% of the miles off each load. If you pay too much attention it'll drive you nuts BUT that happens everywhere that doesn't pay HUB miles.

 

$1000 avg for teams!? Wow, that is really, really low.

 

@Anon99 where are you based out of? That's a strong but of information that will be needed

 

Everything this OP stated is right on the money... I work for us express many years ago and they evidently still have not changed.. and I seriously doubt they ever will..


They are without a doubt the biggest bunch of Clueless fools I've ever seen in my life and I have been in that building in Chattanooga on the third floor where operations is.. one big room where the DM's low Planters and customer service are and yet there is zero communication.. as far as the shop I'd have to agree for the most part when they used to be at Medway Ohio I had the shop tell me one weekend they couldn't get to me and yet all I saw was 7 empty Bays and a stack of work orders on the desk and the mechanic standing around smoking cigarettes for which I took pictures of them every hour for approximately eight hours until they caught on to what I was doing and close the doors but by then I'd reported them to Chattanooga all the way to the top I did..


Your best no would be to find a good company for experienced drivers that's not part of the mega carrier Clan cuz the mega carriers do not care whether you make it or not

 

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.

 

I think they're asking what state you live in so people could give you a list of decent companies that hire in your area