Needing Some Input (LTL Related)

I am Jon. If this helps working freight out of Knoxville,TN. Right now I am 20 years old and hopefully by next year I will be driving with a CDL endorsement. I have had a lot to think about, talked to a few people, but just aren't sure which direction to go. So here is some background:

I started out on the dock a little over a year ago for a Regional carrier out of Virginia. (Wilson Trucking) I learned how to do hostlers work and how freight works in the LTL industry. What I had planned on doing was eventually becoming a linehaul driver for them after driving in the city and gaining experience.

However, they had some bad business moves and got bought out by a bigger company in April of this year. The company that bought them was Central Freight Lines out of Waco, Texas. It seemed pretty impressive looking at how well CFL has done for themselves. I was hoping a full time dock position would open up till I could drive, but that does not seem like it will happen anytime soon. Now, me working at a terminal that was not previously owned and operated by CFL, makes me understand that these transitions might be a little slow for a bit, while everything gets sorted out. We are still awaiting on some things to come.

After learning no new positions were really going to open up, I applied on the dock for XPO Logistics and Fedex Freight. XPO would not hire me if I stayed on with Central, so I took the Fedex job, and am currently still working there as well. (Both were offering PT positions).

I would like to drive as soon as I can and start making some good money. I realize I am not going to get rich overnight, but I certainly want to do well for myself to help my family out, and become financially independent and get my own life rolling. I believe driving a truck can provide that with dedication and hard work. What I have gathered through research is that I would like to stay away from OTR. Someone like myself I think would do better in an LTL industry. Even if I was a driver I do not think i would care to get on on the dock and move freight. I do not mind dock work at all, I have made pickups and deliveries before. (In a ford van not a dry van lol). I like the fast pace of LTL and already have my foot in the door. With that being said here are some things I have been thinking on.


Central Freight Lines:
I know by next year I could be driving for them. I would start out as a local P&D driver due to linehaul driving age minimum being 23. City drivers get paid $18 an hour starting out, so not bad but not the best either. Linehaul guys run terminal to terminal, drop n hook(not sure if any work the dock or not), and usually pull sets of pups in my area, although for now some pull 53s as well. They have guys on dedicated bids where they run from Knox to Atlanta every night and Knox to Charlotte. You only get those runs with seniority, so I would be what they call a floater. I run wherever they need me. We have had a couple guys end up in Texas before. (They get paid .46 cpm so that was probably a good week $$) It is usually Monday-Friday driving at night. Sometimes if theres an extra load a guy will come in Sunday night and run it. Central is still in the process of getting rid of all the old junk wilson trucks and replacing them with brand new freightliners, so that is a nice benefit they are good looking trucks and the drivers seem to like them. There is also openings for shuttle driver jobs but I am not too familiar with how those work.

So, with CFL, I will have to wait my turn if I want that linehaul job, but the money could be great. Some floaters make $80,000 a year. Home time would not be the best compared to a city driver, but you sleep in hotels (could be a gift and curse though) drive newer trucks, and go from terminal to terminal. There are also owner operators at central freight lines, but that would be several years away for me to get into. I do have some interest in that as well. Central seems like a company who could be around for a while, and a place I could work if the money is right.


XPO Logistics:
I was blown away when I went in for my interview. They had Conway's old Knoxville building with over 100 dock doors. (Wilson only had 25 lol) It seemed like a lot of good things were going on over there and the guy interviewing me was an old Conway employee that stayed on after the buyout. (Something I could relate to) I know XPO has a dock to driver program, and they pay for all your endorsements and train you, which I like because I don't have to run around figuring out how to get all the endorsements I need, plus finding a stable truck to take my road test in. Their city drivers in Knoxville start out at $20 an hour. I am not sure what their linehaul guys make but on my way to work every night I probably pass 10 of them and then 10 more on my way home. I just moved into a new neighborhood and have learned that one of their city drivers lives near me, and I plan on talking to him about driving there. XPO seemed like an impressive company and I have heard pretty good things from other drivers.

So with XPO, I would say I need to learn a little more about them, plus I would have to wait for a driver job to open, and maybe have to just get a job on the dock and wait that way. Not sure, but XPO seems like a good place to drive



Fedex Freight:
So far so good with Fedex Freight. I work on the dock on their hub shift. They move enough freight for a 150 door facility yet only have 68 doors. They are planning on moving to a terminal in the next year or 2, so that seems like a positive. I am about 13th in line right now for a full time position, either driving or on the dock. Fedex has a lot of good benefits, pays well, and has definitely a lot of incentives to keep people around. A lot of their drivers have worked for them for a long time, and really seem to like it. Drivers can work the dock and some are required to. They get paid 20 something bucks an hour though, so I would be all up for that. The only downside with Fedex Freight is it seems like I might be waiting around a while to drive for them. I would love to be a driver there, but don't want to be almost 30 by the time I am getting my driving job. Maybe it would not take that long, but there is a driver that moved from CA to TN that is stuck on the dock waiting on a job to open up to drive, and he told me he has been waiting almost a year now. However, if it really is worth it to drive for them, maybe it is worth the wait after all.

So with Fedex, lots of good benefits, good equipment, lots of oppurtunities to make extra money while on the job, and steady work. Seems like it takes a while to get a driving job though, and I am ready to take the wheel and start getting paid. City guys make 20 something an hour and I think road drivers make .55 cpm




With all that being said, what would some of you guys do in my situation? Do you know of drivers that were in the same scenario as me? Out of these 3 companies what sound like pros and cons? Any input I greatly appreciate. I do not mind what I am doing right now, but you can only go so far as a dock worker, and I think I could become a good driver for a company and make a difference. I believe I could make a successful career for myself as well, and am anticipating on making some more money not only for me, but my family as well. If there is anything I left out I will do to the best of my knowledge to answer any questions.

 

drive for anybody but wilson. old junk trls and tractors. low wages benefits suck

 

Only limited advice I can give is when I was looking into LTL Fed Ex Freight told me the same thing. It'd be like 3 years before I even got into a truck, much less a steady route. And the time I was like "F a big bag of that." But, long range might have been worth it. I do know some the linehaul guys at FedEx are "linehaul" but they go to a terminal maybe an hour or so away, work the dock for 7-8 hours the drive back. So be wary of that. Other than that as far as hometime and benefits I don't think you could go wrong with either choice. Like you said, I'd get the skinny on XPO from your neighbor and go from there.

 

if you are a young dock hand. then u will be better of working for ups parcel

 

And UPS is Union too. Problem is that you almost have to know someone to get hired on at UPS.

 

not to start off loading boxes.

 

If there's a UPS Freight around your area, they might be a good choice for Dock work, if you don't mind living off crumbs for the first couple years.

Full-time Dock Workers make just about as much as the P&D Drivers and they top out somewhere around $27-28 an hour. Forklifts are computerized and they have built in scales on the forks. Easy work, hardly any breakdown or separating of pallets, but it's VERY fast paced. They'll tell you about all kinds of Safety crap that you have to abide by, like honking your horn whenever your backing out of a trailer, but NOBODY ever does that because it's a complete MADHOUSE on the docks with forklifts zooming around everywhere. You basically drive around in a forklift all-day unloading and reloading freight, and a lot of them make over $70k at top scale. But as far as I know, UPS Freight doesn't have any type of dock to driver program. Only downside is working on the docks during the winter, but other than that, a cake job.

 

go with ups parcel and not freight

 

Well Central Freight Lines bought out Wilson. Wilson Trucking no longer exists, they did not even keep their truckload division. CFL is working on replacing all their equipment, it is just early.

 

I did apply for a full time position here in Knoxville. Jobs for UPS almost never come up here. If I wanted to work for them I would probably have to relocate.