Random LTL Rants (all are welcomed)

There, that was my hand held last week. I tripled in and then someone else dropped me two more trailers. One trailer had 450 tires on it that needed to go to three different stores. The other four were all LTL with 7+ stops on it each. Granted, I started earlier that day, but it's still an unreasonable amount of work.

 

Same thing happened a few years ago out towards Williston ND and Pinewood MT. Starting pay was $27/hour and all the OT you could handle due to the oil field exemption. I've heard stories of people passing through that literally abandoned their vehicles and loads and got hired on on the spot. The local Hardee's had to pay $21/hour plus full benefits just to keep their building staffed. Modern day gold rush. But it has cooled down a lot in the past three years. OPEC tried to artificially manipulate the market by flooding it with extra oil. Their idea was to drive down the price so that the American industry would collapse due to the excess. It kinda worked but they are still fracking along.

 

It's a miserable existence. I do it mostly out of pride... Then also anything that comes back undelivered gets added on and goes out the next day. I'd much rather just have an extra two hours for breathing room. But no, they are milking us by condensing our work schedule and having us run double the stops per hour.

 

That's the other thing. We do alot of false finishes. I roll in at 6 PM, and all of a sudden I have to hook to an empty and do a pickup from a customer that is 30 miles away. They are long closed but they leave their door unlocked for me so I can load myself out. It is not hard work, but it is frustrating as hell to get back exhausted and getting an extra hour of work when you think you are done for the day.