Stevens Transport A year in review

A little behind here...

Week 3 miles

miles ran 2108, had to get to the yard for safety talk.

Miles paid 2172

Week 4 miles

Miles ran, 2801

Miles paid, 2482

Got to delivery last friday in NYC in the snow. What an adventure.. The best part, Astoria NY, narrow streets, lots of traffic, and snow banks.. 9 ft of street... and I did not scrap a single car. Oh and having to blind side back a dock, due to the snow banks from clearing the dock area, and not having enough room to spin around. And then waiting at my other drop in brooklyn blocking the street while a cop took his sweet time doing an accident report for a car running into a truck backed into the docks. Then he the cop told me I had to move, and my answer, I will, as soon as I can clear your car. Only then did he realize the problem... he had the whole dock and street blocked.

My time on the yard, lots of refresher classes, that time again... I guess they help remind one about safely operation a truck. Now if the niece would just grow up.(inside joke that veterans will get)

Sorry so short, but I caught a cold the first days on the yard, and my energy level is just not back to normal.

 

Dryver you are funny...

January 2011
Miles ran, 11341
Dispatched miles, 11212
Actual miles on dispatched miles, 11625 (does include some miles from Feb)
Unpaid miles, 414 for a 3.7%

Fuel Mileage for January, 6.62
Fuel cost, .182 per mile (includes fuel surcharge)

Miles paid in January, 9838
Cents per mile, .283

January is always a tuff month. Cold weather, slower freight, although this year was pretty good. But there are those days between loads, time at the yard. This year was an improvement over last year. I am satisfied with my numbers for january. I enjoy the freedom I do get as an alliance operator, and the hands off I get from Dallas.

 

In my humble opinion, one can never make up for the down time from a storm, and trying to will lead to bad decisions, that end up being a poster on the yard. Part of trucking, one of those things we have no control over.

 

Week 5
Jan 31 to Feb 6
Miles ran, 2522
Miles paid, 1997

Week 6
Feb 7 to Feb 13
miles ran, 2671
miles paid, 3164

Started the month of Feb delivering late to Nabisco near little rock AR. Watching the storm roll in, have a preplan to pick up in Russelville Tyson. Get unloaded, and head over to the little truck stop on I40, watching the ice pellets hit the windshield. Park, and wait for the load assignment. Takes until 10 am before they finally send me the load. The weather in the area is clear, and I head over to Tyson, check in, get to drop my empty, and back under the trailer in the door. By 2pm I am loaded, and head over to the J. Headed to Long Island New York again.

No adventures, just a layed back drive, and pull into maines paper at 630 am for a 7am appt. Get a door, and at 730 I am empty, and headed over to Uncle Walleys Muffins. Check in, get loaded, and head out, now this is Friday, and this load delivers in Indy on Monday, too much time, but I can use a reset. Pull into the pilot at x 94, my delivery is 5 miles away for monday morning.

Start the 7th out making my 6am delivery, I am empty by 7am. Back over to the pilot, no preplan. At 10 am I am set a load from logansport IN Tyson, that the DLD was Sunday night, delivery is noon in Cleveland. Not gonna happen, and ask for a teleporter. Get told to hold off, get another load, from shelbyville KY to Fresno CA for a thursday Delivery. Not gonna happen either, as this load was to be picked up on Sunday. I go get it, and head out. Make hinton OK where I hand the load off to a team, and I go to sleep, gonna get up early, check the weather, snowing, ice to north, snow in amarillo. Was going to head up us 281, but ice covered blowing snow, and 10,000 in the box. So west on I40 to amarillo, where I pull in and send in my running late, which gets a quick response, a team bobtail comes over, grabs my Salt lake load that gives the trainee his NorthWest. Salt lake is NOT the northwest, unless you live in Dallas.

Get a ralphs load, compton CA, that is supposed to be ready, but is not, and it is another 5 hours before I get the load. So now I am running late again. Think stevens can find a repower for this load, NO. So I deliver to Ralphs late, made it so much easier to check in. Now I am in LA, and getting a load home is easy, colton or City of Industry to Cheyenne WY... But no....
Get a Target load, 5 picks, already late. First pick, Mira Loma. 3 picks around bakersfield, and then final south of Fresno...Get all the bakersfield picks done, but the Dinuba pick closes at noon on saturday, and reopens at 8am on monday. And I am in tulare CA, 30 miles south at 6pm Saturday. This load delivers on Tuesday 2300 in Fort Worth... Not gonna happen.

So the storms have caused Stevens to be unable to schedule trucks to freight, and now they are scrambling to make it work, but are so busy putting out fires, and covering loads, that they have no idea what they are doing. I will get home this week, even if it means a 900 mile run at my expense.

 

Headed into LA for a drop, on Thursday, and knowing that LA is a good spot for freight to get me home I request a load home. I get a preplan for a produce load going to Ft worth TX, that is already late on the picks.. I ask for another load, one going to cheyenne wy. My DM calls, and insists I take the preplan, and he will get me home after that.. I should have known better.

Did the first pick in Mira loma, and my 14 was quickly approaching so over to the TA where I talk with other stevens drivers, and find 3 that have loads to Cheyenne wy, and none of them pick up until saturday.

My next 3 picks are around Bakersfield, which I am able to pick up on saturday, just making the 3rd pick 10 minutes before they closed for the weekend. Call the shipper up in Dinuba, and they closed at noon, and will not reopen until Monday... Now I am screwed. This load is due in Fort Worth, Tuesday, no way I can make it, and it is repowered to a team, and I get stuck with a Los Lunas load... and NO chance to get home...
I have had to fight with every driver manager I have had to get home... they always have an excuse, which I call them on. Drivers home time is always ignored, gotta keep that freight moving.

This is my largest and biggest complaint about Stevens...I don't go home often, but when I am ready to go home, and am in a position to get home, they always have an excuse to not get me home...

So tonight when I am empty, I will decide if I head home, 710 miles at my expense, or do I spend another 2 weeks out here, trying to get home.