SWIFT or Stevens --- which is the lesser of the two evil's?

I will totally agree that I would not work for a company that I think of as scum.
I would not work for swift, but that is more of a personal thing. They are just too freakin big.
I did work for Central Refrigerated, and they are owned by Jerry also. Jerry has really come a long way from one truck to being the largest single owner of trucks in the country and probably the world.
He owns several large carriers outright, these are not public company's anymore, but all owned totally by him. It is a really amazing feat.
I just wish that he and the others working for him could really see how they negatively effect the industry.
JB hunt was the first training company. Back 18 years or so ago now. They stopped training about 10 years ago when they realized it was not helping the industry to have company's doing there own training.
Is swift, or any of the training company's really a "good" company to drive for? No, not really.
But the insurance company's have made it so hard on the better company's that they require 1-3 years of experience driving before the company's can afford to hire drivers. The training company's are all self insured.
I had issues with finding work when I was 21 and first started driving trucks. Due to age and lack of experience, it has gotten worse since.
It is just sad that these company's prey on new drivers. Making them work for substandard pay and putting rules on them to the point that the driver cannot sleep in there trucks for fear of having to pay for the fuel they burn.
But the company's will not put APUs on the trucks because it is cheaper for them to just charge the driver for the extra fuel used.

 

Hey Caliburn, the thing to do is investigate the company by listening to what "their" drivers have to say.... not people ranting about the state of trucking! I'm not taking a shot at anyone, just stating the obvious. I've heard a lot of bad things about these companys on this site...and not to many from their drivers. All companys suck...just find your best fit and get your 1st year in.

 

Cant tell you anything about Stevens,however I did drive for Swift for a very short time.I am now retired and dont miss the trucking cos. one bit. To me Swift was bottom of the barrell,so after four months we parted company.Guess I have enough years of driving the big rigs to consider myself an old pro.But to all of you new drivers just starting out,it aint gonna be easy. No matter who you sign on with,you are gonna have to prove yourself. All of the companies have good runs and bad runs. As a new driver you are gonna get a lot of the bad runs,in other words you gotta pay your dues.even the good runs are gonna seem like hard work to a newbee,thats just a fact of life. You are probably gonna get pretty well aquainted with the east coast,especially NY, and NJ. The older drivers are gonna get most of the good runs.I drove fopr the old MS Carriers,which I thought was a good job,quit there and did a couple of local jobs,like hauling the US Mail between Cleveland,and Chicago.Then a short stint of hauling railroad freight,to the Chicago rail yards. Then bought my own truck and leased back on with MS Carriers,which lasted for several years,in 1998 I decided I had had enough of truckin and sold out.But then a few years later I felt the need to get back in as a company driver,so the short stint with Swift,then onto Roehl Transport,which I found to be a good comany.But in all fairness ,even the good cos. have their faults. In other words in aint a paid vacation driving a truck,it is hard work,if you do it right.So when you start out with a new company be prepared to get some bad hauls,the better stuff will come later.

 

Amen Road Dog, the last couple lines of your post kind of sum things up nicely. Its not vacation, its a job, a life style, and its VERY hard work if you do it right. You have to pay your dues, I watched my grandfather do it for years before he got on with a good company. (he worked for Berkley Triline the fishing equipment company) He went through alot to get there, and in the end was happy as a pig in poo. Its a hard life, and I can agree with chromedome on the fact that its not for everyone and that there are alot of people turning to it now. I am one of them. I know it will be hard, but the pay will be worth it.....and I'll only be OTR for a couple years to get the experience I need to get something local or dedicated. (hopefully I won't take up too much of ya'll freight!)

 

Never driven for either company, but if I was in my rookie year I would do the math and go to work for some one that pulls a commodity that people cannot do with out. Food, Stevens hauls a lot of produce and Meat

 

Stevens frieght base is more than large enough to keep the stevens fleets moving. People have to eat, and we haul food. Yes Stevens is a training company, and does not pay a top wage. Those with experienence deserve a top wage, not someone just starting out.

Home time with Stevens is a problem, 5 to 6 weeks out at a time. They will tell you 3 weeks. Miles 2500 to 3200 per week, depends on your ability to manage time. Stevens insists that you run legal, although dispatch will try and push you to the limits. Slow frieght is right around the corner, January and February are low mile months.

Truck governed at 62mph, no cruise control for the first 90 days solo, jake brake is turned on. Stevens hauls produce, meat, kraft, nabisco, proctor and gamble, milk, cheese, planters, candy, dry goods for family dollar. Deliviers to Wal mart, Safeway, Kroger HEB, Americold, Tyson, the list goes on and on....large and diverse freight base in the food industry.

It actually comes down to which company will work for you, in what you want, home time, area of the country, long runs, short runs, a variety of runs........

I am a Stevens alliance driver that makes it work for me.

 

We pull reefers dedicated to W-M; produce, meat, freezer, deli, dairy.

We're working steady.