The Decline Of Crete Carrier

A driver may not mean to be rude to a customer. But again, they will be cleaning out their truck whether they meant to be rude or not.

But they wanted it, so they should take the heat, or get out of the kitchen., not be rude to the people that put the money in the coffers that pay their salary.

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I can't. They have to maintain professionalism for how many hours a day? 8 or 10 maybe. I am expected to act in a professional manner at all times on the road regardless of the pressures of my job. Says so in just about any company driver manual you read.

Being treated rudely is a separate issue from the issue you called about. You do not need to excuse bad behavior by your dispatcher to get a issue resolved. I had the phone numbers to everyone I needed to get my job done and never needed to excuse a dispatchers behavior to get a issue resolved. I outlasted dozens of dp'rs when I drove OTR and never put up with someones rudeness who gets to go home each night and sleep in a bed with 300 count cotton sheets.

 

Of course I take everything read here with a grain of salt as there is ALWAYS more to the story than whats being told, but I will agree that Crete isnt perfect. Can you tell me what company is? Tell me what CEO of any company doesnt forget who his/her money makers are? Tell me what company isnt constantly looking for ways to reduce their expenses?
The company is looking out for the company. Sometimes it benefits the employees...sometimes it doesnt.
Change happens all the time and we need to either adapt, or find something else.
I will start crossing bridges when I come to them.
We all know what speculation does. It starts threads like this!

 

Just when I thought I found a good company to work for....Looks like I'll have to go to 'train school" now???

 

Yeah, heard the 'bad news' about Crete. The guy who got me into driving 10 yrs ago was an ex-Marine who had been with Crete for 12 years---he absolutley loved them. They even let him use a rig to move his & new wife's household from Albuquerque to SLC when he got married to get his family to his home terminal. Last I heard, he was no longer with them..? These days, most National Carrs are turning into Swift Wannabees...

 

Glad somebody here sees the light of tomorrow's sunrise before it gets here. You guys gonna bash on Mr. Cheeto here like you did me when I said over a year ago the railroads are gonna rise up like a Phoenix and start taking your jobs? Or do you still have your heads in the sand by thinking it's a static world in which nothing changes? You'd better believe the world changes, and sometimes it changes direction on a dime. You'd be naive to think rail capacity can't double in three years if the powers want it that way.

Warren is gonna realize the return on that investment he made in the rails, an investment that consisted of a whole lot of other people's money. The rails are coming back, boys. Ready or not, here they come.

 

Maybe, Mr. Shadow of the Moon. You could also go to that heavy EQ school out in Vegas, or maybe the chef school in Portland that's not far from Jubitz. You don't HAVE to do trucking.

 

A Washington Post article was printed in today's Albuquerque Journal entitled, "Back On Track: Railroads Roar Ahead as Global Trade, Skyrocketing Fuel Costs Add Up To Expansion For Once-Dying Industry". I am sure if you google the Washington Post you can find the article to read in its entirety. Here are some interesting points made that should be cause for concern for those of us in the trucking industry:

"The freight railway industry is enjoying its biggest building boom in nearly a century, a turnaround as abrupt as it is ambitious. It is largely fueled by growing global trrade and rising fuel costs for 18-wheelers."

"This year alone, the railroads will spend nearly $10 billion to add track, build switchyards and terminals, and open tunnels to handle the coming flood of traffic."

"Freight rail tonnage will rise nearly 90 percent by 2035, according to the Transportation Department."

"A train can haul a ton of freight 423 miles on one gallon of diesel fuel; about a 3-to-1 fuel efficiency advantage over 18-wheelers..."

"UPS is the railroad industry's biggest customer. " (I could have sworn from what I see in New Mexico that it was JB Hunt.)

"One standard railcar can carry up to 100 tons of densely packed freight. It would take four standard 18-wheelers to carry the smae amount."

"The railroads argue that more trains mean fewer trucks on the road and less air pollution, public benefits that the public should help pay for." They are using this argument to attempt to get government subsidies to help fund their expansion.

Rail could be the doing in of the trucking industry in the 21st century, just as the trucking industry was the doing in of the rail industry in the 20th century. We need to learn to run more efficient and do our jobs the best we can to keep our industry alive.

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS262338+26-Feb-2008+BW20080226

 

Yes, the rails are gonna rise again, and because of all these reasons, plus one more reason.....Warren Buffet. About six months ago Mr. Buffet dumped big money into the rails. This was money that wasn't exactly his. On top of this, Buffet and his company are big enough to cause waves in the economy to bring about anything they want. Right now, they want rails to rise. You can bet your bottom dollar, a dollar you may have had to drive a rig 10 miles for, Mr. Buffet and his gang will make a handsome return on their recent investment.

Are rails coming back? Yeap. Will you be able to keep your truck driving job? Maybe. Maybe not. I'd make plans, just in case.