The Decline Of Crete Carrier

I drove truck for almost 13 years and now work for the railroad. One of the reasons is I saw a lot of the good loads going to rail. It also pays better, has a lot better benefits and home time. The paper mill that I service puts loads over 500 miles on rail and under 500 miles on a truck. It takes me as a conductor and an engineer to move 100 Swift or JB trailers 250 miles then another crew can hop on and move them another 250 miles or so. So it takes 4 railroad guys to do the work of 100 truck drivers for a lot less fuel. Yes, there are refer train cars and cars that are carrying something sensitive have cushioned drawbars.

 

What in a bachelors degree means you can drive a truck,lol.You could have been going to school because you didnt want to work.My son is going to school and has had the same job for five years,now who would you hire.

 

Thanks to drvrtech & bucksandducks for the insight. I had not realized the impact a smaller labor requirement had on the rail/truck freight pricing situation. Here's what I'd like to know: What are GOOD companies doing to make sure their drivers aren't suffering from this competition? If you don't change how you pay your drivers, but you do offer them only shorter and shorter freight, they're going to lose income right? What are decent trucking companies doing to offset or soften the impact of this (apparently) industry-wide change on their drivers?

 

As much as rail is an "alternative" that always has been there and always will be there it will always have the same the same shortcomings it always had. At the end of the day it really is a DIFFERENT mode of transportation as opposed to an ALTERNATIVE mode of transportation...

 

They don't need to change anything. With a soft economy there is plenty of people going to CDL mills and who are willing to work for 26 cpm and 2000 miles a week. When they get sick of the low pay and lack of home they quit but there is another waiting to take his place. I trained truckers for seven years and almost always had a student.

 

Most companies are utilizing trailer pools at both shipper and receiver. This allows the driver to stay productive, even with shorter runs. However, the driver does take a hit in pay because more time has to be logged as "on duty not driving" when doing multiple drop/hook in a day/week. And "If the wheels ain't turnin', they ain't earnin'".

 

How many companies pay their drivers for drop&hooks these days? I don't feel like I hear of that very often.

 

In retrospect on this particular forum about the company known as Crete Carrier Corporation. Honestly, there were postings into this particular discussion about this company, and they are true. However, there are good and bad in every company, but from what I experience with Crete. They still owe me money. They ended up losing a Pegasus Transflo I turned in dated on April 17, 2012, when I volunteered to help one of their customers during the holidays. The company (Crete Carrier) mentioned they did not receive the Pegasus Transflo. They would drain my pay down to zero, and even in the negative and what the pay stated on their website was, and I quote from the website where drivers log in to check their payroll was called, "Miscellaneous Fees". Right before I left Crete Carrier, I re-submitted the original Pegasus Transflo confirmation number a long with the updated confirmation number they received the last week in May of 2012. In addition, I called Crete earlier this week, and they have received the paperwork that was recently submitted back in the last week in May of 2012, and I have yet received my final paycheck from Crete Carrier for helping Wal-Mart on a fleet run assignment that ended on April 17, 2012. The location of the assignment was in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Since then, I have contacted the Nebraska Department of Labor in Omaha, Nebraska about Crete Carrier. My best advice to the one's that is interested in working for this company to give it a second thought, because they say there are "No Shortcuts". They apparently missed that shortcut in paying me. The bills do not take a holiday, and they do not take a vacation. The last week I worked for Crete Carrier, I gave the company a 2-week notice that I have found another job, in that last week I was with them, I only ran 878 miles, and they made me sit in Jackson, Tennessee for 2 days, but what they done, and how they got around on paying me layover when it came close to the time for my layover pay, they sent me a load assignment to pick up the next day in Mackenzie, Tennessee going to North Vernon, Indiana for Lowe's. I delivered the same day, but before I deliver the load, and knowingly they were trying to starve me out of the truck, I requested the next load going to the Knoxville Terminal, and then they had the audacity to ask me when I was coming back out after me getting 878 miles in one week, I t-called the load I picked up at their terminal in Indianapolis, and brought it down to the terminal in Lenoir City, and I even made sure when I t-called the load, the next driver would have enough time to get the load delivered in Florida on time, so I did not do anything to hurt this company, but they have a tendency of not paying as they promised, and I had plenty of hours, because I just came off of home time in Knoxville, so I knew I had plenty of hours, because my first load, I picked up on the yard in Lenoir City going to Columbia, South Carolina, and I even delivered that load before the appointment time. They even mentioned they were not short on freight. Also, I was not late on any loads I got with this company, I always delivered on time or before the appointment time as instructed on the Qual-comm.


Now, I cannot complain, I am running a lot better than I did with Crete, and the company I work for truly cares about their drivers, therefore, the downward trend of Crete Carrier is slowly approaching. Have you heard the term called Karma. This term has come back and bit a lot of companies that try to mess with the driver's pay. I am clearing after taxes around $1,300-$1,400 a week. Although, I don't have the luxury in going home all the time, but I am making great money. I just about lost everything I have ever worked hard for by working with Crete Carrier. I cleaned out my truck, and I made sure they noted on the Qual-comm, that the load was t-called. I turned my keys into the shop foreman, and left Crete Carrier for good. Free advice it does not cost you nothing but your time. Stay away from Crete Carrier, unless you do not mind not getting paid for honest day's work for an honest day's pay.

 

This is actually a favorable idea ...

 

Im a driver for crete and its a little better than most companies.Good pay runnin me all i want to run.Office staff not real bright so its easy to mess with their heads.Check out my little website and watch my video about pilot truckstop showers. truetrucking.tk b safe out there