The Post Kevin Knight Doesn't want you to read.

I was with Knight for 6 years and finally had enough.

At the end of September I told my DM that my miles where going to have to pick up or I would be forced to leave the company. I was sitting right at 9800 miles for the month and was informed, "I don't know what you are complaining about, you have the most miles on my board."

Now understand, this wasn't some new dispatcher, it was the IKEA CSR for Tulare that's been with the company longer then me. Did she really think that telling a driver that feels his miles aren't where they should be what she told me was a good way to get him to stay? I told her that was it then, they could have my services for two more weeks and I was out of there. She then said don't bother, I'll get you a load straight to the yard.

So this is how Knight parts ways with a driver with 12 total accident/ticket free years of experience(6 bus/6 truck) that for the majority of his time with them took very good care of their largest customer? Nonforced dispatch? Please, I was told that if I wasn't willing to run L.A./Bay area constantly by the division manager at the beginning of September that quote, "You are of no used to me."

So what's wrong with Knight? Nothing. I know, your saying huh? what? Wait a minute, what about everything I just said. Okay, have a coke and a smile and follow along while I explain.

Knight is a corporation, It's ONLY responsibility is to make its shareholders as much money as possible while not breaking any laws. The company slowly morphed from a big small company to just a plain ol' big company. Along the way there business model slowly morphed from varied length of haul driver friendly freight to short haul high revenue preferred. It does make sense, why haul a 600 mile load that makes you $100 profit when you can haul two 200 mile loads that make you $100 each. In the process though the driver takes it in the shorts, working harder and harder for less and less. In example, my first yearly review, I had ran 144,000 miles in the previous 12 months. After that it steadily dropped every review to the one I just received a couple of months ago, 109,000 miles. The real kicker? I had more home time the first year then the last(I keep track so yes that is a factual certainty).

Now to sustain this new business model Knight had but one choice, ignore driver complaints and hire more to overcome the higher turnover rate. At first, the drivers that had been there for a longer period of time got good runs such as the IKEA loads. Slowly though everyone got shifted into the short haul grind.

I'll conclude with this, If your looking for a trucking company to invest in, by all means buy some Knight stock because they do out preform the rest of the industry on a regular basis. If your looking for a job, understand that you'll be an expendable asset that is there to do what they want when they want you to till you leave and they get someone else to fill that air ride seat you just got out of. Also remember that the less you make the more the company makes thanks to their business model. Kevin wouldn't have it any other way.