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Canadian Flyer said:
It's far, far worse. Ground will only do business with another business now, and mandates that the contracted business must hire their employees. Contractors are not permitted to subcontract, so someone has to take responsibility for these people even if it's not FedEx.

In Amazon's case, they're not only using the old Ground model that was shredded in court, they're abusing it way harder than FedEx ever did. Contractors operate their warehouses, never mind their delivery services. And the demands the contractors place on their subcontractors are borderline inhumane.
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You are correct on the contractor thing,CF. All I have heard in the last few years is how Amazon is buying trucks,and trailers,and hiring all these people,and how people will be lined up to work for them,and blah,blah,blah. And in reality, they do not,”own” any tractors, or employ any truck drivers. Other than some leased trailers,with their name ,and logo on them,all their delivery people are contract people led to believe they will make big money filling their trunk with packages,to deliver to people who will take a selfie of themselves, post it on Facebook,of them wearing that new pair of shoes that was delivered to their house in 2 hours. But they don’t fit,and now have to send them back.....
 
BIG R GUY said:
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You are correct on the contractor thing,CF. All I have heard in the last few years is how Amazon is buying trucks,and trailers,and hiring all these people,and how people will be lined up to work for them,and blah,blah,blah. And in reality, they do not,”own” any tractors, or employ any truck drivers. Other than some leased trailers,with their name ,and logo on them,all their delivery people are contract people led to believe they will make big money filling their trunk with packages,to deliver to people who will take a selfie of themselves, post it on Facebook,of them wearing that new pair of shoes that was delivered to their house in 2 hours. But they don’t fit,and now have to send them back.....
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Amazon doesn't own anything, as far as I know. All of the warehouses and trailers are leased. The warehouses are run by agencies with horrendous turnover rates (it's my understanding that even dock supervisors rarely last 3 months) and the trailers are pulled by whoever shows up with a tractor. Deliveries are made by individuals in their personal vehicles, running to a schedule that borders on impossible for pay that wouldn't cover the wear and tear.

And you can bet that all of Amazon's contracts give Amazon an out clause in the event costs are raised exponentially by, say, unionization of the workforce. It then becomes the contractor's problem when Amazon locks them out of the warehouse and brings in someone else.
 
Canadian Flyer said:
Amazon doesn't own anything, as far as I know. All of the warehouses and trailers are leased. The warehouses are run by agencies with horrendous turnover rates (it's my understanding that even dock supervisors rarely last 3 months) and the trailers are pulled by whoever shows up with a tractor. Deliveries are made by individuals in their personal vehicles, running to a schedule that borders on impossible for pay that wouldn't cover the wear and tear.

And you can bet that all of Amazon's contracts give Amazon an out clause in the event costs are raised exponentially by, say, unionization of the workforce. It then becomes the contractor's problem when Amazon locks them out of the warehouse and brings in someone else.
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Another big thing these contractors using their own vehicles won’t realize until it is too late is,
They pay all their own health insurance.
Have no work comp claim against Amazon if they are hurt on the job.
Fund their retirement fully.
May have higher insurance costs on their car because it is being used as a delivery vehicle.
Will find themselves driving faster,and start doing unsafe maneuvers to keep up with the tight delivery windows imposed on them.
 
Automatic Inflation Tech Expands to Tractor Tires

http://www.ttnews.com/articles/auto...WaVp6Yjc1NVRQbFJMdDlieW1ib3gzejNOalRuaUsifQ==

psi-truck.jpg
 
 
TrailerTail aero devices can now be mounted higher on trailers

https://www.ccjdigital.com/trailert...a3c973&utm_term=newsletter-2-daily-position-1

"five-year exemption that allows rear identification lights and rear clearance lamps to be mounted lower than currently allowed by regulations in order for TrailerTail devices to be mounted at the top of trailers, which the company says makes the devices more efficient."

Top mounted REAR trailer lights never made sense to me, as a requirement. :scratchhead:
 
SwampRatt said:
TrailerTail aero devices can now be mounted higher on trailers

https://www.ccjdigital.com/trailertail-aero-devices-can-now-be-mounted-higher-on-trailers/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_content=02-15-2018&utm_campaign=Commercial Carrier Journal&ust_id=124f9551466b2c5785e539d1cda3c973&utm_term=newsletter-2-daily-position-1

"five-year exemption that allows rear identification lights and rear clearance lamps to be mounted lower than currently allowed by regulations in order for TrailerTail devices to be mounted at the top of trailers, which the company says makes the devices more efficient."

Top mounted REAR trailer lights never made sense to me, as a requirement. :scratchhead:
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Has anyone ever published facts, showing the cost to add those trailer tails, and the underside skirts, and how much fuel they supposedly save, along with how long it takes to get your investment dollars back?
 
BIG R GUY said:
Has anyone ever published facts, showing the cost to add those trailer tails, and the underside skirts, and how much fuel they supposedly save, along with how long it takes to get your investment dollars back?
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Funny you ask...

Pretty extensive report here
http://truckingefficiency.org/sites...les/reports/TE_Trailer_Aero_CR_FINALFINAL.pdf

Here's a short report on the above report...
http://www.fleetowner.com/running-green/nacfe-report-targets-trailer-aerodynamics

"NACFE’s report noted that the main challenges preventing more widespread adoption of trailer aerodynamic devices include: added weight; complicated and difficult-to-compare performance testing methods to gauge potential fuel savings; and the need to optimize tractor-trailer ratios.

“If you a fleet has a three-to-one trailer to tractor ratio, that means the trailer will be getting a third of the miles the tractor does, making payback challenging,” Roeth said.

Fleets also get the “greatest benefit” from adopting multiple aerodynamic devices, but as the net benefits from the package of devices do not simply equal the sum of each individual device, NACFE’s report noted, making it difficult for fleets to prioritize investment decisions and feel confident in achieving payback.

The low price of diesel fuel is also lengthening payback periods as well, Roeth added."

*It seems to me, so many variables make definitive numbers difficult to predict, beyond grey numbers. Certain operations can benefit greatly, while others... not so much. I suspect, like most things said to provide environmental benefits, without Government incentives (Tax Credits), the real gains would be isolated, at best.
 
SwampRatt said:
Funny you ask...

Pretty extensive report here
http://truckingefficiency.org/sites...les/reports/TE_Trailer_Aero_CR_FINALFINAL.pdf

Here's a short report on the above report...
http://www.fleetowner.com/running-green/nacfe-report-targets-trailer-aerodynamics

"NACFE’s report noted that the main challenges preventing more widespread adoption of trailer aerodynamic devices include: added weight; complicated and difficult-to-compare performance testing methods to gauge potential fuel savings; and the need to optimize tractor-trailer ratios.

“If you a fleet has a three-to-one trailer to tractor ratio, that means the trailer will be getting a third of the miles the tractor does, making payback challenging,” Roeth said.

Fleets also get the “greatest benefit” from adopting multiple aerodynamic devices, but as the net benefits from the package of devices do not simply equal the sum of each individual device, NACFE’s report noted, making it difficult for fleets to prioritize investment decisions and feel confident in achieving payback.

The low price of diesel fuel is also lengthening payback periods as well, Roeth added."

*It seems to me, so many variables make definitive numbers difficult to predict, beyond grey numbers. Certain operations can benefit greatly, while others... not so much. I suspect, like most things said to provide environmental benefits, without Government incentives (Tax Credits), the real gains would be isolated, at best.
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What amazes me is, as far as I know, California is the only state requiring them. Think if it was me running coop Dispatch, I would make certain th trailers with them, stayed out there. Why outfit trailers with them in the Midwest? So they can get banged up from guys dragging them through snow piles?Of course. I know. What the hell am I thinking????
 
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BIG R GUY said:
Has anyone ever published facts, showing the cost to add those trailer tails, and the underside skirts, and how much fuel they supposedly save, along with how long it takes to get your investment dollars back?
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Fake news, total hogwash, none of these devices work.
An Arkansas based company installed concrete tires on 15% of their trailers, got 15% better fuel mileage, 15% better tire wear
maintained 15% higher top end speed with 15% less HP, cut 15% off their running time.
Also claimed when low bridges were encountered,. 15% less damage to trailer.
15% of their drivers said, they were not 100% sure of these claims.
 
seabreeze said:
Fake news, total hogwash, none of these devices work.
An Arkansas based company installed concrete tires on 15% of their trailers, got 15% better fuel mileage, 15% better tire wear
maintained 15% higher top end speed with 15% less HP, cut 15% off their running time.
Also claimed when low bridges were encountered,. 15% less damage to trailer.
15% of their drivers said, they were not 100% sure of these claims.
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My partner said you are 15 percent short of a full load...
 
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