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FedEx Freight | Are we better off since the buyout?

guys, i have been around a long time, ark frt, am frt, and fedex frt. I understand people have families to feed, houses to pay for and just simply live, and i honestly believe that FedEx cares about that. right before we became fedex we had started cleaning non profitable freight out of our terminal. we cleaned out almost a million dollars with of non profit freight. these allowed us room for good freight and we could be more competitive in pricing. we are now one of the largest in the company and growing, hiring, and getting more equipment. along with that the folks that have survived have made a better living for themselves, including me...i lived off my avg hours so my bills were always somewhat in line. anything extra was great. now i get OT and that helps me pay things off quicker and save even more. National will be very well off soon in my opinion. we just have to get the market to understand what we are doing and go after, from a selling stance, Yellow, Roadway, ABF, ....once the sales force combines in June it will all start happening.
 
i dont think they will ever put the long haul and regional together. two different structures and it will cause them to lose the service standards they have now. if they lose that service we will be just like these other carriers....sell price. if we do that look what we will operate at....mid to high 90's. raises have been given out every year i have been there. maybe not the best, but its been a raise.
 
As for the great mind meld of the two Companies, seems that it would be easier to combine P&D, let the Company figure out which division to ship it.

1. The customer doesn't care who picks the freight up, they just want it gone.

2. Since most of National's P&D drivers were dumped, a dovetail of seniority, seems to me, would be less complicated.
 
dolphinqu1 said:
Since most of National's P&D drivers were dumped, a dovetail of seniority, seems to me, would be less complicated.
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They wasn't dumped, we still have the company P&D drivers plus the contractors and their drivers that wanted to become company drivers...
 
Haven't their places in seniority changed? They might have been long time Contractors, but are they now 1st year National drivers?
 
Are we better off? That is the subject here on this thread. I know if we had not been bought out we would still be doing the same amount of business perhaps a little less since Watkins was never big on cutting rates. As for better of I don't think so. A couple of nights ago I was asleep in the bunk and had a really strange dream. I called an 800 number we were given for changeover information and this is what I heard. 'WE ARE THE BORG - RESISTANCE IS F-U-T-I-L-E PREPARE TO BE ASSIMILATED - YOUR CULTURAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL UNIQUENESS WILL BE ADAPTED TO SERVICE US - WE ARE THE BORG.'
 
WOW. For real?

Where do you get the 41% number??? EVeryone would be getting layoff notices if almost half the freight was gone?
 
Hey there National fellow drivers.

Was checking out the FXF site, "yes I'm a fxf driver" and wondered over here to see whats happening on the national side of the business. It looks as if there is some mixed emotions on the merger. Maybe this will help put some at ease, I do linehaul out of an Ohio center, and we were wondering if you folks were taking our freight, cause we're so slow!!!!. apparently everybodies slow across the board. As for the buyout, I was with the company when they were AF, and I can tell you that there is some good and some bad since the conversion to fxf, I quess its all what you make of it. The best way to compare it is that now I feel like I work for the military. Everything is by the book and dont make a mistake, no matter how small, whereas before it was more relaxed and easy going.
As youv'e probably all heard to much lately,
Hang in there.
 
CUJO said:
I know if we had not been bought out we would still be doing the same amount of business perhaps a little less since Watkins was never big on cutting rates. As for better of I don't think so.
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I think your delusional.




CUJO said:
A couple of nights ago I was asleep in the bunk and had a really strange dream. I called an 800 number we were given for changeover information and this is what I heard. 'WE ARE THE BORG - RESISTANCE IS F-U-T-I-L-E PREPARE TO BE ASSIMILATED - YOUR CULTURAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL UNIQUENESS WILL BE ADAPTED TO SERVICE US - WE ARE THE BORG.'
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FX Technology is top of the line, culture? well we are supposed to be diverse...

FM
 
Hey FM - No I'm not delusional. Got some purple kool-aid a couple of days ago and didn't notice the exp. date had passed. Seems as though it had turned hard. Actually what I was talking about was how we'd probably be staying home even more because Watkins would not reduce rates - just like it was in 2000. As for that cutting edge technology remember 'Terminator' what will we do when the Fedex mainframe becomes becomes sentient communicates with our trucks, which are computer controlled, and they start chasing us around the yard. :biglaugh: :biglaugh: :biglaugh:
 
If we were still Watkins people would be getting their hours. The accounts that FedEx Freight took from us would still being moving across our docks and onto our trucks. Even in the slowest times like in late 2000 we all got our hours at our barn. Watkins was family and employee oriented and full timers got their 35-40 hrs even during the slowest times. We may had to sweep the aprons or paint the dockplates but we got our full paychecks. I never saw it this slow for this long even during recessions,stock market crashes..you name it. This dramatic slow down is directly related to FedEx freight scooping up our freight and customers dropping us because they dont like using fEdex. Our Breakbulk manager told us Freight is hauling 20-30% of the freight we used to handle. I dont mean to complain or sound negative,im just stating what i've seen and been through. Im gonna stick out the rest of the year and see how it goes. Im not liking what im seeing so far. This is mainly in regards to how the employees are treated and being pressured into quitting or starved out. What a shame.. Im blessed that im still getting at least 40 hrs a week plus around 6-8 hrs OT in every pay period. I figure the OT wont last for long once the purple people eaters get their claws completely around our throats...lol
 
u were sold out............

i worked for watkins for almost ten years, started out in los, moved to sbr, common story. went to fxfw couple of years ago when i saw the direction the company was going in. i only wish i would have gone over a year earlier. chipper and dipper took the money and ran, and the rest of the watkins family agreed to it. you guys will end up better for the change. good driving to all.
 
CUJO said:
Hey FM - No I'm not delusional. Got some purple kool-aid a couple of days ago and didn't notice the exp. date had passed. Seems as though it had turned hard. Actually what I was talking about was how we'd probably be staying home even more because Watkins would not reduce rates - just like it was in 2000. As for that cutting edge technology remember 'Terminator' what will we do when the Fedex mainframe becomes becomes sentient communicates with our trucks, which are computer controlled, and they start chasing us around the yard. :biglaugh: :biglaugh: :biglaugh:
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My bad, I guess I read that wrong, thought you were saying you guys would still be at normal freight levels.

Been awhile since I last watched Terminator, Alzheimer's is kicking in so can't recall much, lol.

FM
 
Familyman said:
My bad, I guess I read that wrong, thought you were saying you guys would still be at normal freight levels.

Been awhile since I last watched Terminator, Alzheimer's is kicking in so can't recall much, lol.

FM
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Sorry to hear about the 'oldtimers disease'. I've noticed some of our dispatchers tend to 'hi-lite' the destination on some drivers trip sheet. You've been thru all this - What's the big announcement Tues. gonna be? 'Big changes are coming'. We've gotten that one a couple of times already so I hope it's a little more informative.:smilie_132:
 
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