FedEx Freight | Contractor Team Run

Gator

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Meeting this morning said five centers are going to a trail bases contractors running team pulling our equipment. I wasn’t at the meeting personally but was told this is what the meeting was about.
My concern is them pulling our trailers and Ducker is leaving and is this another camel getting further in the tent. I can see runs being cancelled because there in the parking lot with a contract meaning your run for the night went out with the contractor
 
Meeting this morning said five centers are going to a trail bases contractors running team pulling our equipment. I wasn’t at the meeting personally but was told this is what the meeting was about.
My concern is them pulling our trailers and Ducker is leaving and is this another camel getting further in the tent. I can see runs being cancelled because there in the parking lot with a contract meaning your run for the night went out with the contractor

Which 5 centers?
 
Meeting this morning said five centers are going to a trail bases contractors running team pulling our equipment. I wasn’t at the meeting personally but was told this is what the meeting was about.
My concern is them pulling our trailers and Ducker is leaving and is this another camel getting further in the tent. I can see runs being cancelled because there in the parking lot with a contract meaning your run for the night went out with the contractor
Did you mean trial basis?
 
Already being done in Goodland, Kansas (GLD). The contractor runs from GLD to a meet with FSM (iirc) in Newton, Kansas. Big sleeper truck pulling two pups, has been for years.
 
Far as I know there have been holdovers from Watkins scattered around the system for years. Not many, but some. The contract didn't let them bid, so most guys left. Company bid drivers, extra board drivers, then contractors. Expected to be on call with no guarantees no matter their seniority.

Far as I know, the few that stayed got lumped in with the PTS lanes because they were too long for road or else one way. Only way to ensure they went every night.

Some of you guys have a serious misunderstanding of the term "contractor". There's nothing absolute about any contract FedEx offers to anyone. FedEx does not guarantee work to any contractor, but they do expect all contractors to be ready to roll at the call. By actually being an employee of the company, you get work before any contractor does unless it's work PTS would be doing anyway. In which case in-house contractors get priority over outside PTS.

A team contractor isn't interested in your 400mi meet and turn, I promise you.
 
Far as I know there have been holdovers from Watkins scattered around the system for years. Not many, but some. The contract didn't let them bid, so most guys left. Company bid drivers, extra board drivers, then contractors. Expected to be on call with no guarantees no matter their seniority.

Far as I know, the few that stayed got lumped in with the PTS lanes because they were too long for road or else one way. Only way to ensure they went every night.

Some of you guys have a serious misunderstanding of the term "contractor". There's nothing absolute about any contract FedEx offers to anyone. FedEx does not guarantee work to any contractor, but they do expect all contractors to be ready to roll at the call. By actually being an employee of the company, you get work before any contractor does unless it's work PTS would be doing anyway. In which case in-house contractors get priority over outside PTS.

A team contractor isn't interested in your 400mi meet and turn, I promise you.
Im just repeating what I was told and Im a Watkins product . There is no contractor left from Watkins. There truck was purchased and auctioned off , they were given a choice to become company employees or move on. What was told in the meeting this was a trial at five centers and I do know Dayton is one of the centers. As for as they may not be interested in a 400 mile run your correct but if the company can eliminate the whole turn by running a team strait through and returning back it just turned into a 800 mile run
 
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Im just repeating what I was told and Im a Watkins product . There is no contractor left from Watkins. There truck was purchased and actioned off , they were given a choice to become company employees or move on. What was told in the meeting this was a trial at five centers and I do know Dayton is one of the centers. As for as they may not be interested in a 400 mile run your correct but if the company can eliminate the whole turn by running a team strait through and returning back it just turned into a 800 mile run
Buy out or get out was for city drivers only, I have seen photos of ex-Watkins linehaul contractors wearing a FedEx National/Freight logo on the door. A lot of those guys serviced Canada back in the day, and we heard what they were offered. Most of them weren't going to go broke for FedEx. The closure of National pushed out even more of them because Freight didn't know what to do with them.

Last word was most of the survivors were out west. And a team wouldn't bother with an 800mi overnighter for what FedEx pays, especially since they can't bid on it. If FedEx were going to kill the meet and turn, it'd be cheaper for them to do what Estes and Holland do and put road drivers to bed. If a team isn't making at least 1000mi a day there's no point in bothering, especially with FedEx making you pay plates and insurance.

If FedEx is putting teams on anything, it'd be dropping out 500mi+ meet and turns that road drivers would have a hard time doing consistently. In which case, the fact that it's a contractor makes zero difference because other carriers do exactly the same thing with company drivers. SEFL, OD, UPSF, XPO, Estes, YRCF, Averitt, just to name the ones I absolutely know for a fact do it.

Trust me, the only people this might actually affect are people who have been lying at least 25% of the time for a long time. Anyone doing a meet and turn under 500mi is completely safe.
 
Far as I know there have been holdovers from Watkins scattered around the system for years. Not many, but some. The contract didn't let them bid, so most guys left. Company bid drivers, extra board drivers, then contractors. Expected to be on call with no guarantees no matter their seniority.

Far as I know, the few that stayed got lumped in with the PTS lanes because they were too long for road or else one way. Only way to ensure they went every night.

Some of you guys have a serious misunderstanding of the term "contractor". There's nothing absolute about any contract FedEx offers to anyone. FedEx does not guarantee work to any contractor, but they do expect all contractors to be ready to roll at the call. By actually being an employee of the company, you get work before any contractor does unless it's work PTS would be doing anyway. In which case in-house contractors get priority over outside PTS.

A team contractor isn't interested in your 400mi meet and turn, I promise you.
I have to respectfully disagree with you regarding PTs. We have companies that run particular lanes daily and are guaranteed a certain number of loads. My run has been sacrificed more than once to fill PT when freight is soft.
 
Im just repeating what I was told and Im a Watkins product . There is no contractor left from Watkins. There truck was purchased and auctioned off , they were given a choice to become company employees or move on. What was told in the meeting this was a trial at five centers and I do know Dayton is one of the centers. As for as they may not be interested in a 400 mile run your correct but if the company can eliminate the whole turn by running a team strait through and returning back it just turned into a 800 mile run

They eliminate our whole turn all the time at least the extra freight, that's when purchase can show up on time to get freight. People like the ground contractors who already have contracts with fed ex would be very interested in getting in the door with freight, they pay their drivers very little anyways, I'm sure they could still make profits.
 
With all due respect, I do still keep in touch with people I worked with. And while Canada does work differently, I spent a lot of my time there interacting with American employees and I DO, in fact, know how the company operates.

The company does, at the contract level, not guarantee freight to any contractor. This includes PTS, and it even includes Ground linehaul. We also all know that at the local level many barns that handle PTS fill them out anyway to get the freight down the road. That being said as a long time team contract operator I also know what drivers will and will not accept.

Despite what a lot of people think about FedEx Ground, I have seen their contract and I am fully aware of what the pay is and what the expectations are. Linehaul contractors pay or suffer turnover. They are expected to be available for work 52 weeks a year. And they don't guarantee that you will go. You can buy a bid, but it can be cancelled. The rate is decent but does not include plates or insurance. They won't be in any hurry to sign up for Freight because Freight handles hazmat. FedEx Freight Canada handles things almost exactly the same way, and pays about $0.25/mi less than Ground.

The way I understood it, the US contractor agreement for FXF didn't even include operating authority. You were expected to have your own and, to wit, decals came on magnetic sheets. "When operating for FedEx Freight, you must display the FedEx logo on your door. When not operating for FedEx Freight, the FedEx logo must be removed." They actively encourage contractors to have something else to do because they do not guarantee you a run.

Granted, the last time I heard anything about the US contractors was a few years back now, so it may have changed. But if it has changed, I can be pretty certain that it hasn't been to the benefit of the contractors. Far as I know, it was never a great offer to begin with. I'm not positive they were even paid for drops and hooks, just straight miles.

Bottom line is, a team isn't going to work unless they get over a thousand miles a day. There's no point otherwise because it's not making effective use of their time. FedEx could try and give them shorter runs, but they won't find anyone to do it. And that applies to any team driver, employee or contractor. Will it affect some people via freight flow? Maybe when things are soft. But they can just as easily lay off a contractor that they don't have any ties to.
 
With all due respect, I do still keep in touch with people I worked with. And while Canada does work differently, I spent a lot of my time there interacting with American employees and I DO, in fact, know how the company operates.

The company does, at the contract level, not guarantee freight to any contractor. This includes PTS, and it even includes Ground linehaul. We also all know that at the local level many barns that handle PTS fill them out anyway to get the freight down the road. That being said as a long time team contract operator I also know what drivers will and will not accept.

Despite what a lot of people think about FedEx Ground, I have seen their contract and I am fully aware of what the pay is and what the expectations are. Linehaul contractors pay or suffer turnover. They are expected to be available for work 52 weeks a year. And they don't guarantee that you will go. You can buy a bid, but it can be cancelled. The rate is decent but does not include plates or insurance. They won't be in any hurry to sign up for Freight because Freight handles hazmat. FedEx Freight Canada handles things almost exactly the same way, and pays about $0.25/mi less than Ground.

The way I understood it, the US contractor agreement for FXF didn't even include operating authority. You were expected to have your own and, to wit, decals came on magnetic sheets. "When operating for FedEx Freight, you must display the FedEx logo on your door. When not operating for FedEx Freight, the FedEx logo must be removed." They actively encourage contractors to have something else to do because they do not guarantee you a run.

Granted, the last time I heard anything about the US contractors was a few years back now, so it may have changed. But if it has changed, I can be pretty certain that it hasn't been to the benefit of the contractors. Far as I know, it was never a great offer to begin with. I'm not positive they were even paid for drops and hooks, just straight miles.

Bottom line is, a team isn't going to work unless they get over a thousand miles a day. There's no point otherwise because it's not making effective use of their time. FedEx could try and give them shorter runs, but they won't find anyone to do it. And that applies to any team driver, employee or contractor. Will it affect some people via freight flow? Maybe when things are soft. But they can just as easily lay off a contractor that they don't have any ties to.
Without turning this into a pissing contest you know the company through a canada contract for owner operator with one truck. Heres my experience with the contractor side with Watkins. Most owners owned five or more trucks, were driven by people who speak very little English so miles dont mean crap to them as a employee to the owner. They didn’t always get team miles and had to layover in California for days but yet the owner of the truck seemed to be always happy. What ever your talking about with magnetic logos may of happened in canada but never here. I respect your opinion but I recall the rail was to be a TRIAL. We all know how that ended. You have been away to long to sway my thinking. Been through to many lies here to believe this is a good thing. For who may I ask
 
Without turning this into a pissing contest you know the company through a canada contract for owner operator with one truck. Heres my experience with the contractor side with Watkins. Most owners owned five or more trucks, were driven by people who speak very little English so miles dont mean crap to them as a employee to the owner. They didn’t always get team miles and had to layover in California for days but yet the owner of the truck seemed to be always happy. What ever your talking about with magnetic logos may of happened in canada but never here. I respect your opinion but I recall the rail was to be a TRIAL. We all know how that ended. You have been away to long to sway my thinking. Been through to many lies here to believe this is a good thing. For who may I ask
You don't seem to be understanding me. I'm not talking about how CANADA does it, nor am I talking about how WATKINS did it. I'm trying to get you to understand that "contractor" does not mean "cheap labor" and that the Watkins days are from a different time when drivers were willing to work for less and cheap foreign labor was a growing problem. Now? The going rate for an owner/operator's driver is $0.50/mi and climbing fast.

I DO know that Watkins linehaul contractors who serviced Canada knew what FedEx was willing to offer. I DO know almost nobody was willing because the contract wasn't worth the paper it was written on. Why? Because FedEx hit them with the Ground model, but for less pay, no means of bidding on a run, and no operating authority.

I also know that there were SOME US linehaul contractors who stayed because they were big enough to afford their own operating authority and were located in areas they were needed. A number of these contractors left when National was merged into Freight, but a few stuck around. They were not obligated to use magnetic signage but many did because the ones left were actual small companies with FedEx serving as just another customer. As I said, I've seen photos. It was a red Peterbilt 379 with a FedEx Freight logo and associated numbering set on a white square on the side of the door. Canada does not allow this. FXFC tractors must be white as per the contract. And this tractor was pulling a set. The photographer was a FedEx Freight employee and specifically remarked on how rare it is to see a contractor.

Finally, none of that really matters because if these people were employees they would be even more likely to give them that 800mi run.

I never said that this was a GOOD thing for you. It IS good for FedEx, as anything they do would be. What I AM telling you is that if FedEx wanted to replace you with contractors, they would have done so YEARS ago. And indeed if they wanted to reduce the number of meet and turn runs, teams are less preferable to just laying down a road driver because finding two truckers that'll put up with each other is HARD.

You are looking at it from a perspective of "someone who doesn't work here is hauling my freight" and that's the wrong way to be looking at it. If these guys worked for FedEx like you do, it would have the exact same effect on you. The reason FedEx is using contractors for team runs instead of employees? It places the burden of finding a second driver on the contractor, and if the trial fails they can let them all go with zero consequences. How do I know? Because as a businessman myself, that's what I'd do. Lower exposure, less risk, but with the potential to decrease the transit time between hubs? At that point, cost doesn't matter because you can offer a premium service to make up for it.

At the end of the day, this is unlikely to have a meaningful effect on anyone but PTS contractors. And seeing them disappear is always a win in my book.
 
I saw a shiny wheels pulling a set on 81 in Wythville VA yesterday ... going the other way didn't see a name on the door
 
I agree with gator, If contractors are not cheap why do we use them? No they are not going to replace everyone, but it does effect people especially the 5 on each end at the center's that just lost their day run, that may have to run nights while the "trial" (lmao) is going on.
 
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