FedEx Freight | Job security

Mindsoul

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Hello all I have been OTR for 6 years really have been wanting to go home every night. I have 4 LTL operations relatively close to me.

My options are FedEx in Zion,Il Conway saia and ABF. I'm leaning towards FedEx but kinda have cold feet have been with the same company my entire trucking career.

Is it true I will do alot of sitting at home on call first starting out? Do they hire on with no experience working with fork lifts? I also have no doubles experience.

Are layoffs frequent? Is there a fairly long slow season? Thank you for any help
 
You applying for Road or City? Maybe someone will chime in about that location and how busy they are or how short handed they are.
 
Just remember that when you start here your prior experience does nothing for you and will not get you a better job faster with the exception of being a city driver for another carrier and they need city help now... Most likely you will start off on the dock, You possessing a CDL will probably get you in the city faster.

You will not get a road run or be a linehaul or shuttle driver unless no one wants the job that is an established employee but it does happen from time to time, we had a part time dock worker apply and get a linehaul job last bid but unfortunately passed a week before the bid started

When a linehaul job becomes available it will be posted and anyone above you will have a chance before you to get said job but if thats what you want to do always apply for the job because people above you will say they want the job above you and then back out before they sign up.

Good Luck, Fedex is a great company to work for
 
FedEx or ABF. Steer clear of the other two. (Plenty of reasons listed on their threads on this site)

I believe you'll need hazmat and doubles endorsements before applying at FedEx. Good luck! You won't regret it..

Don't worry about lack of dock experience either, you'll get plenty. :-)
 
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Hello all I have been OTR for 6 years really have been wanting to go home every night. I have 4 LTL operations relatively close to me.

My options are FedEx in Zion,Il Conway saia and ABF. I'm leaning towards FedEx but kinda have cold feet have been with the same company my entire trucking career.

Is it true I will do alot of sitting at home on call first starting out? Do they hire on with no experience working with fork lifts? I also have no doubles experience.

Are layoffs frequent? Is there a fairly long slow season? Thank you for any help

I cant speak for the Zion location specifically, but if/when you do get that road driver position, you will start out as low man on the board. Typically, depending on how busy the location is, you will be running the extra board, i.e. you will be given any run that is additional to the established bid runs. If the center is seriously slow, you may sit home occasionally. I know if our center is slow and don't need all the bid drivers, they will start at the top of the seniority and ask if they want the night off, and then that run will be filled by the people at the bottom of the board.

Low spot from Zion is most likely to our Chicago Heights hub, dont know the mileage, but you will work the dock for the majority of your shift.
No experience with forklifts is normally not an issue, as part of your orientation you will be certified for the forklift.

The biggest issue with pulling doubles is the hook/drop process. Driving them down the road is a little more tricky than a van, but you will get the hang of it quickly being an experienced driver.

They claim we have a slow season, maybe this is true in the bigger markets, our location seems to stay steady all year round. In my 8 years with the company, outside of merging with another opco, I have not seen any layoffs, or even heard of any. I dont think we have any more opco's to merge with, so that's probably not an issue either.

If you come off OTR, and get used to the being home every night, most likely you will never even consider going back OTR with their horrible hours/pay/dispatch/shippers/receivers, etc, etc.
 
Just go to FedEx Freight , you already wasted a week , the company continues to grow even with the current driver shortage. It's like all jobs , DO YOUR JOB , KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT , GO HOME . (Don't hang in the employees parking lot and listen to the wash women spread rumors.)
 
FedEx or ABF. Steer clear of the other two. (Plenty of reasons listed on their threads on this site)

I believe you'll need hazmat and doubles endorsements before applying at FedEx. Good luck! You won't regret it..

Don't worry about lack of dock experience either, you'll get plenty. :-)
Tank endorsement also. Serious discussion and disagreement as to whether or not totes/IBC are considered tanks.
 
You need every endorsement there is. Fx won't even interview you without them anymore.

Doubles
Tripple
Air brakez
Has-Mat
Tanker.


Also, everything depends on the terminal you work at.
Apply at the Dallas hub, and you will likely wait 15yrs for a mediocre road position.

Smaller terminals?
You could very well get hired, and immediately bid to a 450mi nighttime turn.
When I was hired on, I had the opportunity to be a road, or city driver, as well as a mechanic, or a supervisor.
It all depends on what they need.


Overall, try for a smaller terminal.


I dont think there have been any layoffs since the merger 7yrs ago, and even then they were super minimal.
If you're a city driver, you will get your 40hrs. It may not be a 8am-4pm gig, but you will get your hours.
Our terminal mgr would always allow road drivers to come in, and work the dock, if they weren't getting any runs.
Again, all depends on ther terminal.


You dont have to be fork lift trained.
Even if you're green on one, be a pro in a month's time.




If I went back to driving, I would only consider FxF, or UPS
As far as driving jobs go, its hard to beat Fx.
 
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