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FedEx Freight | Purchase Transportation

Sounds like red racer has an answer for everything. He even thinks it's ok for a driver to sit at home while the company uses PT. I bet he even thinks the drivers are told when they hired them that there's a good chance they will sit at home while someone else does his job so he's shouls be surprised when it happens. I bet if the company replaced his run with a PT he wouldnt be upset he would tell the company he understands and its the right thing to do because it's cheaper. He loves the company so much he will clean the restrooms at the end of the day when all of the PT drivers have left as long as he has a job that's what he'll do. That's his purple promise to FedEx.
 
Redracer3136 said:
Unfortunately PT is a necessary evil. When we only have freight on one side in a lane, it's actually cheaper to move the freight per PT vs road drivers pulling empties. We were told some time ago that they "could" pay PT $2 a mile to move the freight and it would still be cheaper than using company drivers pulling empties.
PT aren't going away, every LTL company uses them to some extent, including union companies.
I too don't like the fact that they're pulling our freight while our drivers sit at home...but the only solution is to gain more market share to ensure that there's freight moving in both directions, thus cutting back on the need for their services.
For those drivers that are sitting at home, dock work is usually an option to earn a check vs nothing at all. I don't like it either but that is the reality until the freight levels pickup in the spring.
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What Red fails to mention is PT is increasing every year, resulting in more of our drivers sitting at home. But why would he care it is not affecting him.
fxffe2014b.jpg
 
Crazy Trucker said:
What Red fails to mention is PT is increasing every year, resulting in more of our drivers sitting at home. But why would he care it is not affecting him.
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What you fail to realize is the amount of drivers, as well as freight levels, have also risen in the last three years, thus offsetting the rise of PT use.
It's all relative.
 
steelpower said:
Sounds like red racer has an answer for everything. He even thinks it's ok for a driver to sit at home while the company uses PT. I bet he even thinks the drivers are told when they hired them that there's a good chance they will sit at home while someone else does his job so he's shouls be surprised when it happens. I bet if the company replaced his run with a PT he wouldnt be upset he would tell the company he understands and its the right thing to do because it's cheaper. He loves the company so much he will clean the restrooms at the end of the day when all of the PT drivers have left as long as he has a job that's what he'll do. That's his purple promise to FedEx.
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No answer for everything...but I do have common sense.
Drivers sit at home every winter, it's the same argument every year...year after year after year. Anyone who's driven for any amount of time, regardless of company or sector of the industry, knows that freight levels drop in the winter, it's not rocket science.
Should you have been told this fact before you were hired?

When freight levels pick up, everyone is working, and the amount of PT is increased, will you still be complaining?

The rest of your post, albeit childish, isn't worth responding to.
 
So if freight levels fall off in the winter then why not cancel PT instead of letting our company drivers sit at home. But then that means caring about employees more than bottom line.
 
pig_pen said:
So if freight levels fall off in the winter then why not cancel PT instead of letting our company drivers sit at home. But then that means caring about employees more than bottom line.
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We know why pig_pen, they have a contract for those runs and we don't. But hell as long as Red is happy with his run that is all that matters. Heck he probably even hangs at the truck stops on the weekends with the PT drivers and has his own white tshirt with gravy stains.
 
Redracer3136 said:
What you fail to realize is the amount of drivers, as well as freight levels, have also risen in the last three years, thus offsetting the rise of PT use.
It's all relative.
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But Redracer, that is the beauty of P/T use being shown as a percentage of revenue, rather than a straight dollar amount. It takes into account a growing workforce.Use of Purchase Trans has gone from 2% to 17% under FedEx, with no end (or even leveling off), in sight. A much larger % of a much larger revenue stream.

It has little effect on me, as a city driver, but it should be of concern to you. How about when it approaches 40%? 50%? 60%?
 
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Think of the savings ?
The only thing Fred's stooges need to do with PT .
Sign a contract
Sign a check
The new line haul model of truck load gravy slurping wheel holders.
 
SwampRatt said:
But Redracer, that is the beauty of P/T use being shown as a percentage of revenue, rather than a straight dollar amount. It takes into account a growing workforce.Use of Purchase Trans has gone from 2% to 17% under FedEx, with no end (or even leveling off), in sight. A much larger % of a much larger revenue stream.

It has little effect on me, as a city driver, but it should be of concern to you. How about when it approaches 40%? 50%? 60%?
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Numbers can be skewed to back either side of an argument, we both know this.
Of that 17%, how much of that was PT being used during the summer months vs the winter months?

What would be your solution to PT?
Most think we should cut back on PT and hire more drivers to cover the said runs...but this would only help during the heavy months, what happens in the winter when freight slows down again...more drivers sitting at home than we have now?

Again, I don't like PT anymore than the next driver but they are a necessary evil.

I personally don't think we'll ever see 60%, 50%, or even 40%, but that's my opinion. You claimed there's no evidence of leveling off but according to the graph provided by CT, there was only a 1% growth over 3 years....and you claimed we went from 2% to 17% under FedEx (I'm sure your numbers are probably correct), that's over a 14 year span.

Again, the 17% is due to the rise in the workforce, freight levels, revenues, etc...it's all relative.
 
FedEx should fill their own lanes first. Then anything left over could go on a purchase. Even though fedex wants you to believe they are looking into reshaping lanes to balance PT usage is a lie. Once Dockers gets the union scare over he will step aside and everything will go back to the way it was before.
 
I think a wild board driver would love to have a run PT is running. There is two bid cycles so I will go with you argument, during high freight bid the run goes to the company driver
 
Gator said:
I think a wild board driver would love to have a run PT is running. There is two bid cycles so I will go with you argument, during high freight bid the run goes to the company driver
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During the high freight periods, we usually use every road driver, plus 13-15 unassigned city drivers a day on the road, plus PT.....the only time PT becomes an issue is during Jan-Mar.....that's the point.
 
pig_pen said:
FedEx should fill their own lanes first. Then anything left over could go on a purchase. Even though fedex wants you to believe they are looking into reshaping lanes to balance PT usage is a lie. Once Dockers gets the union scare over he will step aside and everything will go back to the way it was before.
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They do fill there own lanes first!!!
The only time they're supposed to use PT is if only one side has freight, if that's the case then the run is cancelled and the freight is put on PT.
If you really want to put a stop to PT, get out there and secure enough freight to carry both sides of the lane through the winter....otherwise, they're gonna use PT.
PT usage has nothing to do with the dock or the union.
 
The point was that a wild board would rather have a bid during that time not on call but I'm not going to play into your argument and PT runs the same bid all year. And its the higher paid run. So what goes on at your yard is not company wide and the more you try to argue the point the dummer this post gets. For the last five years Bozeman trucking has run that run from Columbus to Birmingham. Freight both ways so call my terminal and tell them there doing it wrong. Smh
 
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Redracer3136 said:
They do fill there own lanes first!!!
The only time they're supposed to use PT is if only one side has freight, if that's the case then the run is cancelled and the freight is put on PT.
If you really want to put a stop to PT, get out there and secure enough freight to carry both sides of the lane through the winter....otherwise, they're gonna use PT.
PT usage has nothing to do with the dock or the union.
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I WORK A SHUTTLE TO A HUB!!! WE LOAD PT FIRST!!! NOW I AM GOING TO GO BEAT MY HEAD AGAINST A WALL. WHILE RED DRINKS MORE OF THE PURPLE KOOL AID.
 
Redracer3136 said:
Numbers can be skewed to back either side of an argument, we both know this.
Of that 17%, how much of that was PT being used during the summer months vs the winter months?

What would be your solution to PT?
Most think we should cut back on PT and hire more drivers to cover the said runs...but this would only help during the heavy months, what happens in the winter when freight slows down again...more drivers sitting at home than we have now?

Again, I don't like PT anymore than the next driver but they are a necessary evil.

I personally don't think we'll ever see 60%, 50%, or even 40%, but that's my opinion. You claimed there's no evidence of leveling off but according to the graph provided by CT, there was only a 1% growth over 3 years....and you claimed we went from 2% to 17% under FedEx (I'm sure your numbers are probably correct), that's over a 14 year span.

Again, the 17% is due to the rise in the workforce, freight levels, revenues, etc...it's all relative.
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17% really Red Rover, that is what they want to show in numbers but it is more trust me. Are you rest assured that you can tell what load or shipment was performed by PT. Just like a blind shipment the pencil pushers know how to manipulate the numbers to make it look good on paper.
That is why the financial dept is called "The Oven" cause they know how to cook the books.

Make the numbers/ percentage look good for them to establish a past practice then when it gets out of control and you want to stop the abuse of using PT......Tooooo Late for a change:argue::cuss:
 
freds house boy said:
We know why pig_pen, they have a contract for those runs and we don't. But hell as long as Red is happy with his run that is all that matters. Heck he probably even hangs at the truck stops on the weekends with the PT drivers and has his own white tshirt with gravy stains.
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If thats the case, please remind me to never have their person negotiate anything for me.........

A couple of weeks ago, I know that over 50 weekly PT schedules were cancelled due to lower freight levels. That doesnt sound like a very iron-clad contract to me........

How do I know? I asked...........

Simple premise.........ask someone, if they dont know, tell them to ask somebody that does and get back to you..........you can then obviously utilize your own resources to fact check if you so wish........

SwampRatt said:
But Redracer, that is the beauty of P/T use being shown as a percentage of revenue, rather than a straight dollar amount. It takes into account a growing workforce.Use of Purchase Trans has gone from 2% to 17% under FedEx, with no end (or even leveling off), in sight. A much larger % of a much larger revenue stream.

It has little effect on me, as a city driver, but it should be of concern to you. How about when it approaches 40%? 50%? 60%?
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What is up with the spike from 3% to 8-9% in 2001-2002 range? I dont remember noticing it being so severe at the time..........maybe had something to do with the accounting then, as AF and Viking were still operating "separately"? The other big spike I see came later, which would presumably coincide with the finalization of the merger and the advent of choo-choo's into the Economy network.......

Regardless, I would be careful using straight cost to assume fluctuations of PT schedules. If you are correct and the driver shortage is in effect (which I would concur with)..........the demand would have driven our cost up, which would up the cost but not necessarily the schedules........just food for thought there.......

Proceed.......
 
Crazy Trucker said:
What Red fails to mention is PT is increasing every year, resulting in more of our drivers sitting at home. But why would he care it is not affecting him.
fxffe2014b.jpg
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The cost of PT has increased each year.........not necessarily the schedules. Where are the figures supporting your claim that more drivers are sitting at home now than before? How many drivers were hired in the past year? Quite certain that they are not all sitting at home right now while PT pulls the freight........

Bottom of the board can always have rough spots during the slower period..........if you dont recognize that, you havent been here long or you have been very fortunate. Some years are better than others........planning is the key to getting through it.
 
Gator said:
The point was that a wild board would rather have a bid during that time not on call but I'm not going to play into your argument and PT runs the same bid all year. And its the higher paid run. So what goes on at your yard is not company wide and the more you try to argue the point the dummer this post gets. For the last five years Bozeman trucking has run that run from Columbus to Birmingham. Freight both ways so call my terminal and tell them there doing it wrong. Smh
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The problem with your argument is the fact we don't have a wild board anymore, we now have an extra board.

You are correct, I can't speak for your center, only mine...but at mine for example, we have/had a PT driver named Earl that drives for Land Star. He ran 3 days a week out of my center to ORL (Mon, Wed, Fri). Once there, he'd drop his trl, grab an empty from our yard, then go across town to get loaded while on his 10 off or swap out after his 10 off, than bring that freight back north for that company. He'd show back up the next day at our center ready to go back to ORL. Why? B/C everyone knows there's twice as much freight that goes into Florida than what comes out.

Another example...we had/have a driver Phillip that ran for Knight Transportation that went to POS on the same schedule (Mon, Wed, Fri). He'd run up to POS, drop his load, then grab 10 off on our POS yard. The next morning, he'd grab an empty then head to another company in NY to do another swap out, then head back south with their freight. He'd show back up at our center the next morning ready to go north again. Why? Because we have more freight going north than POS has coming south.

Again, PT are a necessary evil...unless we go back to a wild board in order to cover these one way runs. Of course, then we've still have complaining by the drivers who were forced onto this wild board b/c they'd want to be home every night just like everybody else.
 
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