What's new

ODFL | Are we going to see a recession and layoffs in the next year or so?

M

MidnightRider

TB Lurker
Credits
10
It looks like ODFL is over-hiring again. Freight is slower than I’ve seen in many years. OD over hired in 2008, then laid a lot of drivers off in 2009. It looks like the same thing is happening now. Is this country going into a recession? If so, will drivers be laid off again?
 
Honestly I hate to be that way but just look around . I want to buy a truck , but no way I'm not paying MSRP for anything I'll just keep my 250K GMC . Look at foodstuffs , same price but less product . How about fuel that is bad and summer is not even here yet . Good Lord I know this sounds stupid but I have friends that race and have you looked at the price of a 55 gallon of 110 Sunoco ? It's race with no hamburgers afterwards or my favorite HOT DOGS man . Some guys said they (Mom and Pop teams - local stuff) are sitting it out this year . We are glad the house and farm are paid off and we only have medical bills that are paid every month . Yea , less hot dog and beer money , we stay home and that sure does not help any local friends with taverns . Hey if they need less then it's not going on our trucks plain and simple....

Good luck , hanging in there with you my friend .
SMOKESTACK
 
When wife and I were team, the house, cars, storm room replacement damage repairs and all debts were paid off. It took about 15 dollars for water bill a month (Admin fees and taxes, and electric close to zero along with gas. All the utilities were paid a year in advance.

We bought food and fluids and supplies for hygiene etc 6 weeks in advance. The penalty was about a thousand pounds on the tractor for gross weight. But easily worked around certain pain in the ass scales with lower fuel amounts.

The biggest blow was 9-11. Our company lost payroll completely. SO... we were told to go home sit on unemployment and so on for potentially months. However we had cash savings for all that time to run and continue delivering the medicines. No problem. They squared with us in due time.

I finished a round of store shopping for food and necessary items today. Spent close to 500 dollars but in some situations for example iced tea. Buy a box of teabags for 2 bucks a 50 or whatever bags, brew several times a week in coffee pot, assemble into a pot on stove. Cool down. Its ready for a few days that week. About two gallons worth.

A gallon of ice tea already made in walmart today is at least 3.00 plus taxes. So thats the end of buying 10.00 worth of iced tea prior to Covid. We make it at home. There is enough tea bags accumulated in storage where we can keep making house tea to hydrate on for 5 years provided we can get water and heat to brew with which is supplied by a Kelly stove and a small forest near us. No problem.

Everything we bought today was ahead. Not only for just this months needs but in multiples. Combined with portion sizing in certain plates and dishes etc for meal prep on the weekly menu the total cost was about oh... 80 bucks. I have enough food on hand to eat three months if everything went poof today. I can feed 20 plus people for a month. Under rationing conditions Even longer.

The bath tub is constantly full of fresh water. (Disinfected too) ready for the toilet. Thats about 60 to 70 gallons on hand. The water is replaced every few days now. If our water and sewer systems get destroyed we can take care of hygiene for a while before transitioning to human kitty litter and finally to a 123 pit out in the forest.
 
I'm not seeing a slowdown yet. Has my run been cut a few times due to "lack of freight?" Sure! But then they have been sending me on a much longer hub turn because we have more freight than regular bid drivers going to that location. And THEN I've been getting vias through my normal hub either on the way out or on the way back.

Wife and I are stacking it up as fast as I can make it.

One thing to add, my hub shift has ridiculous amounts of freight lately. So much that you can't find a place to cut across from the odd side to the even side, or vice-versa. Dimensioners that won't scan because there's a couple of pieces of freight in the bay interfering with the infrared eye. It's pandemonium. I've been getting a full 6 hours on the forklift and there's still plenty for the city guys to do at sun-up.

If you're a driver with a short bid like mine but you're concerned with things getting slow at your own hub shift, I hope you're taking your time to build (and where necessary, *rebuild*) trailers the right way. Strap and deck the bujeezus out of everything. Use airbags, old pallets, cardboard. Get your time in. The company's making money. They make more when shipments get there damage-free.
 
Oh god.... I know how to ride the clock as bad as anyone.

I remember one incident a garden hose and a tooth brush with a thing of dawn soap vs a old tractor. A little dallop. A scrub, a squirt. Repeat a fender would take oh 3 hours.

Bigmouth suit was responsible for telling me to clean that tractor up and its 10.00 a hour. Get to it.

Took him 9 hours to come out of the air conditioned office and cut me a comcheck for 100.00

Him and his fast temper with big mouth. From that day forward, they hand me 50 and hop to the blue beacon. Spiffy.

There was a matches incident in the Richmond Defense Depot. 40 foot container, striker box matches. Volumed out. Docked. Told to go to sleeper, will get me when done. Ok cool.

12 hours later go around back and check on the load? I see 5 Sailors from the Navy carefully verifying the correct match stick count per little bitty boxes per bills of lading on the container about halfway done. Turned out to be a floor load too. This was back before computer anything.

That took me about two years to consider why in the world does the USN would sit on a truckload of matches like that. We are seriously effed if the Security and Future of the USA depends on having that match box containing the correct count.
 
No port said:
Average grocery bill is up $50 per week, gas double, yes this causes a recession.
Click to expand...
Its up alright. I no longer give a damn.

Spent 70 dollars carting two cases of Ensure protein out to the car in addition to the food.

The prices will need to triple before I have to cut back my grocery menu.

I am already putting together a hundred damn dollars to feed the both of us at our regular Petro Truckstop in North Little Rock. Used to do that on less than 20. But those days are gone forever.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top