FedEx Freight | How long till the axe swings?

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elgincock

Guest
With freight levels off drastically, how long will the purple-people-eater let the extra fluff stay on the payroll? My terminal is dead, I say again dead. Bill count is off the past three weeks by over 50%, and we all know Fred & Co. don't stand for that. Wonder what they will call the lay-off this time, extended vacation? BTW, I had to re-register, so I am not a new poster.
 
we haven't had any extra board drivers working for 2 weeks now. 1 extra board drivers wife just had a baby and with no income thats going to be real tough. i heard we are down over 3,000 bills a day.
 
With freight levels off drastically, how long will the purple-people-eater let the extra fluff stay on the payroll? My terminal is dead, I say again dead. Bill count is off the past three weeks by over 50%, and we all know Fred & Co. don't stand for that. Wonder what they will call the lay-off this time, extended vacation? BTW, I had to re-register, so I am not a new poster.

Come on now keep a positive attitude
 
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I's been slow since the Fed said "NO TO CHEAP FREIGHT" which is a good thing I think. Our bottom Extra guys all worked 3-5 days this week. ltl, it's feast or famine. Watch your money!
 
Freight and National as 1?

The Ax will swing soon, and dont think putting Freight and National together as one isnt out of the question...National has never really caught on,,3-4 yrs later customers are still confused on who does what...National was a cheaper slower way to go but as we at freight chased pricing, we became a discount carrier...now the prices are the same with freight having better transit times. why do we need 2 terminals in every city, 2 management teams..2 phone bills 2 water bills, 2 gas bills, maintainence,rent, property, ownership of property, trucks with different names (how easy it would be to take national LTL off everything and just add "Freight"...same colors, same logos etc....Everyone that had anything to do with buying Watkins isnt around anymore? Think Fred may have not been to happy with this whole deal?..Ican see this happening soon...We would still have all the freight and all the drivers, just all put into 1 company...Don't kid yourself and think it wont happen..It's Just a matter of time now:1904:
 
Catch 22

The only way to compete in long-haul LTL as a hub-spoke carrier is to offer no-fee 100% money-back guarantees on all shipments.
But the service at FXNL is so shoddy that they can't do that...too much late freight and damages...so we end up with a higher cost structure competing against modes that can move longhaul LTL much cheaper.
Whatever happened to "Re-Engineering for 99"?!?!? I've still got my DVD...do you got yours?
That's the crux of the problem and there's no easy or cheap way to fix it.
We can load up on junk freight and lose money or we can raise our prices and lose money...it's a catch 22.
The braintrust that runs this disaster was counting on YRCW to go under.
Well that didn't work, so what's next?
The Watkins kids are laughing their collective asses off at FedEx right now...
 
The Ax will swing soon, and dont think putting Freight and National together as one isnt out of the question...National has never really caught on,,3-4 yrs later customers are still confused on who does what...National was a cheaper slower way to go but as we at freight chased pricing, we became a discount carrier...now the prices are the same with freight having better transit times. why do we need 2 terminals in every city, 2 management teams..2 phone bills 2 water bills, 2 gas bills, maintainence,rent, property, ownership of property, trucks with different names (how easy it would be to take national LTL off everything and just add "Freight"...same colors, same logos etc....Everyone that had anything to do with buying Watkins isnt around anymore? Think Fred may have not been to happy with this whole deal?..Ican see this happening soon...We would still have all the freight and all the drivers, just all put into 1 company...Don't kid yourself and think it wont happen..It's Just a matter of time now:1904:

Good post, I agree 100%.
IMHO, the only thing stopping this from happening is YRCW.
Nobody knows how long these guys will stick around...so FedEx can't start re-engineering things and than BOOM!!! suddenly all of this freight hits the street.
But eventually, all signs point to some sort of merger between the two opcos.

I'll tell you what's funny...I was at a customer waiting the other day for over 1/2 hour.
Why?
Because they had one dock and there was a truck in it.
Guess who was in that dock?
Yup, FedEx Freight.
Wouldn't it make sense to put both shipments on one truck and then take those shipments back to one terminal shared by both opcos?
Wouldn't the customer be happier loading 1 truck instead of two?
How many empty miles could they cut out in their linehaul systems?
 
The Ax will swing soon, and dont think putting Freight and National together as one isnt out of the question...National has never really caught on,,3-4 yrs later customers are still confused on who does what...National was a cheaper slower way to go but as we at freight chased pricing, we became a discount carrier...now the prices are the same with freight having better transit times. why do we need 2 terminals in every city, 2 management teams..2 phone bills 2 water bills, 2 gas bills, maintainence,rent, property, ownership of property, trucks with different names (how easy it would be to take national LTL off everything and just add "Freight"...same colors, same logos etc....Everyone that had anything to do with buying Watkins isnt around anymore? Think Fred may have not been to happy with this whole deal?..Ican see this happening soon...We would still have all the freight and all the drivers, just all put into 1 company...Don't kid yourself and think it wont happen..It's Just a matter of time now:1904:

GOLD CHAINS!!!!! HOW"ve you been?
 
It must depend on were your at. Slammed at my barn with good freight, and extras running hard.
P/D and dock begging to get off and can't most times.
Made a bunch of extra pups Friday and 4 of 'em still hadn't been moved Saturday morn.

We had a couple of days of slow down last week while they weeded out some junk accounts, but it didn't take long for the extra capacity that made to be filled with better paying stuff. Talked to a buddy of mine in MPS and he said no lack of work there either.
 
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The only way to compete in long-haul LTL as a hub-spoke carrier is to offer no-fee 100% money-back guarantees on all shipments.
But the service at FXNL is so shoddy that they can't do that...too much late freight and damages...so we end up with ...

Shipments lately on my tally sheets have been on time. Had 1 late bill today. Came from ETX to HST due the 20th.
 
You ar correct Mike....This whole National thing was betting YRC would go away...we would then have the capacity...They are still hanging in there and thats fine...But if they had gone away, Those folks who had the brainstorm to buy Watkins would be looking like a Million Bucks...Instead of Lame Ducks......Time will tell i guess...I know you are also right, i see National stuff sitting at customers for a day or two, had nobody to pick it up?..Thats weird.......
 
C'mon chicken littles.... It sure is easier to say something negative than to do something positive!!
 
For what it's worth, I was told by my OM on Friday that there will be some changes coming around Mid September. His best guess (not to be confused with facts) was that Freight will be taking over all of the P&D for National while National will continue to run their own linehaul.
 
For what it's worth, I was told by my OM on Friday that there will be some changes coming around Mid September. His best guess (not to be confused with facts) was that Freight will be taking over all of the P&D for National while National will continue to run their own linehaul.
the only thing natl is hiring for is P & d right now. that might work for small markets but noway for big cities and hubs. An OM wouldn't know anyway, or the SC manager. they only get about a weeks notice. Plus, snapshot is still running around to natl terminals working on city compliance, and they just put all the new clocks in for city guys. If anything, I could see linehauls doing something together cause they ain't touched routes at natl yet, and that's way over due!!
 
What are you all talking about? They have changed everything. And as far as I can tell, nobody knows whats going to happen next. We will never see the big picture because they are not going to show it to us. Lets face the facts, WE ARE JUST (an expense) TRUCK DRIVERS. They don't care about you, just do your job and go home. All this trying to figure out what the next move is, is a waste of time, you will know when it happens. Until then drive your truck, make your money and go home and enjoy your life.
 
What are you all talking about? They have changed everything. And as far as I can tell, nobody knows whats going to happen next. We will never see the big picture because they are not going to show it to us. Lets face the facts, WE ARE JUST (an expense) TRUCK DRIVERS. They don't care about you, just do your job and go home. All this trying to figure out what the next move is, is a waste of time, you will know when it happens. Until then drive your truck, make your money and go home and enjoy your life.

Could not agree more!!! Gave you a greenie...:notworthy:
 
Shipments lately on my tally sheets have been on time.

Lately on time?!?!?
Good grief, Charlie Brown.
And what about the crushed/stacked pallets, cartons missing, torn shrinkwrap, cardboard soaking wet from oil/water, etc.
It's a crying shame what this company does to the customer's freight.
 
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