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ltl is great

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There are a lot of posts on here about the future of Vitran U.S. and who to blame for the companies short comings. Very little is posted about the one constant that has been in control of the company since it came to the U.S. with the purchase of Overland. U.S. LTL Presidents, Reid, Kimack, Kosoveck have come and gone. And, now Mr. Keylon has the reigns.

The fact is Mr. Gaetz has run this company into the ground. In other words, during the companies profitable days, when the stock price was high, with the company achieving record profit levels, very little, if any was reinvested back into the company. How many long time Vitran drivers remember the days when the maintenance shops could not spend any money after the middle of the month because they exceeded the "local" shop budget? Maintenance is just one example. Again, Gaetz invested very little back into Vitran - U.S. LTL. Facilities were allowed to fall apart, equipment was not properly maintained, and nothing was invested into technology. Why is it in 2012 Vitran is just getting hand held devices for the P&D drivers? Almost every other carrier has had this technology since at least 2000 to 2005. Most carriers also have a scanning system on their docks and have had it in place for at least 10 years.

The lack of re-investment into the "organization" during the profitable years is why Vitran is in a fight for it's existence in the U.S ltl market today. Mr. Keylon, can not just focus on turning the company around because he also has to fix a foundation that is falling a part because of a decade and a half of neglect. And he has to figure out how to fix this broken foundation on a very limited budget.

Gaetz never had a "vision" for the future, other than the next quarterly press release, which is why Vitran is where it is today.
 
The fact is that Gaetz lack of vision, has destroyed this companies ability to compete in todays LTL market place. We were built on a foundation of sand. And now it appears without the resources we are destined to fail. And Chris Keylon will be made the scapegoat...Corporate Greed has almost certainly destroyed our future.
 
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The Future...By " LTL is great "...that thread is by far one of the best post that has ever been put on this site on Vitran...Its an absolute masterpiece...I have touched on it some about Gaetz, but that said it all. Having said that, let me say that you guys need to prepare yourself for some hard times ahead. Don't be BLINDSIDED by this company. Keep your options open about a job change. Try to stay out of debt as much as possible. This is not trying to drama this up. The fact is we are in deep trouble..And may not be able to recover from Gaetz lack of vision. The hiring of Chris Keylon has given us the best chance to survive...But again, it may be too little ...too late...The end could be sooner than you think...Prepare yourself...DONT BE BLINDSIDED.....They could shut the doors anyday..Act accordingly.
 
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train I have been in debt ever since 2009 with this company, I ran into some short comings with me and my family, but finally I can say I am able to go else where with my talents, for 3 years vitran has been a crutch for me. Even thou I am massively in debt, I am going to roll the dice on making a move. Even if I was able to work 60hrs a week here for the next year I still would be in the red with my situation. I had high hopes for vitran, I even would wear their hats out in the public with pride, I would stop people while they are talking trash about vitran, but things have changed dramaticlly in my mind since 2011, now I wish I didnt even have to wear my uniform to work, and right when I punch out I would change my clothes to something that didnt even have a "V" on the front of my shirt. I would love to see Vitran come back from the dead. Now if that stupid rule wasent in effect where city and linehaul cant switch without losing senority, I would be a happy camper, I would slowly get above water in my financial situation. there are 2 pay weeks left in october and I would be lucky if I made 42,000 this year, and that is stretching it. This linehaul driver was showng and bragging about how much he made this year, and my barn is a teir 2, now he is topped out and so far this year with miles vac, holidays and alot of city hrs, he has made 71,000 so far this year. and back to where I said a linehaul guy has alot of city hours, well at my barn the t.m. loves using LH drivers for wkend city work, and he has made $5,000 just in city hrs alone. It is just one big slap in the face if you ask me. When the bid came, when where ever we bid that was where you were going to stay without losing senority, I had a family situation where I couldnt work nights and we didnt have any daytime LH runs, so I picked city, and even at that we didnt even bid a start time for city, we told the dispatcher either city or linehaul, and then he would place u in the time slot himself, depending on if he liked you, or if your peddle area was 7am 8am 9am etc, A big flippin joke..... and about the shop with not getting parts the last 2 weeks of the month, I totally remember that, and the funny thing is, we have been going on the 4th week, where the shop can order the parts they need to fix the broke down truck, but he cant get a P.O. for it, so you know what that means, NO PARTS
 
And one more thing about the trucks not getting fixed. in the time that we havent been able to get parts, 1 of our trucks broke down 110miles away from the terminal, computer problems, so long story short he got back to the yard 16 hrs after he broke down. a couple days later same truck goes out on a peddle run, differnt driver, who did not know about issues with truck, same problem happened to him, 9hrs later after breaking down, he arrives at terminal. 2 days later a differnt driver was about to pull out of yard and take off on his LH run, I stopped him and told him the problem with the truck, so he goes to shop raising all types of hell, long story short he takes off in a run down blue pjax international. vitran is still up to their old tricks, trucks junk no problem, they will just give it to a guy that has no idea whats wrong with it, or if that dont work, they will just give it to a new guy who is scared to say something, fear of losing his job, even thou that would be a big lawsuit. I cant wait to see what this week brings me at the "flying V"
 
we had a driver who brokedown twice in the same day with the same problem, he wrote it up when he got back that evening, then took same truck out next day and brokedown with same exact problem. lmfao. this place WILL close it's doors eventually, either when they run out of cash or take more away from employees and we close it by damaging stuff or dragging feet.
 
$$ in the beginning i too had pride to say i worked at Vitran...But those days are gone...Im truly ashamed to say i work here for so many reasons...Just look at our barn...60 doors of ramps falling off...crater size holes in yard you must avoid or dump your skids all over the floor. A restroom you would worry about catching something...Totally gross...No sales Rep would dare bring a customer here...Look at companies like FedEx and Southeastern...Clean and Professional...And although they have their problems as well, at least they can say they are proud of where they hang their hat...And $$ although you may be drowning in debt, always remember the many that are on the streets that have lost their jobs in this bad economy. Bad things do happen to good people. But we can never lose hope. We can never give up. As long as you can get up in the morning and have your health you will always have a chance to make a better life..Always try to keep the big picture..That will help you keep things in perspective..
 
had enough said:
we had a driver who brokedown twice in the same day with the same problem, he wrote it up when he got back that evening, then took same truck out next day and brokedown with same exact problem. lmfao. this place WILL close it's doors eventually, either when they run out of cash or take more away from employees and we close it by damaging stuff or dragging feet.
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That is why Fed Law says a certified mechanic must sign off on all DVIR repairs,,,,,,,, of course Vitran is exempt from that (or so they think)
 
Gaetz primary goal was always to increase the stock value, and please the share holders. And in the beginning he did....But he should have re-invested it in things like technology but he chose to buy more companies in trouble at a bargain price, yet he did nothing to improve them. And created massive debt in that process. He dug himself a hole with neglect...Technology could have increased the stock value had he had the vision to put into place sooner....Another reason its not wise to put the cart before the horse.
 
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It'll be interesting to see the numbers Thursday when Rick G. reports the 3rd quarter report to the shareholders. I wonder how bad the numbers will be fudged? OS&D claims probably equal the national debt.
 
Buckeyedriver7 said:
It'll be interesting to see the numbers Thursday when Rick G. reports the 3rd quarter report to the shareholders. I wonder how bad the numbers will be fudged? OS&D claims probably equal the national debt.
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Is that before or after they change the figures???????? :Emoticon_digging:
 
Buckeyedriver7 said:
It'll be interesting to see the numbers Thursday when Rick G. reports the 3rd quarter report to the shareholders. I wonder how bad the numbers will be fudged? OS&D claims probably equal the national debt.
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Vitran Reports 2012 Third Quarter Results

REMINDER:

Vitran management will conduct a conference call and webcast today: October 25, at 9:00 a.m. ET

to discuss the Company's 2012 third quarter results

Conference call dial-in: 1-888-396-8063 or 416-764-8652 (International)

Live Webcast: Vitran.com - Homepage, transportation, TransWestern Express, TWE Express, Distribution, Logistics, G&W Freight, Truckload, Freight Connection, Vitran Express, Investor Relations, routing, Vitrac, road safety, friving, trucker, news, trucking, trucklo (select "Investor Relations")

TORONTO, Oct. 25, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vitran Corporation Inc. (Nasdaq:VTNC) (TSX:VTN), a North American transportation and supply chain firm, today announced financial results for the third quarter of 2012 and the nine-month period ended September 30, 2012 (all figures reported in $U.S.).

Vitran reported revenue of $206.2 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2012 which is flat compared to $206.2 million for third quarter of 2011. Vitran recorded a net loss of $10.1 million, or $0.62 per share, for the third quarter of 2012 compared to a net loss of $3.4 million, or $0.21 per share, for the same period in 2011. On a non-GAAP basis that would include adjusting for a tax recovery on Vitran's U.S. operations, the Company recorded an adjusted net loss of $0.35 per share for the third quarter of 2012 compared to an adjusted loss of $0.06 per share for the third quarter of 2011. In accordance with FASB ASC 740-10, Vitran temporarily discontinued recording an income tax provision for its U.S. operations in 2010.

Vitran reported a 4.4% increase in revenue to $627.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 compared to $600.4 million for the same period in 2011. Adjusting for the impact of foreign exchange on Vitran's Canadian operations, consolidated revenue increased 5.0% in the comparable nine-month periods. Vitran recorded a net loss of $20.1 million, or $1.23 per share, for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2012 compared to a net loss of $5.9 million, or $0.36 per share, in the comparable nine-month period. On a non-GAAP basis that would include adjusting for a tax recovery on Vitran's U.S. operations, the Company recorded an adjusted net loss of $0.71 per share for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2012, compared to a net loss of $0.07 per share for the comparable nine-month period.

"The operating performance in both our Canadian LTL and Supply Chain units was offset by very poor results in our U.S. LTL operation. Unfortunately, these results do not yet reflect the many positive and constructive changes going on in our U.S. LTL operation," stated Vitran President and Chief Executive Officer Rick Gaetz.

"The new executive team rebuild was completed half way through the third quarter with the addition of a new Executive Vice President of Operations, a Senior Vice President-Sales and Marketing, a Vice President Finance, and of great significance two very experienced Regional Operations Vice Presidents. These changes have led to more change and upgrades at our terminal management level ranks throughout the quarter. The improvement in talent is extremely critical, these personnel upgrades and additions, combined with the adoption of new technology and operating methodology, is paving the way for future success, but at the expense of immediate results."

"The first month of the quarter was by far our weakest; with small progress made sequentially through the quarter. Finally, I am extremely appreciative of the effort, urgency and commitment of this new team to execute the turn around," concluded Mr. Gaetz.

Segmented Results

The LTL (less-than-truckload) segment posted revenue of $176.2 million for the third quarter of 2012 compared to revenue of $176.4 million in the third quarter of 2011. Loss from operations for the 2012 third quarter was $9.2 million, compared to loss from operations of $2.9 million in the comparable period a year ago. In the comparable third quarters, shipments and tonnage decreased 1.4% and 2.5% respectively in the LTL segment, however, shipments per day increased 0.2%.

The Supply Chain Operation recorded revenue of $30.0 million, compared to $29.8 million in the third quarter of 2011. Income from operations for the 2012 third quarter was $2.6 million and an OR of 91.4% compared to income from operations of $2.9 million and OR of 90.2% in the third quarter of 2011.
 
I said it once before...the future by"LTL is Great" That post is the best post that has ever been put on this site....Why?????? Because it shows why we are fighting for our lives at this company.....pure neglect...a cavity starts out small...but if you get it filled quickly...no problem....neglect it and it gets bigger...and bigger...and you ultimately loose the tooth...Gaetz had this technology for almost 2 decades.....Why so long to get it...now it appears we are just to far behind the rest to catch up...To much damage done, too many bridges burned with angry customers,a shot reputation, but most importantly nothing has changed in respect to overhauling this broke system of city dispatch, to much sitting around...not enough productivity in relation to labor cost..WE NEED A EFFICIENCY EXPERT TO COME IN AND TOTALLY REVAMP THIS SYSTEM..ITS BROKEN..TOO MUCH DOWN TIME..TOO MUCH CHRIS CROSSING OF ROUTHS..SOME ROUTHS NEED TO BE CONSOLIDATED...TOO MANY MISSED PICKUPS..BRING BACKS, LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ON THE TABLET TECHNOLOGY...I DONT EXPECT THEM TO COME OUT FROM BEHIND THOSE DESK AND BE PRO-ACTIVE...BUT YOU CAN HIRE SOMEONE TO DO IT..HAVE THEM VISIT ALL THE MAJOR TERMINALS AND FIX THIS PROBLEM..RE-TRAIN YOUR CITY DISPATCHERS...AND LETS MOVE FORWARD..GOOD GRIEF!!!!! ....For Gaetz to be so smart....waiting until 2012 to update....was pretty stupid...Gaetz should take a good look at himself....He did this...It starts at the top...and hes about as high as you get...Blame your CEO ....its all on him....all of it...i said....ALL OF IT
 
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Gaetz is partly to blame but what about the drivers who steal time and damage freight with no concern? I have read numerous times that drivers take their time, sit at coffee places and do not care what the freight looks like. Granted, management has to care, but think about it this way, if every driver steals one hour a day and the average rate of pay is 19 dollars, right off the bat the company is losing 25-30 thousand a day. With the attitude of some management and some hourly employees, Vitran is doomed to fail. I have since left the trucking industry all together and so far life is good.
 
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