Central Transport | Wal-mart= death to vitran

[$outh$side $tre$$]

I will bet the college funds of my childern (which is pennies at this moment) that walmart will be the death of vitran. I can remember when our management was all excited that they got the walmart account and now we are #2 of ltl carriers for wally world. Now we fast forward a couple years to the present. They are taking advantage of vitran.(which kinda every1 is at the moment) but at any rate wally world gets shipped freight that weights crap and is bulky as crap. I can bet tht every barns volume, that 30% or more of it is headed to wally worlds dist center. I can only imagine the ludicrus discount that they get. It a mom and pop outfit gets any where from 78.5 to 92.5 cut rate. Then i wouldnt doubt it that we pay them to carry the freight. Welll if you really think about this we actually do haul it for free. By the time the lady in the office takes the pick-up to the time that the last guy on the dock loads it into the walmart trl in the yard we spent more money on it then what it pays. Plus u have to add the fact that 25% of it arrives at the dist center damaged, short or not even making it there all together. And how many times a month do wally world, vitran, and the customer shipping the walmart freight have a confrence call. Cuz as everyone is well aware of. That freight can sit on the shippers dock for a month.(in which that has happened more then i can count on my hands. And that is in one month!) so when u bump that dock to get that wally world freight, or when u pick up a skid on the dock going to wally world. Think to yourself, what companys will do to keep the people working and the trls full?..........they will do it till the last day b4 they shut the gate. Nevermind about the gate. Most terminal sdont even have gates. Not in the budget to keep the "high dollar" freight safe..............

 

[Not_wanted]

I have never been to the DC in my area, but do some store deliveries. About a month ago I delivered 2 skids of pool chlorine, bad stuff that chlorine but labeled as ORMD (so that makes it safe?) Both skids were rubbed down their sides, shrink wrap torn, and two boxes torn. So, receiver says "That is what we expect from you guys" Cool, would that also include me calling the Fire Department Haz Mat Team on my here next time for a hazardous materials leak in my trailer because next time they will tear open a few packages too? Just because it is ORMD does not mean it is safe as water to leak out from my trailer. There is a reason fork trucks are 4 feet wide, so they can drive around skids in a trailer!!! Honest, I have seen it done a few times.

 

[POPCORN]

AF in the 90's hauled a lot of Wal-Mart Distribution Center merchandise. I looked at it like Wal-Mart was out-sourcing their Transportation needs. It was back-breaking, labor-intensive work. But, it did pay the bills. Shortly thereafter Schneider, J.B. and Prime took over what AF used to process. My advice is... Enjoy the work while you got it. It may be gone in a few months.

 

[Not_wanted]

I am afraid that will be for a lot of freight. Twice this week I had skids that were not even destined for my state, shrink wrap and packing lists torn free, but hey, it looked like something I deliver to one of my customers, so someone put in on our Linehaul the night before, and my P&D that morning

 

[$outh$side $tre$$]

well get this one. last night one of those skids, i really cant remember what it is actually called but it is a big thick brown cardboard container filled with either paint chips or liquid. welll anyways, some1 docked it by the door it was supposed to go in, and as they did that he or she put a hole underneath. they left it there to leak alilttle. then some1 picked it up and put it in the 1st third of the 53ft trl. no1 seen or realized that it was leaking. so when the driver hooked up to the trl, when he was cranking up the landing gear his boots were sticking to the ground, he looked down and seen a huge puddle of a sticky type of oil. so log story short, the dock worker had to strip the trl and 26 bills did not make service becuz it took them 3 hours to strip it cuz they kept slippin and sliding around on the forklift. and who wants to bet that noq got fired or even written up. another day at vitran :)

 

[Not_wanted]

OK. Sounds about right.

 

[had enough]

we should get a pool going on when everyone thinks the company will shut the doors. lol.

 

[Not_wanted]

Well, how may think before the end of the year, and how many after the 1st?

 

[$outh$side $tre$$]

I think march 2013.

 

[Scotty425]

we should get a pool going on when everyone thinks the company will shut the doors. lol.

Beat you to it. Our barn already started one. I am in for December 2012.....
I think we will have a recession again like fall 2008, and that will kill us-and many others.. but then again, I am an optimist..

 

[had enough]

i think it will be in 2013 before heavy vacation times, prob may or june. you may want to take vac early so you don't lose it along with the paychecks under their two week pay period they'll probably implement in 2013.

 

[Not_wanted]

I am thinking Q2 2013, this will be 1 year of CK, not saying his fault, but seriously having doubts if he can pull it off with so many under him not helping

 

[eiMac]

If it is a buy out, be a 1st of the month thing. They love to fire or layoff people around the holidays. I feel it could be sold Sept 1st but for holiday sake, December 1st. It may have been sold already, just a guess on my part from things I've heard. C.K. has to get all of his people in place first.

 

[Not_wanted]

I have my hopes, but still not convinced on why someone as successful as FE would by a losing operation such as Vitran. This place could be made into something, we have the ground in place, but not enough right people, I am not talking above either, a third of my terminal's drivers would sabotage anything just for kicks (but be the biggest whiners if the doors close saying WHY ME.) The big question is can we hold on 5 years to make it what it could be?