FirstFleet and MXI Transport

FF is an independent, privately owned dedicated logistics company, not affiliated with Averitt. It would depend on the terminal/customer as to whether drivers have to do any load/unload. Most customers do not require any driver involvement other than overseeing and counting at load/unload. Under normal circumstances Drivers are home at least weekly and usually every 2 or 3 days. Over all it is a very well run people oriented company that expects great customer service and integrity from all employees.

 

pops been with first fleet for 7yrs....he says there a cheap company only reason hes there hes high up the pole.....senority rules here......he is home every other night .35cpm benfits n ins are average hes dedicated out of henderson ky international paper. out with rolls back with scrap 60k year avg if u got senority. pay movers miles still......thats y he says there cheap...kroger loads pay hub no unload they do ip m kroger pretty much startin out good luck 300-400 some week

 

I recently signed on to FirstFleet. So far so good. out 4-5 days,, sometimes a night home during the week, and home every weekend. No load to get you home? They pay you to deadhead. Gave me a brand new 2010 Volvo with a Cummins engine straight out of Orientation. CPM Pay depends on the terminal you are out of. I have heard as low as .32, and as high as .40. But that is based off what other drivers have told me. They give you uniforms, and they do expect/want you to wear them. They pay for them, you clean them. They do pay for a fuel bonus of .01 CPM for 6.5 MPG, and an aditional .01 CPM for every .1 MPG better than that. So if you get 7.0 MPG, you get a .05 CPM bonus. Quarterly safety bonuses, etc. Dont know on the insurance yet, I dont qualify to even look at or enroll into it till after 90 days.

A couple complaints thou. This company is based on Seniority. They new dispatchers, usually old freight dispatchers, have a hard time grasping this idea. 66.6 MPH trucks. And I feel like I am a O/O, with having to pay for anything. Dispatcher tells you to call the broker to get the load info, and directions.. UGH!. The fuel bonus is completely laughable. The broker loads they get are always 44-47k lbs. Usually paper mill loads, or return paper/cardboard recyclable loads.

Some areas, like Denver, and Phoenix do have grocery dedicated runs. But I know very little about them.

I have heard that they were a sister company to Averitt, but arent anymore. I dont beleive it. My new truck, the seat covers, said averitt on them.

 

How did you like working for A & R ? What are the positives and negatives ?

What were the things about MXI that made you turn down their offer ? Thanks.

 

FirstFleet is contracted to flowers baking in morristown,tn. Looks as if they pull the baked products w/both day cabs and sleeper trucks. That means IF another company under cuts them,they will be gone more than likely. that was speculation on my behalf.
I know this because i too pull from bakeries like flowers but it is the waste product that is put into container looking trailers that is turned into chicken feed and I do not drive company trucks.
seems to be a good gig for first fleet however w/their dry boxes w/roll up doors-

 

I am still with FirstFleet, and things are way different than what I had expected..

Although I still don't like the Seniority dispatch system, everything else is cream. Mostly new trucks, they promote from within, etc. I loved being able to call into dispatch and people knowing my name, not my truck number. The only time I ever got asked what number I had, was when they needed to know my trailer #. My Terminal manager is by far the most honest, most hospitable man I know of. Intelligent, and a straight shooter.

They offered me a promotion to 2nd shift swing terminal manager, and I hopped on it. Some of the drivers that I dispatch have been getting some awesome miles. 100k miles on their 2010 trucks, that they just picked up in December (thats 8 months or less). Some of our drivers arent getting as good of miles, but most of them dont have the drive to get the good miles and paychecks, and the company doesn't really push them to do more than they feel comfortable doing.

This company is really a no stress environment (why do I sound like a recruitment ad LOL). Right now, here in the St Louis market, we have more freight than we can handle. We have to pass off some of the loads to other terminals just to get them covered. Our dedicated contract with a mill here wants us to take on more, and we have 5 empty trucks, we just need drivers to put in them..

Now I cant speak for the other terminals out there, how they run, or what they pay. I can only speak for what I do at MY terminal to make life easier on every driver that I dispatch.

With that said, when my drivers need their truck repaired, I personally take it to a shop to get it repaired (tires, AC, whatever). If it isnt going to be done, I make sure they have a truck to use until their truck is done so that their source of income doesnt take a dive. We dont slip seat, you will get your original truck back.

If I have the ability to, I take their trucks, go and P/U their loads, bring it back to the yard, so all the driver has to do is hop in the truck and go. I have been encouraged by my bosses to do this, and I rather enjoy doing it. It makes my job easier if my drivers are happy with what they have available to them. I also do the payroll for the entire terminal, and when my drivers call, I take care of their problem, make sure its legitimate, and fix it for their next payroll.

Honestly guys, you have no idea how much I love this company, and how much I love my job. Its not every day you find a company that has this type of honesty, integrity, and whatever else goes with the job. Now true, this maybe just for my terminal, but you gotta start somewhere..

Now as far as "sister company to averitt" goes. At one time, they were. But now are a sole independent company. The owners of both company's are still friends, and use the ability to use purchasing power to their advantage. Trucks, fuel, whatever else is in a trucking company.

This company is more of a "dedicated logistics" company thou. They strive in serving dedicated contracts, and serving them well. They use brokers for back hauls, but those back hauls are only to get you back to your home terminal, so you can get back out on the dedicated contract runs. It seems to be working well for them as well.

Every person I have had contact with in this company has treated me with nothing but respect. And after the past 10 years of being with other trucking companies, its really a feeling that I wasn't expecting to ever feel from a company.

The St Louis Terminal is a fairly small terminal, with only 40 trucks. But we are growing!

Now at this point, you are probably expecting me to post something about recruiting. Nope not gonna do it. I could tell you to put my name down on a application (its worth a 1000 bucks to me for referrals), and although the money would be nice (DUH!), this company has spoke volumes to me, and at this point, I just want other people to see how good a company CAN be. I will admit, this company aint the best, but I Love it!

 

do they have a riders program10 years and older and do they have walmart account would be nice to snag the one in hopkinsville kentucky before schneider does