XPO vs Estes vs Old Dominion

I don’t think anyone was saying you can’t do 70 in the rain. It’s just when you’re doing that with the cruise control turned on and the wipers turned off that it becomes an issue.

 

I could really sit and complain all day about a lot of the b.s. that goes along with working for XPO, or probably any other giant corporate company. Truth is, nobody is holding a gun to my head, and if I was really that miserable, I would move on. That being said, I take the good with the bad, or vice versa. The good must outweigh the bad enough for me to stick around, or like I said, I would have been gone long ago. Maybe most all drivers are gluttons for punishment...

 

I know every barn across the XPO (most likely every LTL co) is different, I did have some good times there. My experience the bad outweighed the good for me.
Just like if I transfer to another CC barn, it might be bad compared the Fargo barn. Sioux Falls runs theirs different, but I’d work there at that one in a heartbeat.

@snowlauncher made a good point, but I’ll also add that most everything is what YOU make of it.

 

Say mane , so with linehaul you aren't driving far every night? I'm trying to figure this out in my head with driving per mile, working the dock and driving back?.. xpo told me 88 cent per mile an 38 per hr

 

Hey Bossman, do you work linehaul for xpo? If so how does a typical night go?Do u make most of the money on the dock? I just had a interview with them

 

Depends on the company and then the terminal. At my terminal no linehaul guys works any dock. Ever. They drive and nothing else. Bid run guys make the same trip 5 times a week. Some days, some nights. Mostly nights. It is almost always 9+ hours of driving with most linehaul runs being 10+ hours. Management also busts your balls about hotels so running the Northwest means you make your turns come hell or high water in the snow. Winter time sucks just because a 68mph truck only has 30 minutes to spare in clear weather in the summer on some runs. Guys without bids run extra board. Theyre on call anytime they have hours for the week. Right now lower seniority guys are spending at least 2 nights a week sitting at home not working. At my terminal you need about 5 years extra board to get a bid run usually. This is after spending up to 2 years working dock or P&D for an extra board spot to open up but its not a very big terminal. It takes a long time here to get to that vaunted 100k+ a year mark dedicated linehaul run.

88cpm and 38 dock is a lot of money. Thats well above what im making. Almost all of our line runs are 550-600 miles. Multiply that by 5 or 6 and youre raking in the dough every week. Working dock sucks though. Its far more aggravating than any forklift job ive ever had. All the weird irregular freight, all the strapping and punching stuff in and out on the computer, on and off the forklift 100 times to work one trailer etc.

Some LTL companies dont have drivers work the dock. Id go to those companies.

 

I work for a different LTL, but for a while I was doing the same run that the XPO barn across the street was doing. We would all drive 250 miles to another city, but then I would either be able to turn around and go back right away, or get paid to wait in my truck for a few hours. The XPO guys got down to their barn in that city and had to clock into the dock for 3-5 hours, then make the 250 mile drive back. So they definitely made bank, but they worked 14 hours a day for it.

 

Yes, linehaul is the best bet, if you are in it for the $. How much you make a week is going to vary greatly depending on the miles for your bid run. We've got a few drivers who are turning 350 miles a night. They are done with the run inside 8 hours. It's not the greatest paycheck, but if you compare the cpm to the hourly guys, linehaul makes considerably more.
I'm doing a nightly turn @520 miles. On a good night with clear roads, I can turn triples in about 9.5 hours. Unfortunately, its in the Rocky mts. and the good weather only lasts about 1/4 of the calendar year. The job can be a challenge, but brings home the money. It's worth it to me.

 

When I was with XPO the Minneapolis guys usually did a 10hr turn including dock work. The guy that went to Devils Lake did it in about 8. He built his set, ran them up, broke them and built the return trip. Bemidji turn was about the same time as DL no dock work on either, as there are no docks at either place. The guys that came from the cities, Bismarck and Winnipeg never really did work the XFG dock, that I know of. I think the one that ran up to Minot had to work the dock there.

Where I’m at now, no driver touches a forklift, period. The linehaul is either one 48’ or a 53’ to Minneapolis and sometimes Sioux Falls. It’s usually twin 48’s to Bismarck and Minot and a 3 axle 53 up to Canada.

The Grand Forks driver runs twin 48’s up does a little P&D early am while sort and load him up for the return. He leaves at 0300 and is usually back by 1100. That’s an hourly run, since it’s not a far drive.