Fedex CC

[RichM]

Over the last few months I have been following the Fedex CC posts with a lot of interest and have watched many long term Fedex CC Contractors leave this company for other endeavors. I have had many discussions with friends that drive for Fedex,running B,C D and E units. No one is happy. My own income is off by about 40 % since last November and I personally do not think there will be much improvement this year. I belive for every contractor that posts on this site about leaving there are probably 7-9 that also leave that do not post for whatever reason.
The big question is ,Where is the freight going? Competition in this industry is fierce. I don!t run the Mid West very often but when I do get up there I am amazed at the new carriers you see. Joe Bob!s express,XYZ Freight etc. These low ball carriers have virtually zero overhead compared to Fedex CC,Panther, Tri State etc.
I believe the days of a Shipper having a special relationship with 1-2 carriers are long gone.Everything goes on the internet,A shipper posts his loads and requirements and within 30 minutes has 4-6 repies and can than pick and choose (Obviously the lowest rate gets the freight that can get to the delivery time needed gets the load). So can Fedex CC,Panther Tri State make it in this enviroment. A while back the CEO of Fedex wrote an article describing how things change and companies must adapt or eventually fail. We all know of Companies that stayed fat dumb and happy while technology and changing conditions passed them by.Those companies are either gone or merged into something else just to keep their name in the public eye.

So,what does all this mean to all of us that have been loyal dedicated contractors for Fedex for many years. I have known of 2 occurrences in that a Fedex CC unit was dispatched on long trips withj goood $ and when they got to the shipper were told that instead of a 1200 mile run they would now take the freight to a airport where thr freight would then go on a Fedex plane to the destination area where another truck would then take it to the final destination. The
part that really raises great concern is that the shipper originally agreed to trucking the freight but Fedex CC dispatchers called with the option of flying the freight,taking about 1-2 hours longer but saving the shipper $500.00. So the contractor looses out big time,the corporation looses slightly,but we now have highly satisfed customer who hopefully will call again.
My personal feelings as too how Fedex CC will be in the future will be a much smaller entity, All D units will be fully White Glove equipped and qualified,C units will be eliminated,the B unit fleet will be basically a city courrier operation and there will be a small E uinit operation.Most of the Fedex CC freight that does not require special handling and is not Haz/Mat will be flown on the Federal Express Heavyweight operations. Those of us that cannot accept these changes will have to leave,BUT I must say that I have seen many changes in the Roberts and Fedex operations over the years and other than some minor policy changes,the changes generally work out to everyone!s advantage. As Lawrence said "don!t believe everything you hear about Fedec CC".

 

[Bearcat]

I think the expedite side of trucking will drop allot. I won't go away altogether but drop. From reading the news of conway going into big trucking and fed ex buying american freight, This web of truck lanes will always have big trucks going in all directions. If you don't mind having your product delayed a day or bounced from truck to truck, these carriers will swallow the business. Too many carriers are doing this now (UPS, Fed Ex, Emery, etc.), not to mention all the freight fowarders already at the airports. Allot of changes are ahead in the trucking industries and I see the big companies cutting rates to get the business and leaving the owner/operator high and dry or having to cut profits to compete with the big boys. Its hard to do that when a carrier has 10000 units and your ONE person. Corporation and globalization is taking a foot hold in this country. If you don't pay attention to this trend, you will loose. If your lucky, you will be able to survive (at least until your truck is paid for). This past march, I lost my truck to the bank. I am not the first to loose it and definately not the last. I had fun while it lasted and still love to drive. I will drive only if paid by the hour, not the mile. I hope the O/O's out there can survive this time of transition and not go into banruptcy. Unfortunately there will be alot of repossessions and bankrupcies as the expedite companies keep hiring new O/O's knowing dam well the chance of survival is slim (my view) to none.
Safe driving and hope you survive.
Randy

 

[Graybeard]

Rich this is a great post and I agree the industry is changing.As the owner of a small expedite operation my view is somewhat different. What I see in this business today is the need to fit the equipment to the load. I just picked up a new customer because the major carrier they used for expedite moves sent a "d" unit to move a 900 lbs. load from northern MI to GA. We were able to do the same trip with a mini van for 400.00 less and I think our profit was more than the big truck. What I see is this business being flooded with "c" & "d" units and the major co. trying to keep them busy, thinking if we are going let somebody set let it be a "b" unit. This goes back to the thinking one size fits all, and as you are told, if you have a "b" unit you are limiting you load offers but if you put on a "d" unit you can haul anything we get, WRONG. When I started out I had a cube van with 14ft box, after one year I looked at all the loads I hauled and found only three that couldn't have been hauled in a extended cargo van. Today we run only cargo vans and are now looking at building some 16ft tri axle cargo trailers to haul what is considered "c" loads. If we don't need the "c" capicity the trailer can set in the yard at a fraction of the cost of a power unit. What I am trying to show new comers is that things are changing and shippers are watching cost more every day. Don't get in this business on what your friend told you he did last year, base your earnings/costs on today.