General questions on buying Fed Ex Routes

WILSON10463

New Member
Hi all,

Ive used the search function on this site a number of times and have been trolling the internet for months now. Im looking to become an independent contractor for FedEx and was just wondering if any owners here could answer me some of the basics. Any answers are sincerely appreciated.

1. What is a "supplemental" route? I see this in a lot of listing for sale "2 routes plus 1 supplemental." What is the difference between a supplemental and a regular route?

2. Are there any successful "non driving" owners out there? I'm not looking to run the business absentee, but getting qualified to be a driver is very tricky.

3. Financially what are the differences between Ground and Home Delivery? Ive read that Ground can be more profitable but HD is a time saver compared to ground

4. Whats a good average number of stops for a Ground Route? For Home Delivery?

5. I find with all the routes listed WILDLY varying prices on both gross and net, is there such a thing as "bad" routes? What defines them?

6. With drivers salaries Ive read mixed approaches, pay per stop, weekly rate, anyone have any suggestions or what factors weigh in?

Thanks for any and all responses
 

HomeDelivery

Well-Known Member
1: a sup is when the regular route have too many stops to fit into the vehicle or too much workload for that regular driver. So you add a supplemental to help the regular driver from "burning out" & quitting the job on the spot.

it pays less or you barely break even operating a supplemental; if you have a runner-gunner type of driver, though, you can get a little profit. usually run with rental vehicles because you don't get extra $ for having the FedEx logo vehicle on that route

2: i know of a few contractors that strictly just runs their operations from the desk; some hire "managers" to make sure the vehicles, drivers, their paperwork are running smoothly on a daily basis

3: HD is the EASIEST opco in comparison; if you have competent drivers, they can just come in everyday & setup n' go by themselves with little involvement from you. if you have drivers with the bare minimum skillset & causes mis-deliveries and disputed claims, well you get what you paid for!

4: depends on the service area & driver... too many variables for each & has to be tailored accordingly to it & is ever-changing. Ground is more stable in this arena since they have a tighter service area vs HD

5: based on my experience, rural areas & those furthest from the terminal are usually the ones with the headaches. Also, "ghetto" areas where you can't driver-release the stops or risk too many disputed claims. in those cases, a paid salary day vs by-the-stop pay will be beneficial in trying to keep a driver happy on these areas

6: see #4

contractors now busy with juggling peak volume & hiring for supplementals right now & hopefully they'll pop in to add their 2 cents

they're wondering why i'm not an owner-op yet because no isp is considered in my state (but these guys are merging together to make the 3-route minimum anyways, just in case)
 
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STFXG

Well-Known Member
You've covered the gist of it HD. No gag order here.

Only thing I'd add is that a supplemental has no value other than its profit margins. Some will try and sell a "supplemental route" like it has the same value as a contracted service area. It means that the route needs two trucks to handle the volume of one service area. A supplemental can run for YEARS before it gets approved as its own service area and contracted.

There are no "good" or "bad" routes. Some are just more profitable than others. But they are all profitable if managed properly. If you're going to run them absentee the only thing that will fluctuate based on area will be your return on investment. And generally routes that make more sell for more. Just don't be a sucker...
 

packageguy

Well-Known Member
Wow reading all that is not worth owning a route like that.
Come work for UPS they are always looking for harding working people.
 

HomeDelivery

Well-Known Member
Wow reading all that is not worth owning a route like that.
Come work for UPS they are always looking for harding working people.

bbsam quit brown & became his own boss of a very small chunk of Fx Ground... he's one of the few smart people that can run it well it seems...

Nick90705, is just struggling to have a profit ~ maybe because he's trying to pay his workers a fair day's pay & it's nipping at his bottom line.

thanks again for your input to this topic STFXG...

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as i see it, the supply of good workers is out there due to this economy.

one contractor's vehicle got disabled on-the-road & 2 temp drivers near his service area were there to pick up the rest of his stops & finish it for him. win-win for everyone.

that's why i'm advocating some sort of fair treatment to those temps in another thread; well take the crappy areas for you guys & the stops that are 10-15 minutes apart from each other.

Heck, we'll take the bulk stops as well, so you guys can have more stop-counts per package car...

menotyou, I used that term "gag-order" because i was chatting up with another driver that used to own his single route... sued FedEx & settled. & when I wanted to know more about the operation, he has to use that term on some questions i was inquiring about...

this Company sure knows how to sweep stuff under a rug, eh?
 
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