An interesting article in the papers

ok2bclever

I Re Member
Yes, it was an interesting read, thanks traveler.

Did the article make it sound like the two were about equal to you?

Having to pay out $30,000 and gas money every day while working for twelve hour daily without a lunch and having to pay for your benefits and retirement seemed kind of glossed over to me in the comparison.

Calling having to pay for your benefits and retirement an option to accept sounds almost rosy to me. :laugh:

So did the ability to make $250,000 just by buying more routes.

Or the ability to take two weeks off without pay compared to five weeks with pay, etc.

To me it sounded like it was portrayed as six of one and a half dozen of the other when in fact, it's far from it in my opinion, although I admit my UPS bias here.
 

wily_old_vet

Well-Known Member
Twice in one week I find myself agreeing with ok2bc.:biggrin: Is hell freezing over? There is no way that the two drivers are equal and I think Fedex is going to have a rude awakening in the next few years. Loved how they are spinning their low volume increase in ground by saying they are allowing the low margin shippers to slide over to UPS. Right. They do have a good PR dept though.
 

traveler

Where next? Venice
ok2bc,

This is truly a Christmas season to remember! I too agree with your post!!! :biggrin:

They never compaired apples to apples (UPS driver gross pay vs. FedEx drivers gross, a massive $250,000.) :huh:

I wish they would have posted the gross profit after expenses for the FedEx guy. That would give a fair comparison. Even with the disparity, the article painted the two as equals by not speaking to that at all.
 

air_upser

Well-Known Member
Good article and great reply OK2bc.....it's nice to see(and read)you back to your old self.

I wonder how many fedex ground routes are really unprofitable. How do they fill those? And can routes be split...imagine owning a route 5 years ago in one the 10 fastest growing towns in the US.
 

iloadthetruck

Well-Known Member
I got a kick out of this:

He likes working hard and being rewarded for it. "If a UPS driver delivers 1,000 packages a day, he still gets paid what he gets paid. But if we deliver 1,000 packages a day, that check will be good."

But...
If the UPS driver delivers 10 packages a say, he still gets paid what he gets paid. If Mr. FedEx delivers 10 packages, that check will suck! :w00t:
 

rushfan

Well-Known Member
Looks like Fred is paying for some PR. It depends on which of their drivers you talk to. One on my route is pleading poverty, and the other is saying he's rolling in the dough.

Delivering 1000 packages a day? Everytime I see their truck it's empty.
 

opie

Well-Known Member
Ruiz, one of 85,000 UPS drivers represented by the Teamsters, makes $26.17 an hour.

Do all drivers may the same money per hour, no matter how long they've been working at UPS?:confused:1 I would guess that the longer you work at UPS the more you will make. As it wouldn't be fair for a driver working 15 years to be making the same as a driver who's been working only 5 years.
 

wily_old_vet

Well-Known Member
opie said:
Do all drivers may the same money per hour, no matter how long they've been working at UPS?:confused:1 I would guess that the longer you work at UPS the more you will make. As it wouldn't be fair for a driver working 15 years to be making the same as a driver who's been working only 5 years.

Opie-Hate to burst your bubble but once a driver reaches top pay he makes the same amount per hour as the most senior driver there. There is no merit pay. With this and what my team did to yours last Sunday, I hope you can still have a Merry Christmas:biggrin:
 

opie

Well-Known Member
wily_old_vet said:
...With this and what my team did to yours last Sunday, I hope you can still have a Merry Christmas:biggrin:

I will be rooting for the Giants this Saturday, I have no choice but to root for them. Cowboys need help to get into the playoffs.:helpsmili
 
A

Anonymous Coward

Guest
just a thought... Fedex Ground and Home delivery are here to stay. There are alot of IC out there making money already. How long does it take for the average person to turn a profit on there investment when starting there own business? While they are growing and are already turning a profit, the MBE owners are losing money. If Fedex Ground can charge $2. less than UPS on the same ground pkg and still make more money on it, what is UPS going to do to prevent customers from switching over? The more volume the IC get the more profit they make. I already see IC splitting there routes and selling for a large profit and others contracting the work out. There are four major ground hubs opening in 2006 aloan and I expect them to be looking for some heavy volume shippers. 5 years is a short time to be able to grow the way they have. As there volume grows there routes will get smaller. The smaller there routes get the more IC there will be. Yes..they may have to pay into benefits and pension plan if they so choose, many have initial expenses (many one time, like buying the route and truck) but also enjoy alot of tax excemptions. yesterday on CNBC they were talking about Fedex compared to other companies in freight transportation. Analayist were saying Fedex had the strongest business model and were the "Cream of the crop". seeing nothing but positive growth in all operating companies and even more improved balance sheet. there stock was over $105. this A.M.
 
A

Anonymous Coward

Guest
As an IC are they subject to the same ICC rules governing hours as we are? The one quoted says he works 12 hours a day with no lunch, so that is a minimum of 60 hours every week.
 
C

cold cold world

Guest
welcome back monte carlo 11......Ive been waiting for you to stick your head out of your hole. Once again talking trash and sugar coating everything. I bet if you ask 10 fedex ground or home delivery drivers to quit their jobs and come join ups as a driver, it would be interesting how many would jump the fence to brown....want to take a guess monte???I didnt think so........
 
A

Anonymous Coward

Guest
Cold,
Im not saying you have to like my post. You have an opinion that counts also.Did not want to hurt your feelings. Im sorry. I just dont see everything in Brown tint like you may. To answer your question I would have to say 5 years ago,(8 out of 10 would come over to UPS) I base my opinion on IC having initial expenses such as buying route and truck. With limited volume it would most likely be a struggle for most, if not all. I think that is what most if not all IC would expect starting up there own business. That would also go for IC in a trade. To answer your question in the present (4 out of 10 would switch over to UPS) I came up with that number because I Feel that the IC who own routes already have started to see the potential in there money making opportunities. The four who jumped ship are being hired by the IC to run the routes and are either being payed hourly or by the day, what ever the agreement. They have none of there own money vested in there routes so wont see the rewards that a IC would. I dont like making predictions but you asked my opinion. 5 years from now I see (0 out of 10 would switch over to UPS) I feel many IC will split there routes up as volume increases. I know that the ground division is limited to the amount of volume it can take on from one year to the next. there are many new hubs and and stations going up in the next few years which would tell me Fedex feels they have alot of volume coming there way. Only time will tell.
 
Top