Buying a Fedex Ground Route

[dmac1]

What do you expect? It's built on the chassis of a 3/4 ton pickup.What's worse is that even more motor freight stolen off the LTL's is going on them. X has made no attempt to hide that fact as well as the fact that it's this kind of stuff that's is responsible for almost all of it's growth in revenue and profits. As a result trucks that are set up according to X specifications are being pulverized at the expense of contractors. Pal you're going to get yourself killed in that damn thing and it's all for the benefit of someone else.

Even in a well maintained vehicle, drivers are not being fairly compensated for risking their lives every day with what ISPs can afford to pay. Fedex should be paying for several million $$$$ life and injury insurance policies on any driver delivering a package they want delivered.

 

[OrioN]

Chassis too light for a 700 body.

Did u see the velocity? ?? Talk about chassis too light for a box body... ford transit cargovan.

Hope they beefed up everything!

 

[bacha29]

Did u see the velocity? ?? Talk about chassis too light for a box body... ford transit cargovan.

Hope they beefed up everything!

Does anybody know the name of the kid who owned the skate board Ford stole and stuck that cargo body on it? On where I live a unit such as that wouldn't last a year.

 

[Exec32]

The yellow hand rail makes it tough....

 

[FedGT]

Did u see the velocity? ?? Talk about chassis too light for a box body... ford transit cargovan.

Hope they beefed up everything!

They already pretty much make these. They are just with an e-350 chassis or a sprinter with a box on it. I will admit the tires look pretty tiny though.

 

[FedGT]

As far as I can tell they only make them as large as 700's where the cutaways go up to 1000's. I had a gmc 1000 cutaway. Was nice to deliver in, better if you were under 6' tall

 

[OrioN]

GT, i already knew that this company, utilimaster, made some with both cutaways and stepvan bodies... but that thing on a "transit" chassis will probably break down even faster than the light truck chassis of the e350~ e450

Those handrails are pretty much standard now with this company... but that door handle extension on the passenger side (see youtube) looks like stuff can get snagged on it

 

[FirstTimeCaller]

Hey there, noticed there hasn't been activity in this thread for a while, but thought I'd try here first. I registered because I'm looking at buying P&D routes next year after peak and looking for any insight. I've already spoken to a couple of owners and hoping to get in touch with some local managers to better understand their duties. Anyway, hope everyone is safe and healthy.

 

[It will be fine]

Hey there, noticed there hasn't been activity in this thread for a while, but thought I'd try here first. I registered because I'm looking at buying P&D routes next year after peak and looking for any insight. I've already spoken to a couple of owners and hoping to get in touch with some local managers to better understand their duties. Anyway, hope everyone is safe and healthy.

Did you have a specific question?

 

[FirstTimeCaller]

Did you have a specific question?

Yeah, that's fair. What's the best way to get a glimpse of the local terminal operation? Also, how many owners live more than an hour's drive from the terminal and how do they handle operations? What makes a good owner in your opinion? What makes a bad one?

 

[It will be fine]

Yeah, that's fair. What's the best way to get a glimpse of the local terminal operation? Also, how many owners live more than an hour's drive from the terminal and how do they handle operations? What makes a good owner in your opinion? What makes a bad one?

I’d arrange a trip with the contractor you are buying from. You’ll need approval from Fedex to purchase so you’ll be well served starting a relationship with local management. Depending how large an operation you’re buying and what type of return you want you can hire enough managers to run day to day ops at the terminal. I go in 3 or 4 days a week, I think it makes for better driver morale and discipline. When I’m gone for more than that they start to get sloppy. I’d plan on being present daily for the first few months of ownership. You’ll probably have a lot of turnover to start as you mold your group to the culture you want.

Bad owners that I’ve seen are ones that are never around, pay poorly and poorly maintain their fleet. They don’t last very long.

 

[NC man]

What happens when ground driver calls out sick or needs time off . I assume they take vacation time but not paid ?

 

[McFeely]

What happens when ground driver calls out sick or needs time off . I assume they take vacation time but not paid ?

Depends on the contractor. Some have paid time off benefits, others have none. Some have higher turnover because they don’t offer benefits, I’d imagine.

 

[FirstTimeCaller]

I’d arrange a trip with the contractor you are buying from. You’ll need approval from Fedex to purchase so you’ll be well served starting a relationship with local management. Depending how large an operation you’re buying and what type of return you want you can hire enough managers to run day to day ops at the terminal. I go in 3 or 4 days a week, I think it makes for better driver morale and discipline. When I’m gone for more than that they start to get sloppy. I’d plan on being present daily for the first few months of ownership. You’ll probably have a lot of turnover to start as you mold your group to the culture you want.

Bad owners that I’ve seen are ones that are never around, pay poorly and poorly maintain their fleet. They don’t last very long.

Thanks, so I assume you operate out of a single terminal? Is this your main "job"? How have you found other contractors that have a different day job fare in this business? I assume it varies but curious what your experience has been.

 

[It will be fine]

Thanks, so I assume you operate out of a single terminal? Is this your main "job"? How have you found other contractors that have a different day job fare in this business? I assume it varies but curious what your experience has been.

Yes. I used to operate out of multiple terminals but it was a pain and required more redundancy than a similar scale business in one. It is my only job, I know of contractors that have branched out to other businesses that do fine handing off most daily tasks to managers. I haven’t seen an outsider that plans on being mostly absentee last for more than a year. I’ve met some that operate like that at conferences, but I don’t know how successful they actually are. The biggest issue I would guess is lack of personal politics with FedEx management. If you’re a faceless investor you’ll have less wiggle room and they won’t hesitate to pull your contract to give to someone they’re friendly with.

 

[Brown Buddy]

Friends of family owned a FedEx route and sold it recently they mentioned to be sure to triple check and go over all contracts before anything

 

[Tradd]

Potentially new ground operator here. Does the Fedex Scanner also track miles/time the truck operates, or do operators typically have some other fleet tracking software?

 

[It will be fine]

Potentially new ground operator here. Does the Fedex Scanner also track miles/time the truck operates, or do operators typically have some other fleet tracking software?

Drivers enter their on duty times and mileage in the scanner, but I wouldn’t count on that being accurate. Most contractors use another service.

 

[WannaBeFeeder]

Does anyone know how a contractor gets paid for owning a linehaul route ?

 

[Fred's Myth]

Does anyone know how a contractor gets paid for owning a linehaul route ?

IOU's