Harley Davidson Trucks

bubsdad

"Hang in there!"
I see the Harley Davidson semis have a placard on the bunk door sayin "Operated by UPS Freight". Did Freight take over the fleet when they got the account? Did they keep the H-D drivers? They are the best looking trucks out there that are flying the UPS flag.
 

JimJimmyJames

Big Time Feeder Driver
I did a search and came up with nothing. I would be interested in knowing this myself as I am a huge H-D fan. I think it is great that both companies hooked up together. I would have thought National Freight or J.B. Hunt would have scooped up the contract. I just hope that the original drivers were hired by us so no one lost their jobs.

Nice bike in your avatar. I have an Ultra, traded in my Sporty during the Spring.
 

bubsdad

"Hang in there!"
I did a search and came up with nothing. I would be interested in knowing this myself as I am a huge H-D fan. I think it is great that both companies hooked up together. I would have thought National Freight or J.B. Hunt would have scooped up the contract. I just hope that the original drivers were hired by us so no one lost their jobs.

Nice bike in your avatar. I have an Ultra, traded in my Sporty during the Spring.
Quite a change going from a Sportser to an Ultra. Nicely done.
 

upssalesguy

UPS Defender
our truckload division does manage the fleet for companies. A few i know of are Ferguson (pipes, bathroom stuff), Advance Auto, and now apparently, Harley.

That is awesome.
 

dannyboy

From the promised LAND
If we are so good at managing things, why dont we get into port management? IT would sound like something UPS could make a ton on.

d
 

bubsdad

"Hang in there!"
our truckload division does manage the fleet for companies. A few i know of are Ferguson (pipes, bathroom stuff), Advance Auto, and now apparently, Harley.

That is awesome.
So they keep their equipment and drivers? Sounds like a pretty good deal.
 

upssalesguy

UPS Defender
If we are so good at managing things, why dont we get into port management? IT would sound like something UPS could make a ton on.

d


it would be a good next step...i wonder if we have thought about it?

you know we also sell software called "roadnet" that other companies use to manage their own fleet

customers who use it include companies like anheuser busch
 

upssalesguy

UPS Defender
So they keep their equipment and drivers? Sounds like a pretty good deal.

don't quote me, but I think sometimes we buy their fleet (cheap!) - we then pay the drivers. i'll try to get more information. One of my largest customers spend $14 million per year with UPS Truckload (we manage their fleet).

i'll have to follow up with the person that handles that part of the company for UPS.
 

barnyard

KTM rider
The rumor that you used to hear all the time, was that UPS was going to buy a railroad. Have not heard that rumor in a few years (since the last round of big mergers).

There was a time, when UPS was, by far and away, Santa Fe's largest customer. Some pundits thought UPS could actually make more money by buying the Santa Fe and running it the way we run the package division. UPS is still one of the largest customers of the BNSF, but the combined railroad is probably too large to buy.

Don Philips (transportation writer) wrote at least one column that explored the idea, might have been more, but I remember reading one for sure in Trains.

TB
 

Coldworld

60 months and counting
The rumor that you used to hear all the time, was that UPS was going to buy a railroad. Have not heard that rumor in a few years (since the last round of big mergers).

There was a time, when UPS was, by far and away, Santa Fe's largest customer. Some pundits thought UPS could actually make more money by buying the Santa Fe and running it the way we run the package division. UPS is still one of the largest customers of the BNSF, but the combined railroad is probably too large to buy.

Don Philips (transportation writer) wrote at least one column that explored the idea, might have been more, but I remember reading one for sure in Trains.

TB

maybe tie can shed some more light on this but ups has been pulling more and more loads OFF the trains and using sleeper teams. Having more of these sleeper runs is a plus plus for ups, helps get pkgs there faster and more reliable than bnsf, and moves pkg drivers up into feeder and hub workers into pkg...
 

barnyard

KTM rider
maybe tie can shed some more light on this but ups has been pulling more and more loads OFF the trains and using sleeper teams.

They definately have been doing that on some corridors. In order to compete, they have to. The railroads will not run more hotshots than they do currently. Both BNSF and UP have run tests to achieve 4 day service to NJ from LA and vice versa. Both railroads found they could do it, but the disruption to their other trains was too much.

The reason for the tests was to take packages picked up in CA or the Northeast on Mondays and get them to the opposite coast for Friday delivery.

BNSF has given quite a bit of UPS business to UP because the disruption was too much to dispatch around. UP took some of it, then gave it up for the same reason.

UPS' relationship with the railroads makes for some very interesting reading......

TB
 

bubsdad

"Hang in there!"
maybe tie can shed some more light on this but ups has been pulling more and more loads OFF the trains and using sleeper teams. Having more of these sleeper runs is a plus plus for ups, helps get pkgs there faster and more reliable than bnsf, and moves pkg drivers up into feeder and hub workers into pkg...
Seems here they are putting more ON the train. Whenever a guy that goes east wants a Saturday off they cancel the run and put the loads on the train.
 

barnyard

KTM rider
Seems here they are putting more ON the train. Whenever a guy that goes east wants a Saturday off they cancel the run and put the loads on the train.

That makes sense.

Coast to coast transit with trains works best everyday, except Monday. Tuesday through Friday, we get 2 'free' days for travel.

I find UPS' relationship with railroads interesting in how much UPS pushes for certain schedules. There is a train on the BNSF named after a UPS manager, he is the one that pushed for it and showed SF (the train started before the merger) how to run it.

Every now and then, Trains and/or Transportation Age does articles about the railroads relationships with truckers.

TB
 
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