Line haul route question

I want to know when your line haul driver quits or is sick what do you do ? . From what I have gathered so far the drivers are more difficult to find compared to ground . Looking for answers from experienced owners .
Does fedex help with having route serviced from another contractor ?
Pls no negative comments pls . I am just looking at the way owners are solving this problem . I know that many people will tell that is why u don't want to get into this business .... I have heard the negative comments. just looking for genuine ways people solve this problem like keeping backup drivers etc .
 

It will be fine

Well-Known Member
I want to know when your line haul driver quits or is sick what do you do ? . From what I have gathered so far the drivers are more difficult to find compared to ground . Looking for answers from experienced owners .
Does fedex help with having route serviced from another contractor ?
Pls no negative comments pls . I am just looking at the way owners are solving this problem . I know that many people will tell that is why u don't want to get into this business .... I have heard the negative comments. just looking for genuine ways people solve this problem like keeping backup drivers etc .
It's a point system. If you can't cover the run the hub will give it to another contractor and you loose points. Do that often enough and you loose the run. Some contractors work out deals to cover each other's stuff, but I'm not sure how points work in that case. It probably earns points for the contractor that covers it but doesn't penalize the one that sub-contracted it. I hear it's been hard to afford to keep backup drivers around lately. Used to be guys would have standby drivers and grab work as it came up, but they are paying too little for that work to make it profitable to have a guy on standby.
 

Artee

Well-Known Member
You would think the contractor would have a valid class A licence and be able to jump in the tractor and run the route if necessary. That would be like some of the :censored2: managers at stations that came right from the hub and have never been a courier. How can you come in and manage couriers when you have never done the job and have no clue what its like to be out on the road.
 

bacha29

Well-Known Member
I want to know when your line haul driver quits or is sick what do you do ? . From what I have gathered so far the drivers are more difficult to find compared to ground . Looking for answers from experienced owners .
Does fedex help with having route serviced from another contractor ?
Pls no negative comments pls . I am just looking at the way owners are solving this problem . I know that many people will tell that is why u don't want to get into this business .... I have heard the negative comments. just looking for genuine ways people solve this problem like keeping backup drivers etc .
In the past single route line haul contractors who in most cases drove the route themselves would contact the hub they hauled in and out of . The hub in turn would try to find another contractor to fill in or send out one of the several trip lease non assigned route tractors standing by. . The movement to multi route line haul contractors seems to be in full force and a a result they now have to find additional assets to fill in on their own .
At our small ground station we had just nightly line haul taking outbound to the hub. He drove that route every night for 18 years . When age and stress caught up with him he sold to a banker who was also a multi route non driving absentee line haul contractor. In the 2 years since he took over he is now on his 6th driver running that route.
 
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