Arrow drivers wake to nightmare before Christmas

[Guest]

Arrow drivers wake to nightmare before Christmas

Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009 –

On Tuesday, as many as 1,400 truck drivers for Arrow Trucking Co., based out of Tulsa, OK, have been frantically trying to figure out their next moves as the company unexpectedly announced it was “suspending all operations” that day.

Truckers started calling in to the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and Land Line after they were awakened with phone calls from their dispatchers alerting them to the grim news that the company was shutting its doors and that their instructions were to turn in their trucks to the nearest Freightliner dealership. However, no instructions were given for drivers of International trucks.

One OOIDA member told Land Line on Tuesday, Dec. 22, that he had a bad feeling this was coming down the pike when his fuel card didn’t work at a truck stop the previous night. As of press time, the company driver, who didn’t want to be named, was stranded at a Freightliner dealership in Roanoke, VA, because he didn’t have enough fuel to make it to his delivery in Maryland.

“The dealership has been really good to me and said I could stay in the truck tonight since the bus headed home has already left for the day,” he said.

He said he had tried to call his customers to alert them to the situation. He said Freightliner staff also volunteered to make phone calls on his behalf regarding his load of vinyl fencing.

OOIDA Member Tim Tucker of Cedartown, GA, was in Los Angeles, CA, when a fellow driver called him with the news. He said he was “still in shock” because he had only been with the company for three weeks and had yet to receive a paycheck from Arrow. All he had received so far was approximately $40 in orientation pay, which he used to buy groceries.

At press time, Tucker was on Interstate 10 headed to Phoenix, where he has been instructed to turn in his truck and trailer.

“I really don’t know what to do or what to think right now,” he said. “Unfortunately, I only have a few hotdogs and a couple cans of soup left to get me back home to Georgia.”

Stephanie Ortega, who works in the Fleet Services department at Daimler, said she found out when she arrived at work Tuesday morning that Arrow Trucking was shutting its doors and about the company’s plan to help get Arrow’s drivers home.

She was instructed to tell drivers to drop their vehicles off at the nearest Freightliner dealership and to leave their keys with an attendant there or at a truck stop if they are out of fuel.

Ortega said drivers are asked to then call Daimler at 877-294-9679 and she and others there “can get them a bus ticket through Greyhound or the company will reimburse up to $200 for alternative transportation costs.”

However, one drawback to the plan is that drivers are on their own to find transportation to a local Greyhound station once they have surrendered their trucks.

“If they can get themselves to a local Greyhound station, we will get them a bus ticket and get them home,” Ortega told Land Line.

Bonnie Bastian, media relations manager for Greyhound Lines Inc., said she was made aware of the circumstances surrounding Arrow drivers around 3 p.m. today. She said while Greyhound’s commercial sales department is going to be “fulfilling orders,” Daimler personnel will be handling the ticket arrangements to get the drivers to their destinations.

For Tucker, he said as of yesterday his dispatcher was still trying to get him a load going home so he could be with his family for Christmas. He said he was surprised when he heard the news because Arrow Trucking was still hiring drivers, including him, in early December, so he assumed they were doing OK financially.

“I am still in total shock. I just don’t know what to do,” he said.

– By Clarissa Kell-Holland, staff writer

[bonnie]

Despite the rosy news from some quarters businesses are closing right and left.Many are closing because of the threat Obama's policies. They are not about to stick their necks out with EPA stupidity and the insurance mess,plus the higher taxes

My brother still gets a good load at times but a couple of months ago said there were a third to many trucks on the road.If it continued they could cut back the truckers to a bare half and still handle the freight.

[Guest]

Things are bad.

[bonnie]

Things are bad.

Personally I think things will get far worse and this might be the good old days

[Guest]

It's definately going to get worse. It's coming at us like a train. I think the times that are just ahead, are the ones my dad used to talk about when I was young. The Bible talks about them too.

[phkrause]

It's definately going to get worse. It's coming at us like a train. I think the times that are just ahead, are the ones my dad used to talk about when I was young. The Bible talks about them too.

Most definitely Richard, most definitely.

pk

[LifeHiscost]

Most definitely Richard, most definitely.

pk

"All these are the beginning of sorrows."

Matthew 24:8 KJV

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."John 14:27 KJV

"....not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come." 2 Thess 2:2 NKJV

JOY!!!

[bonnie]

It's definately going to get worse. It's coming at us like a train. I think the times that are just ahead, are the ones my dad used to talk about when I was young. The Bible talks about them too.

Truckers are hard hit. Independents face truck payments of 2,000.00 or more.Their insurance premiums are off the charts.They need to run 24/7 to keep up with expenses and try to make a living

[Dr. Shane]

This company obviously went out of business because they don't know how to run a business. They have probably fell prey to the credit card companies. Companies are still shipping things. It isn't that the trucking company didn't have any business. Fuel prices are not even high.

[bonnie]

This company obviously went out of business because they don't know how to run a business. They have probably fell prey to the credit card companies. Companies are still shipping things. It isn't that the trucking company didn't have any business. Fuel prices are not even high.

Credit card companies are not why truckers are sitting idle. Of course there will always be shipping of some sort but not what is needed. We have three independent truckers in our neighborhood. I think they would be quite surprised to learn their lack of loads can be blamed on credit card companies.There trucks are parked a lot more than they run. Those they contract under are not poorly run companies.

My brother is a independent for United Barrett.They have been in business many years.He is number one driver so he does get the best loads. He also would be quite surprised his lack of regular loads could be blamed on credit card companies. So would the numerous drivers they have let go the last year.

[Dr. Shane]

Financial difficulties, not lack of loads, can be blamed on credit cards. However, small business owners shouldn't be as gullible as students or the poor. I know of some small business owners that have used credit cards to get an advance to meet payroll. That is pretty stupid by any measure.

I don't see any widespread failure of trucking companies. They were having trouble when fuel was high.

[bonnie]

Financial difficulties, not lack of loads, can be blamed on credit cards. However, small business owners shouldn't be as gullible as students or the poor. I know of some small business owners that have used credit cards to get an advance to meet payroll. That is pretty stupid by any measure.

I don't see any widespread failure of trucking companies. They were having trouble when fuel was high.

Most established trucking companies may be able to hang on by their fingernails but they are laying off drivers. Independents

are not able to meet their payments and are losing their trucks.

The company my brother drives for has laid off many local company drivers and many of their independents have their trucks parked. As number one driver for United my brother gets first dibs on the best loads. He has high security clearance so he gets his pick of government loads as well.He has been idle over half of 2009. That is not by choice,there is to little freight for to many drivers. There is to little freight because of the economy

The neighbors that drive truck sit idle a great deal of the time.

Our local lumber store is down to a skeleton crew of drivers and they are happy if they get three days a week instead of two.

The home improvement store I worked at has laid of all but a couple of drivers.If there is little building there is little cabinetry, appliances,furniture or carpeting being sold.

[karl]

[

Most established trucking companies may be able to hang on by their fingernails but they are laying off drivers. Independents

are not able to meet their payments and are losing their trucks.

The company my brother drives for has laid off many local company drivers and many of their independents have their trucks parked. As number one driver for United my brother gets first dibs on the best loads. He has high security clearance so he gets his pick of government loads as well.He has been idle over half of 2009. That is not by choice,there is to little freight for to many drivers. There is to little freight because of the economy

The neighbors that drive truck sit idle a great deal of the time.

Our local lumber store is down to a skeleton crew of drivers and they are happy if they get three days a week instead of two.

The home improvement store I worked at has laid of all but a couple of drivers.If there is little building there is little cabinetry, appliances,furniture or carpeting being sold.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Bonnie. The news and the government try to paint such a rosy picture "the stimulus is working!!"

We certainly are not seeing it in our hospital, clinic, or community.

Is there anybody on this forum whose economic picture looks better than last year??

[bonnie]

Quote:

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Bonnie. The news and the government try to paint such a rosy picture "the stimulus is working!!"

We certainly are not seeing it in our hospital, clinic, or community.

Is there anybody on this forum whose economic picture looks better than last year??

What they always neglect to add to the unemployment figures are those that have taken part time jobs just trying to survive with groceries and utilities and those that have run out of unemployment benefits.

Truckers have been hard hit no matter what they say. The first to go are the new start ups or those poorly run.That has already happened.It is not credit card debt,it is lack of freight to haul. To many truckers chasing to little freight and the expense of a big rig sitting goes on.

My brother has worked for the same company for close to 40 years.

They are all struggling.He is fortunate in that he is 69,truck paid for and has social security and a small ranch.

Being number one driver he knows what is going out and has talked with many he knows in truck stops. No trucker is doing well. He has to be careful on a load so he does not have to dead head home clear across the country.

Government contracts are way down. If truckers were able to laugh at this,they would laugh at anyone claiming the trucking industry is not hurting

[bonnie]

BONNIE

ABOUT your 1st post

that is hard to take but things dont look good

dgrimm60

If those in the position of my brother are having difficulty it isn't good for the rest either.

He runs for a old established company,certainly not one that would use credit cards to pay their drivers. They are still in business but it is not the same company it was a year or two ago.

Our neighbors trucks sit idle more than they are on the road. They have children at home to provide for.

The uncertainty with cap and trade,which if goes thru will kill the truckers,to say nothing of being hit with the ridiculous taxes that are promised.

Even companies that are hanging in with some work are not anxious to hire new hires. Puts them on the hook for to many unknowns.

Two of my sons are nursing home administrators which can easily get hit thru this and the other two,thank goodness are in a business that is unrelated to the economy

[Dr. Shane]

The news and the government try to paint such a rosy picture "the stimulus is working!!"

We certainly are not seeing it in our hospital, clinic, or community.

Is there anybody on this forum whose economic picture looks better than last year??

The numbers are improving. Construction and manufacturing are both up a little. I am not sure it has much to do with the stimulus other than the $8,000 new home buyer credit. Cash for clunkers helped out too. But we have a long way to go and no government program is going to do it. We need private industry to dig us out. Opening off-shore for oil drilling would pump a lot of money into the economy.

[bonnie]

Originally Posted By: karl

The news and the government try to paint such a rosy picture "the stimulus is working!!"

We certainly are not seeing it in our hospital, clinic, or community.

Is there anybody on this forum whose economic picture looks better than last year??

The numbers are improving. Construction and manufacturing are both up a little. I am not sure it has much to do with the stimulus other than the $8,000 new home buyer credit. Cash for clunkers helped out too. But we have a long way to go and no government program is going to do it. We need private industry to dig us out. Opening off-shore for oil drilling would pump a lot of money into the economy.

Temporarily and artificiality pumping up the numbers is not helping in any sustainable way.

Government programs do not create demand or product.They simply shuffle the tax payer money around like the deck chairs on the Titanic in hopes of not drowning.

Those that are not going under financially but are not making a profit are not going to proceed with much in the way of new hires either. They have not been able to run a successful business because they are stupid. To continue is to leave themselves wide open for more idiocy and taxes and penalties.

My other brother simply closed up shop.He held off as long as he could but when he would actually have to pay out of pocket to meet payroll he shut it down. He did not want to do so as he had men that had been with him 20 years of more,but he was not going to spend his retirement to keep them going

[karl]

What they always neglect to add to the unemployment figures are those that have taken part time jobs just trying to survive with groceries and utilities and those that have run out of unemployment benefits.

...Too many truckers chasing too little freight and the expense of a big rig sitting [idle] goes on.

...No trucker is doing well. He has to be careful on a load so he does not have to dead head home clear across the country.

Government contracts are way down. If truckers were able to laugh at this,they would laugh at anyone claiming the trucking industry is not hurting

The thing that the average person just doesn't stop to consider is this: If those trucks aren't hauling, our economy is really hurting. The freight is a measure of trade. They are the arteries in the body of our nation's economy. We need to see the world's best vascular surgeon right about the time we've got Obamacare staring us in the face. (How's that for mixing metaphors?)

This is scary, and all the pollyanna predictions don't help this fundamental reality.

[karl]

Originally Posted By: bonnie

What they always neglect to add to the unemployment figures are those that have taken part time jobs just trying to survive with groceries and utilities and those that have run out of unemployment benefits.

...Too many truckers chasing too little freight and the expense of a big rig sitting [idle] goes on.

...No trucker is doing well. He has to be careful on a load so he does not have to dead head home clear across the country.

Government contracts are way down. If truckers were able to laugh at this,they would laugh at anyone claiming the trucking industry is not hurting

The thing that the average person just doesn't stop to consider is this: If those trucks aren't hauling, our economy is really hurting. The freight is a measure of trade. They are the arteries in the body of our nation's economy. We need to see the world's best vascular surgeon right about the time we've got Obamacare staring us in the face. (How's that for mixing metaphors?)

This is scary, and all the pollyanna predictions don't help this fundamental reality.

Bonnie,

Shane was citing some improved economy numbers, but it seems to me that if trucks aren't moving freight, it's all talk.

Can you provide us with some actual numbers on the freight business? The Bureau of Transportation Statistics doesn't seem to have anything current other than this:

The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) fell 1.2 percent in October from its September level, declining for the second consecutive month, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today.

I have no idea what the TSI measures, but it sounds from your posts that things are a lot more dire than a few percent.

[bonnie]

Originally Posted By: karl

The thing that the average person just doesn't stop to consider is this: If those trucks aren't hauling, our economy is really hurting. The freight is a measure of trade. They are the arteries in the body of our nation's economy. We need to see the world's best vascular surgeon right about the time we've got Obamacare staring us in the face. (How's that for mixing metaphors?)

This is scary, and all the pollyanna predictions don't help this fundamental reality. [/quote']

Bonnie,

Shane was citing some improved economy numbers, but it seems to me that if trucks aren't moving freight, it's all talk.

Can you provide us with some actual numbers on the freight business? The Bureau of Transportation Statistics doesn't seem to have anything current other than this:

The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) fell 1.2 percent in October from its September level, declining for the second consecutive month, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today.

I have no idea what the TSI measures, but it sounds from your posts that things are a lot more dire than a few percent.

You do not have to be a genius to figure out a few very obvious signs.

The small town we live in was experiencing so much growth they were about to begin denying permits. In two years we had 400 homes go in a field behind our home. Have any idea of the number of trucks in and out of that development?

Developers have not dug a hole for well over two years. Where are those truckers hauling? Home building is pretty much at a standstill. Our lumber company is hanging on by it's fingernails. I seriously doubt he is in trouble because of credit cards. He is in trouble as he has very few building sites to deliver to. Common sense.

Commercial building is also taking a major,major hit.

Car dealerships are either closing or cutting way back. I don't see many trucks carrying new vehicles.

The cash for clunkers made a artifical bump. During that time the salesmen were run ragged,now they are laid off,working a couple of days a week or their place of business is closed.

Absolutely none of this has anything to do with credit cards or reflects a better economy

[bonnie]

Layoffs Deepen Pool of Applicants for Jobs Driving Big Rigs

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123569446738788385.html

This is Feb of 2009

By ALEX ROTH

Con-way Inc. used to spend $500,000 a month on advertisements seeking drivers for its fleet of 2,950 long-haul trucks. Now, the company spends less than half that amount.

For years, a shortage of drivers was the single biggest problem for the trucking industry. Con-way, J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. and other companies spent millions of dollars annually trying to attract applicants for a notoriously unappealing job that involves spending weeks on the road, sleeping in cramped cabs and showering at dirty truck stops. Annual driver turnover has routinely approached or exceeded 100%.

[Layoffs Deepen Pool of Applicants for Jobs Driving Big Rigs] Associated Press

Trucking companies suddenly have more candidates than jobs, thanks to a recession-driven jump in applications.

In the cut-throat competition to lure new drivers, companies offered everything from signing bonuses to letting drivers take their pets on the road.

Now, these trucking companies suddenly have more applicants than jobs, thanks to a recession-driven jump in applications from the ballooning ranks of the unemployed and a decline in the number of trucks on the road as freight volumes plummet. In January alone, the industry, which employs roughly 1.32 million people, lost 25,000 jobs, according to the American Trucking Associations.

Some companies say they are seeing a tripling or quadrupling of inquiries from types of people who have historically snubbed driving a truck. They include people laid off from hard-hit industries such as construction and auto-manufacturing. "I've never seen it like this in 24 years, I can tell you," said Herb Schmidt, president of Con-Way Truckload, the San Mateo, Calif., company's long-haul division.

Mark Greenberg, owner of the New England Tractor Trailer Training School in Quincy, Mass., said he used to limit the number of trucking companies that recruited at his campuses because their pitches were "simply taking up too much time during the day." Now he is the one pestering the companies as he tries to find jobs for his students.

Swift Transportation Co. Vice President David Berry said his company has a waiting list of qualified drivers for the first time in his memory. "We're enjoying our newfound popularity," he said.

The sudden plethora of applicants is one of the few silver linings for an industry that has suffered amid huge drops in freight volumes in recent months. In 2008, more than 3,600 trucking companies went out of business, according to Donald Broughton, an industry analyst with Avondale Partners, an investment-banking firm. The result was that 137,650 trucks -- roughly 7% of the industry's capacity -- vanished from U.S. roadways, he said.

Thanks to the jump in applicants and drop in capacity, the turnover rate for the nation's large long-haul carriers has dropped to roughly 65%, according to Bob Costello, chief economist for the American Trucking Associations. By comparison, the turnover rate in 2005 was 130%, he said. The rate has dropped in part because fewer jobs means less "churning" -- drivers hopping from one company to another.

Trucking companies say they now have the luxury of becoming more selective in hiring and retaining employees. Gordon Trucking Inc. reduced its spending on advertising to recruit applicants by 75% last year, but weekly applications still tripled by the end of the year. The company has "become much less tolerant of some of the things that previously we may have overlooked, like idling the truck or taking an extra day off at home," Steve Gordon, chief operating officer of the Pacific, Wash., company, said in an email.

Prime Inc. now more closely scrutinizes an applicant's driving record, number of prior jobs held and other qualifications. The Springfield, Mo., company has been bombarded by an "overwhelming call volume" from job seekers, including some white-collar workers, said John D. Hancock, director of recruiting. One recent applicant identified himself as a day trader, he said.

Trucking officials predict driver shortages will inevitably resurface once the economy rebounds. Attracting drivers has historically been especially problematic for long-haul routes. Salaries for those jobs average $40,000 to $45,000 a year, and drivers must spend weeks at a time away from home.

A federal lawsuit filed in 2004 showed the lengths to which some companies have gone in the past to find enough drivers for their trucks. In the suit, filed in Oklahoma City, CRST Van Expedited Inc. accused J.B. Hunt of illegally poaching its drivers. Testimony revealed that J.B. Hunt's team of 80 in-house recruiters would cold-call the pay phones at CRST's driver-trainee lounges. At the time, J.B. Hunt's annual turnover rate for drivers was 150%, meaning the company needed to hire an average of more than 300 drivers a week to keep its fleet of 11,000 trucks on the road, according to testimony. The lawsuit was settled in 2006 for an undisclosed amount.

Even in the current economic environment, the lifestyle challenges are simply too much for some people to handle. Two years ago, Don Hockersmith of suburban Phoenix lost his job as a superintendent for a home-building company. He enrolled in truck-driving school and took a job with Werner Enterprises Inc., but quit within two months. He was sick of living out of a cab and spending weeks away from his wife and daughter. He now drives a city bus.

"I felt like I was part of a carnival," said the 53-year-old Mr. Hockersmith. "Some of these truck stops are the filthiest places you've ever seen."

[bonnie]

For Truckers It Is a Long Haul

http://consumerenergyalliance.org/2009/05/for-truckers-it%25e2%2580%2599s-been-a-long-haul/

Last summer, when many businesses were enjoying what still seemed to be a reasonably strong economy, truckers were being hit hard by skyrocketing fuel costs that squeezed their margins and forced many long-haul freight carriers out of business.

If life were fair, you might think this year would be the best of times for the trucking sector, now that its major operating expense has decreased significantly. But trucking is not a counter-cyclical industry so much as a business that faces more than its share of challenges in good times and bad.

Last year, it was fuel prices (the options for conserving fuel when you’re in the freight transport business are really limited) and this year, it’s the economy, stupid. And just like fuel costs, truckers are particularly challenged to insulate themselves against a recession, since their business is so closely tied to consumers’ buying patterns (or lack thereof). About 70% of all retail and manufactured goods in the country are transported by truck. Stores don’t sell; trucks don’t move.

“Looking for signs of economic recovery?” this recent story on the travails of truckers explains. “Try counting the number of trucks on the road.”

It turns out trucking companies are continuing to fail at a rapid clip. Some 480 trucking companies went under during the first quarter of this year. That follows the closing of 3,000 trucking businesses in 2008, which analysts say took seven of every 100 trucks off the road. And given how much demand for trucking services has dropped in recent months, there is still an overcapacity, according to many estimates.

Now, recessions come and go, and even though this current recession has been long and deep and too often associated with the Great Depression, it is in the scheme of things part of a business cycle that will sooner or later yield to better times.

But long after this great recession is history, fuel costs will continue to be a big drag on the trucking industry, unless they can somehow be stabilized.

This analysis argues that for all the pain produced by last year’s fuel price surge, it was not so much the actual price but the price volatility that really hurt the industry, making it impossible to predict expenses.

Fuel costs shouldn’t have to be as variable and unpredictable as economic cycles.