Exactly Jeep, we're not trying to bash TMC because they aren't the only one's who ask their drivers to cut back on idle time. If the company can't equip the trucks properly to help save idle time with another heat or AC source then tough. They can't expect to see a return on the expense of outfitting all the trucks with an APU or comparable right away. In the long run it will save the company money along with keeping drivers happy but it won't happen overnight.

 

When I left TMC they was talking about putting all kinds of APU's on trucks to see which one they like best. That was about 2 years ago, guess they took to long to get them on the trucks to help. They do like to do alot of testing sometimes to much.

 

The rumors concerning TMC this week have been a mixture of truth and conjecture. Today we all received a qualcommm message from the owner of TMC, Mr Harold Annett. He had three main points which I will paraphrase:

TMC has started to weed out some of the drivers that they have had a lot of problems with. Drivers who argue with Fleet Managers, break a lot of rules, break expensive things, and cause other problems may be let go. This is because TMC has an opportunity to rehire many former drivers given the current economy. There is a waiting list of former employees who have found that the grass is not always greener on the other side.

The closing of only the training yard in South Carolina has been in the works for a while. Last year TMC bought the old schneider terminal outside Des Moines. That facility included 20 something acres of pavement. All training operations have been consolidated to that location. Also during the middle of 2008 TMC opened a brand new state of the art full service terminal in Gaston SC. The plan always was to close the training terminal after the new one opened. The fact that the lease is up now is purely coincidental. The plan always was to merge the Lake City operation with the new Gaston SC terminal anyway. This is to streamline and consolidate operations and should cut costs.

As for the TMC/Maverick merger/sale/buyout/stock swap/etc rumor: There is no basis in fact here. There has been no transaction of any kind. Mr Annett states that he has been operating this company for 28 years and has no plans to sell out anytime soon. We have seen these rumors before, so just ignore them as usual.


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As for the Michigan thing: I guess that some people at orientation from MI were sent home because they are no longer in the hiring area. IMHO TMC is betting that the automakers problems are going to translate into freight problems in that area, so they are trying to hedge their bets. Not a bad move in my opinion.

 

good info Rawlco. wasn't really worried but I never know what to believe.

my headache rack self destructed this week, hope that doesn't count as breaking something expensive. door opened up, got jammed into the front of my load, ripped the service gladhand off the trailer, then ripped the door off in a turn and bent the hell out of the door frame. realized all this when I went to stop and had no trailer brakes. appropriate name, headache rack. it has been one of those weeks.

 

regarding APUs, hopefully they will figure out something by the time they decide what new trucks to buy. my truck has 125k left on the clock so I will tough it out another winter. not really one to take the attitude that dispatchers get to sit in a heated/cooled office all day, this is just part of the job, and part of the reason we make more than they do.

don't understand why they won't give the Cummins ISX a chance in a new Pete or KW. the new Cats are apparently just awful. won't miss the 387s too much. my '06 379 has been a great truck, if I am around to see it traded I will be sad.

Harrold I've been good, please buy me a T660 with a big Cummins and an 86" sleeper next time please

 

[QUOTE=Rawlco;435515]The rumors concerning TMC this week have been a mixture of truth and conjecture. Today we all received a qualcommm message from the owner of TMC, Mr Harold Annett. He had three main points which I will paraphrase:

TMC has started to weed out some of the drivers that they have had a lot of problems with. Drivers who argue with Fleet Managers, break a lot of rules, break expensive things, and cause other problems may be let go. This is because TMC has an opportunity to rehire many former drivers given the current economy. There is a waiting list of former employees who have found that the grass is not always greener on the other side.

The closing of only the training yard in South Carolina has been in the works for a while. Last year TMC bought the old schneider terminal outside Des Moines. That facility included 20 something acres of pavement. All training operations have been consolidated to that location. Also during the middle of 2008 TMC opened a brand new state of the art full service terminal in Gaston SC. The plan always was to close the training terminal after the new one opened. The fact that the lease is up now is purely coincidental. The plan always was to merge the Lake City operation with the new Gaston SC terminal anyway. This is to streamline and consolidate operations and should cut costs.

As for the TMC/Maverick merger/sale/buyout/stock swap/etc rumor: There is no basis in fact here. There has been no transaction of any kind. Mr Annett states that he has been operating this company for 28 years and has no plans to sell out anytime soon. We have seen these rumors before, so just ignore them as usual.


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As for the Michigan thing: I guess that some people at orientation from MI were sent home because they are no longer in the hiring area. IMHO TMC is betting that the automakers problems are going to translate into freight problems in that area, so they are trying to hedge their bets. Not a bad move in my opinion.[/QUOTE]

HOW IS THIS NOT A BAD MOVE? Let me give you a hypothetical. Your from MI, you speak with a TMC recruiter, and get the green light. Next you submit 1 or 2 weeks notice with current employer, Then drive or ride to Des Moines. Finally, you are told to go home because someone in Recruiting didnt know where the state of MI was.

So you are on your way home, and you call your old employer back. You learn that either they dont want you, because youll prob leave soon again, or they have filled your old truck, now since you quit under your own will, you cant draw any unemployment, so your really in a jam, and have to sign on with "just any old company"

I hope what you posted isnt really happening.

 

Not that I would doubt anything, but I cant count the amount of times I have seen them open going down the road. If you look at the latch on those boxes, the turn-handle portion, has a bunch of holes on the back side for adjustment, you can make the rods longer, which will help, or like so many you see, slap a tarp strap on her, end handle to end handle.

 

bringing this one back to the top, I guess no news is sometimes good news.

been staying relatively busy and making money, at least enough to live on until things pick back up.

lately it seems dispatch/load planners have really been dropping the ball. TMC has been wasting an abhorrent amount of my time with mistakes on their end. I will post a couple accounts of this when I get in front of a computer. until then, as of tomorrow I will have had a 500 mile, 3 stop load of pipe on my trailer for 5 days. first stop? Ashburn, VA. where does TMC send me? Fredericksburg, VA. how many stops did I get off today? 1. I don't know how understaffed they are in the office, but I have had to call more customers and play dispatcher in the last 2 weeks than I have in almost a year.

the lack of communication between customers and load planners is baffling lately. things are happening that should never, ever happen, and patient as I am, the ultimate drop in my productivity is starting to piss me off.

I have two much better stories to tell later. not thinking of quitting or anything, but the things I do for money are really starting to make me wonder. still in love with my truck though. wonder when the honeymoon will end there.

 

Man carter, that was a long run for today................a whopping 60 miles or so. Where are you staying overnight at, the 126 RaceTrack? Too bad they took out the T/S at the 133 several years ago.

 

Holy crap, in a way I feel better to know it's not just me and PGT going though this. If I may hijack for a minute.

Emptied in St. Louis Friday morning. Get bounced to Gary, IN. Nothing's there so they bounce me down to Monroe, OH to load out of Worthington Steel on Saturday morning. Show up in Monroe first thing Sat morning just to find out that they don't load on weekends anymore. They haven't in over two months. I am also told that PGT should know this since we have a major dedicated account with them. Get told by our weekend dispatch to find a place to park.

This was the first time where it cost me a load and a weekend, but we are having the same problems.