[Aftershock]

Dak1, Cyanide and anyone else who is involved with the foodgrade tanker part of the house: how has the economy effected you and your company? Has the freight slowed down? Have the companies laid drivers off? Does the economy not have an effect on food grade because its food and people still have to eat? I may be seriously looking for a career change and was hoping to get involved with food grade at some point.

[derelict77]

Originally Posted by Aftershock

Dak1, Cyanide and anyone else who is involved with the foodgrade tanker part of the house: how has the economy effected you and your company? Has the freight slowed down? Have the companies laid drivers off? Does the economy not have an effect on food grade because its food and people still have to eat? I may be seriously looking for a career change and was hoping to get involved with food grade at some point.

The Tulare, Ca terminal of Ruan "my employer" has been losing business and money consistently for at least a year. Many drivers have been laid off and job security is non-existant. I usually sit at home for at least 1 or 2 days of my scheduled work week because there is no work. Ruan should probably never have gotten into the dairy business out here ;-( This job was awesome untill about 4 months ago. Now we are all awaiting the giant axe of poverty.

[Aftershock]

Losing business? Why is that? Are the producers going elsewhere because of bad service or just the economy taking its toll? Are the other big carriers like Indian River/North American, Bynum, and Oakley picking it up? I thought the cows never shut off so the job would be pretty stable for everyone involved. My mom works for Dean Foods and she says they are covered up right now cause egg nog is in season. Its colder across the US so more people are drinking coffee and so, more creamer is being used at all of the restaurants and grocery stores.

[derelict77]

Originally Posted by Aftershock

Losing business? Why is that? Are the producers going elsewhere because of bad service or just the economy taking its toll? Are the other big carriers like Indian River/North American, Bynum, and Oakley picking it up? I thought the cows never shut off so the job would be pretty stable for everyone involved. My mom works for Dean Foods and she says they are covered up right now cause egg nog is in season. Its colder across the US so more people are drinking coffee and so, more creamer is being used at all of the restaurants and grocery stores.

Ruan is losing business to companies who underbid us. We provide better service at a higher cost, they provide, well, a lower cost. Darrel Green and Northwest Territories have picked up many of the Land of Lakes routes we used to haul. Myovich is picking up alot of the California Dairies routes we used to haul. I have recently been hearing that there are to be no more layoffs, and that we have the right amount of employees for the business we have, but my hopes are not augmented ;-(

[GOOSEMAN]

I pull a tanker for an O/O, (Milk), and I run to the same dairies that Ruan does.

The Ruan that I'm referring to is based out of Fort Wayne, and these guys are up the their azzzes with work, so much that they are having a hard time keeping up. I've seen them dump milk down the drain, due to the fact that it was past the req. temp. ! I've gotten to plants an hour early, hoping to get in before my appt. time to find out that I made it just in time. Because there were 12 Ruan trucks to come in, all 12 where either late/canceled from the night before or just running 2/3 hrs. behind.

They seem to have a hard time getting to the (right) farm and getting to the process plant on time.

I'm run Mi. - Oh. - Penn. - Kenn. - Ma. - Wi., load at the farm here in Michigan, deliver to whatever plant on the schedule - unload - head back to the farm, leave the truck & trailer, and come home to sleep in my own bed every night.

With all that said, the slump in the economy has not what - so - ever effected my pay check -- " Those fricking cows, just don't know when to stop", I'm still making anywhere from $800.00 - $1200.00 week. It all depends on the plant that I haul to, because my pay is based on "Per Laod", and each plant pays different !!!

I'm not just talking smack, but with all these guys bashing different aspects of the Truck Driver, there are jobs out there that a man can make a killer pay check, and still make it home every night. Don't get me wrong, there are times that I do have to run hard (legal) to keep up the the cows, but right now it's working for me and my family !!

[Biscuit Lips]

Thanks for posting that Gooseman. I enjoy reading about what other segments of the industry are like for different folks. Sounds like you have found some job satisfaction, which seems to be rare in the trucking business.
Sorry, I really do not have anything beneficial to contribute to this thread just being a post *****.

[GOOSEMAN]

Hey Biscuit - the best part of it is, if I have something going on for the weekend, the bossman while run my loads for me. But if I want to run 30 days I can.

Normaly I'll take off every other weekend, just for some R & R, and to get some things done around the house.

[Cyanide]

Concerning the company formerly known as Jim Aartman, now Ruan, I would say that they have been effectively "ruined" by Ruan's policies and lack of any increase in the pay package for the OTR drivers, whereas the local guys seemed to initially make out well when the buyout went into full effect. I attribute much of Aartman's demise to the mistake of opening up a terminal in FL and hiring former Indian River and Bynum personnel to run the show and then, continuing to keep them on board after it seemed that it was everyone else who always took the fall for problems that always rolled downhill. When dispatchers and terminal managers are getting fired almost as often as you change your underwear, it seems logical to clean house starting at the very top. However, that wasn't the case as obviously some people know how to always come out smelling clean regardless of how much crap they fall into...

Had things never developed in FL and the company had stuck with being a predominantly West-coast and Midwest freight lane runner with dairy, egg, and yeast products and with the occasional FL juice load, and not tried competing with the Big 3 down there for a full-scale operation in the Florida juice and Southeast milk markets (which was done at the insistence of the FL personnel) I feel that it would still truly be Jim Aartman of Ripon, CA. And honestly, I would probably still be driving there as well. For a tad over two full years I absolutely loved being based out of and running for Pam and Jon out in Ripon, though I still lived in Florida. The work was always there for me as well as great home time. I can't stress that enough...I LOVED IT THERE! I'm sure many who ran out of Ripon will agree on that point. But the writing was appearing on the wall that changes were coming, and not for the better...

Unfortunately the people in Florida tried making it Jim Aartman of Mulberry, FL and for some strange reason always seemed to have their ideas accepted and implemented thinking that they could make things better than it already was, and how things had been done years on end. And in the end they screwed that company up so bad by doing things the way they had done it at Indian River and Bynum, with the notion that the company would make more money doing things their way. Ruan coming in and implementing their policies is nothing more than a band-aid being put on a sucking chest wound, and if things don't change drastically an amputation is probably going to occur in the future. Ruan will most likely just simply cut their losses and that long-haul food-grade element of the company will simply fade away and be absorbed by other companies out there. Eventually they will get tired of hitting their heads against a brick wall and realize it hurts enough to stop doing it!

:thumbsdown: