ellie1

Hi All
Can anyone give me some feed back on small transport firms ---

Do they hire uk class 1 drivers, or are we wasting our time even looking at them until we have PR ???

Many thanks

vickysteve

Hi its normally the big companies that hire UK truck drivers because it cost the company a lot of money. Saying that there are a few small firms that have hired uk drivers, its normally easyier to go with a big company.

Gremmie

Yes to the first part No to the second
personaly i would advise to keep away from the big companies

dinger24

Why keep away from the big companies?
They seem to be the only ones taking an interest in UK drivers?
To the original poster - Look at local press and use google, yellow pages etc this is a great way to see who is operating in the area and will give you some indication of:
Who
What
Where
And How
the companies operate
As for hiring F@*k knows, I suggest doing the same as a few others have on here and send cv, give them a call and then travel over and knock on some doors!
Good luck!

Gremmie

Why, coz 99% of the screwed and disgruntled drivers work for the larger companies,the happy guys work for smaller companies

Patrick Hasler

First truck driving job I got was with a small company (10 trucks) they even loaned me the truck to take the CDL A test.

I will be eternally gratefull to them because without their help I wouldnt have the job I have now.

so ..... Thank you very much St Ann transportation

canuck09

Yes, I work as a HR manager for a smaller carrier (60 trucks), and I have hired 3 UK drivers in the last three years. This is the problem, because we are a smaller carrier, we have immigrated smaller numbers on a as needed basis.

However, the industry as a whole in Canada is currently in a crisis situation. The last year within our industry has witnessed some very historic and unprecedented twists, turns and downfalls. This is largely a residual effect of the economic crisis experienced in the United States, and ultimately here in Canada. The strength of our Canadian dollar and the reduced demand from the U.S. for Canadian products has impacted transportation in ways never seen before. As you are well aware, reduced demand for product translates into reduced volumes of freight available for tender.

This situation has an even greater effect here in central and western Canada where high numbers of equipment are available, creating fierce competition for available freight. This translates into drastically reduced freight rates, higher empty miles, lower overall revenue miles and very very poor asset utilization.

This appears to be commonplace at all carriers here in Canada, for the most part. Most have reduced their fleet size in attempts to match freight volumes to available assets, some have laid off employees, some have terminated owner operator contracts, and some have parked and de-plated excess equipment. One very large Saskatoon carrier, Yanke, has reduced wages and salaries for every single employee in the company in all positions, drivers included. And sadly, several have ceased operations altogether.

This is the largest reason why it seems no one is hiring drivers from abroad right now. The work isn't there, and neither is the money.

I don't mean to paint gloom and doom, just outlining the reality of today. This will turn around, but when is the big question. We are not autonomous from the United States and their economic situation. They are our largest trading partner, and they are choosing a path of "buy locally". In our industry, that is very much "gloom and doom".

We're ok, we're a refrigerated carrier, and people still need to eat. It's other carriers I feel for, and the families dependant on their survival.

dinger24

Good answer!
At last some straight talking!

spockil

you have hit the nail on the head.
but dont let the doom and gloom get anyone who is still wanting willing and eager just keep knocking on doors. or come out try get ur license then ur in a stronger position as iv had more job offers than iv known what to do just by talking to people in the industry go to a truck stop and talk to them they wont bite ur head off.
and iv heard that some of the industry is gearing up so more jobs should be coming online.

dinger24

Spokil

How are you getting on?

canuck09

Absolutely, and I for one am still accepting resumes. I am calling this period a "market correction", some companies have folded, and some have laid off drivers, etc, as I mentioned. I strongly believe freight will come back, and when it does, there will very likely be far less drivers to haul that freight than before this "market correction" began, as many have moved on to make new careers in new industries. Which means at sometime down the road, those who remain will be in HUGE demand. Now if only the freight rates follow that trend as well, as the excess equipment have driven rates into the toilet all over. We attempted to keep rates in line with costs, however we realized that we simply were getting outbid on lanes and losing freight which meant drivers are getting less miles and our costs were escalating with less revenue to offset it. As such, we have now slashed rates to get increased miles. So yes, now this week, we have seen a drastic increase in mileage. However, anyone with a calculator can imagine, when you are working for less money hauling freight, what costs can you control? Fuel, insurance, lease payments, equipment repairs, internal wages, building costs, etc, etc, etc are all costs that we cannot control. What does this mean? You and I as employees of this industry will likely not see any wage increases anytime soon. We are married to this devil of an industry, and she just ordered new furniture for the house (pardon the lame joke). But the upside is that, if our predictions come true, there will be fewer carriers to haul remaining freight, which should push prices to normal profitable ranges. Hopefully. But at the end of the day, at least we will still make a paycheque.

I am very confident that it will come about, then you will see a huge demand for drivers again. So it may take some time, but it will come.

Gremmie

I just hope the rate slashers go bust, and soon. I,m not cutting the rates for any one. Coz they are low enough as it is.

andy_sheila

Awwww... my heart bleeds for the owners who have been making loads-a-money by underpaying drivers for years, bang goes the jet-skis, atv's and foreign holidays............duh!!! silly me, of course they won't go, the owners will steal the shortfall for the new skidoo off the drivers somehow

sarky marky

i have read the exact same reply on *********************** forum , word for word.

CurtNIR

Thats because he posted it twice.