UPDATE: Arrow Trucking Co. story...

[rshunter]

There has been some further news regarding the closing of Arrow on December 22nd, which was reported in this thread... So this trucking company goes out of business.....

Arrow CEO says talks continue

By eTrucker Staff

Arrow Trucking Co., which abruptly closed Dec. 22, is negotiating with a lender and other interested parties, according to a report from its hometown newspaper.

The Tulsa World reports that CEO Doug Pielsticker released a statement saying the company continues "negotiations with its principal lender, but the lender has elected to proceed with securing its collateral." Pielsticker also reportedly says Arrow also is in touch "with several interested parties."

The company’s website, www.arrowtrucking.com, is no longer operational, and the headquarters in Tulsa, Okla., could not be reached for a response by telephone.

The shutdown, which included cancellation of its fuel cards, stranded its company drivers across the country three days before Christmas, news sources said.

The Tulsa World reports that one of Arrow's lenders is Daimler Financial Services, which owns the company's Freightliner trucks.

A telephone recording at the main office gives these instructions to drivers:

“If you’re in a Freightliner or KW, please take the truck to the nearest Freightliner shop. Call this hotline number to Daimler: 877-294-9679. They’ll arrange for a bus ticket for you home. If you’re in an International, please call back and check with this message later as we find out more information.”

No. 83 in Commercial Carrier Journal’s Top 250 ranking of U.S. for-hire carriers, Arrow Trucking reported revenue of $218 million in 2008, down 7.2 percent from 2007. The company most recently reported 1,250 owned and 100 leased trucks and tractors, as well as 2,287 leased trailers.

 

[CourierDriver]

Did they hve a cost accounting department? Did anyone look at the P/l statements, did the CEO have a clue, tell me they didnt read their own data,,now come on Joe, tell me it aint so..It always amazes me that the highly educated are so lax in their own world that they cant see whats going on. stupid,stupid,stupid..............really............

 

[bullwinkle]

Think I'd be keeping the truck & load until I got paid!

 

[Cup of Joe]

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Think I'd be keeping the truck & load until I got paid!


I'm missing $92,850 worth of freight.

Roadway was the carrier in my case. FYI Roadway was bought out by Yellow which is now doing business as YRC.

 

[cven]

did the CEO have a clue...

Hey now.... the ceo of any company deserves everything they get while running the company into the ground and getting a bonus for it!?!? JK.. lol....


Think I'd be keeping the truck & load until I got paid!...


You and I think alike!! MUST be our great oHIo minds!! Haaaa

 

[Gary Allan]

Well, I'd say that the hierarchy of any receivership and/or liquidation should work from the bottom up. The CEO and/or the largest creditor should be last on the list. They allegedly took the highest risk with the notion that they earned whatever gain they attained. I'd say that they deserve to endure the biggest loss of total revenues for their decision.

As risk giveth ..risk should taketh away. The small potatoes often didn't realize that they were working on a gamble.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: TaterandNoodles
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Think I'd be keeping the truck & load until I got paid!


I'm missing $92,850 worth of freight.

Roadway was the carrier in my case. FYI Roadway was bought out by Yellow which is now doing business as YRC.



And Yellow (or YRC) is almost in bankruptcy. They never really resumed a solid financial footing after they aquired USF Freightways.

The freight hauling business is littered with bankrupt trucking companies. The Arrow story isn't unique or even unusual.

 

[JHZR2]

so in other words, all our costs must go up, as we are "underpaying" for freight, or the haulers are requesting too high a wage...

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
so in other words, all our costs must go up, as we are "underpaying" for freight, or the haulers are requesting too high a wage...


Truckers these days are willing to take loads that they know won't break even - just to get moving again and have some money to eat!

The industry is akin to Walmart these days - yes, all your costs must go up if you want American workers to make a decent wage delivering the products you use everyday.

It's coming - Mexican trucks and the outsourcing of drivers to foreigners, in mass droves. I just don't know how that could be good for our country and our economy. It's just slitting the throat of the middle class a little bit more.

 

[Cup of Joe]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
so in other words, all our costs must go up, as we are "underpaying" for freight, or the haulers are requesting too high a wage...


I can only relay my experiences. The line of work I'm in I have the absolute lowest LTL costs bar none. In the last 2 years carriers have accepted frieght for amounts that don't even cover the fuel to the next destination. Last year and early this year drivers were thanking me for the load since without it they simply had no work at all. This is a freight heavy area having the Port of Virginia in this area along with the Military. If anything truckers in this area are some what sheltered compared to the rest of the US.

http://www.portofvirginia.com/

 

[Loobed]

Originally Posted By: cven
Quote:
Think I'd be keeping the truck & load until I got paid!...

You and I think alike!! MUST be our great oHIo minds!! Haaaa

The contents of the "load" does not belong to the trucking company. It belongs to the customer who hired the trucking company. Holding onto the customers load can cause financial hardship, and cause them to go out of business. That type of thinking is what has caused this country to become a

 

[Gary Allan]

Originally Posted By: Loobed
Originally Posted By: cven
Quote:
Think I'd be keeping the truck & load until I got paid!...

You and I think alike!! MUST be our great oHIo minds!! Haaaa

The contents of the "load" does not belong to the trucking company. It belongs to the customer who hired the trucking company. Holding onto the customers load can cause financial hardship, and cause them to go out of business. That type of thinking is what has caused this country to become a [censored].


Well, whom shall determines who falls on their sword in self sacrifice and selfless enduring of hardship?? My memory seems to recall that it's always "someone else" passing a hot pototo.

It's fraudulent (not used in the legal sense) to accept labors without paying for them. As it is accepting freight that you don't have the means to deliver. Did either the driver or the freight forwarder put in on some speculative "share" of the charter?

 

[Cup of Joe]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit

And Yellow (or YRC) is almost in bankruptcy. They never really resumed a solid financial footing after they aquired USF Freightways.

The freight hauling business is littered with bankrupt trucking companies. The Arrow story isn't unique or even unusual.


YRC has located my missing skids and they will be here next week.

 

[Drew99GT]

Pretty much all the LTL companies are in dire straits, or close to it - even the non-union ones. Fed-Ex LTL/Freight and UPS Freight I believe are surviving though. Con-Way, Old Dominion, Saia, USF, YRC, Estes etc. - could close their doors at anytime.

 

[Gary Allan]

It's like the airline industry. Plenty of money ..plenty of cartage. Slow up on the money ...and they drop like lead balloons.

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
I have been involved in many Transport Company failures through my Consultancy business. I worked prior to Recievership and afterwards under Contract

Fixing Trucking companies is not always possible as a common matrix of issues are always confronted. A few follow

1 - Customers
Poor paying (off time) is devastating for Truckers as the Oil/Tyre/Finance Cos have first call on cash in!

2 - Cost controls
Many transport Comopanies have poor cost management structures
Example: I once asked a Fleet's Branch Manager why he had high tyre costs - reply "I don't know" - 80 vehicle were involved. I said when the Fleet is next idle get a tyre gauge and random check pressures. It was below him to do it! I arranged to meet him at a Fleet idle time and we did it together. At least 80% of their tyres were well below a suitable pressure range! I fired him in the end! Once corrected the Branch tyre costs reduced by 60%!!

3 - Accidents
Accidents devastate Truckers. Premiums rise and vehicle utilisation plummets and the Claims never cover costs. Third party Claims can involve years of Litigation

4 - Own Workshops
In most Fleets the Workshop is outdated - in concepts and practice. They tend to live in their own narrow comfort band!

Just thought you may be interested - I always made money out of my Fleet over the nearly 20 years I had IS and Local Trucks! And my Drivers did too!!

 

[Drew99GT]

Good info Doug. I think the problem in the US today is cut throat competition - too many companies chasing too little freight. De-regulation in the US was supposed to squash the big companies and break them up - but now there are a handful of big companies that own many of the smaller companies, and can dictate freight prices. So we're essentially back at square one - a few large companies running the show, but at much lower prices. I guess that was the point of deregulating the industry, but it's certainly had unintended consequences.

Another problem is the industry has an entire profit center devoted to training drivers - companies get government money for training drivers. So their intent is to cram as many new people through truck driving school because they make as much money doing that as they do moving freight. Plus, with a ginormous surplus of drivers with hardly any experience, they can pay them a lot less.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Drew99GT

Truckers these days are willing to take loads that they know won't break even - just to get moving again and have some money to eat!



Not sure how they get money to eat if they cannot break even... Unless their idea of their wage in the break even part is to high...

Sure am not looking forward to Mexican drivers taking heavy loads over our roads.

 

[Drew99GT]

From advances when a load is taken.

 

[Loobed]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Originally Posted By: Loobed
Originally Posted By: cven
Quote:
Think I'd be keeping the truck & load until I got paid!...

You and I think alike!! MUST be our great oHIo minds!! Haaaa

The contents of the "load" does not belong to the trucking company. It belongs to the customer who hired the trucking company. Holding onto the customers load can cause financial hardship, and cause them to go out of business. That type of thinking is what has caused this country to become a [censored].

Well, whom shall determines who falls on their sword in self sacrifice and selfless enduring of hardship?? My memory seems to recall that it's always "someone else" passing a hot pototo.

It's fraudulent (not used in the legal sense) to accept labors without paying for them. As it is accepting freight that you don't have the means to deliver. Did either the driver or the freight forwarder put in on some speculative "share" of the charter?


does that mean you support the taking of hostages during a crime??