Good trucking companies to work for in FL? Locally or nationally.?

Question

Hi. I used to work as a PC technician, when the company I was with laid me off. It has been 4 months, and I have not been able to find a local job, so I was thinking of going back to driving trucks, since the job market seems to be crappy at best.

SO, I was considering Werner (first choice, but after reading all negative comments about them, probably not), Stevens, USXpress, and KLLM, or going back to Comcar, which was good to me. I'd like to hear from former or current drivers on their opinion about good, reputable companies to work for. I am looking to drive solo, preferrably regionally or dedicated (OTR last resort).

And please, no 'don't get into trucking' comments. Trust me, this is a last resort thing because I have still been unable to find a job, so far. Thanks everyone!

Answer 1

It all depends on how much tractor-trailer experience you've got.  Less than one year, Comcar (CCC or CT in Auburndale or Mulberry) is going to be one of the best options for local work in FL.   Or, you can try the big companies you mentioned....Werner is not the best, BUT they do have local dedicated runs in Florida, if you can get on one.  

Covenant used to be real bad about getting people home in Florida, but when they realized 20% of their drivers lived there, they did something about it.  They have a terminal in Orlando now and they offer Georgia Pacific regional dedicated.....a few people I spoke to said they get 2700-3000 miles per week and go home about every 2 weeks or so.  With any of these big companies, if they promise you dedicated or regional out of FL, get it in writing before you hire on.  

If you have 2-3 years of experience, Walpole is another decent local company, if you're near the Tampa area.....but they will expect 6 day work-weeks and even try to squeeze 7 days out of you if they can.  Florida Rock & Tank hires local drivers in a few different parts of the state....though I know at least in Pensacola the pay wasn't so hot for making fuel deliveries.  

You should also check out the food service companies.  Sysco and US Foodservice have warehouses near just about every major area in FL.  PFG is a pretty good company with a warehouse between Tampa and Lakeland (sort of near Dover).  MBM has a warehouse in Lockhart (near Orlando) off of Magnolia Homes Road- I grew up down the street from it :)

Down there in Dover there is another company called WW Trucking....they are mostly local/regional.  You go from Miami-central FL and occasionally spend the night away from home, their trucks are equipped with sleepers.  They're a small, family owned company and I've never heard anything bad about them.  

You could drive locally for any of the grocery chains, too.  Winn Dixie has warehouses in central FL, Jacksonville and Miami...and they hired a friend of mine with a year and a half of OTR experience.  Publix is a GREAT company in terms of pay and benefits, BUT they require anyone wanting work as a driver, to start out as a warehouse worker for $9 an hour for at least 6 months before you can be considered as a driver...they do this to ensure they get dedicated people who understand all facets of the job (or so they say :).  If you can wait out the pay cut, their driver pay and company benefits are worth it.  Kash& Karry/Sweetbay has a warehouse in Plant City (not sure if there's another one).  And Albertson's has a warehouse in Orlando and I'm sure in at least a couple other places in FL.  

There are also a couple fuel hauling companies that pay well....they usually run ads in the Tampa/St. Pete area, but they require 2 years OTR and a minimum age of 25 and a clean MVR.....I can't remember the company name but they haul fuel for Race Trac gas stations.  You could also try getting on with Pilot, hauling fuel....they run trucks out of the Port of Tampa.  If you're anywhere near Tampa, look for a company called "DES Environmental Services" down by the port, too....they occasionally hire drivers to haul grease and muck in a tanker, for recycling and they're not too picky about your prior experience.  

If you have 3 or more years experience, and don't mind physical work (pay and benefits WELL worth it).....try hauling cars.  Allied Auto Group (google it for their company site) hauls new cars out of every auto railyard in Florida, and they'll train people to load the carriers.  They are union, so pay and benefits are best in the industry.  If you're in Orlando or Jacksonville, look up Sunbelt Auto Carriers, based out of DeBary, FL.  I worked for them, and while pay isn't as good as Allied, it's still pretty decent and their medical benefits are top of the line (and 100% paid by the company).  

Also, with 3 or more years of experience, you can check out FedEx Freight, Estes, Yellow, Saia or Averitt Express; they all have local and linehaul positions where you can be home nightly, or away from home 1-2 days at a time.  Pay is quite good too- a friend of mine works for Fed Ex and brings home close to 80,000 per year.  With 5 years OTR you're eligible at Wal-Mart too, which has one of the best pay and benefits packages in the whole trucking industry.  

That's about all I can think of, offhand....other than that, there's this site:  http://www.truckflix.com/  

You can search local/regional or OTR and I believe there's a way you can look up trucking companies by state....if all else fails, just go through the list of Florida companies and give them all a call.....it's how I found my last job!  

Good luck :)