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walkitoutIn my previous post, I had a lot of Questions. I think I have found some answers.
https://www.dcvelocity.com/articles/29761-amazon-pushes-dedicated-truck-operation-will-it-suck-oxygen-out-of-the-driver-room
“In his pitch, Greg Sellers, program manager of line-haul distribution, said the company is "working with line-haul providers of all sizes" and will "continue to recruit for trucking companies to join our team." The unit offers a "steady, high volume of freight, the ability to plan ahead, automatic weekly direct-deposit settlements, as well as a roster of lifestyle features that trucking-company employees really seem to like," Sellers wrote. He didn't elaborate on the specific amenities.”
Amazon Linehaul is a division that is Hiring. (I own stock, I haven’t worked there in forever, I don’t know anyone who does currently, this is not insider information.) The Linehaul operation is promising all drop-and-hook, apparently: “ All the freight is of the "drop and hook" variety, meaning a driver drops off a full or empty trailer at a specified location and moves on with another trailer, either empty or full, without waiting for the dropped-off equipment to be unloaded. Drivers can be home the same day or, at worst, the next day, according to Sellers. "There's work for singles and teams" as long as the drivers are employees of the trucking company, Sellers said.” Yeah, so, the usual drill — they don’t want you to be an employee of Amazon.
Amazon Relay is an App, that if you have a truck — box truck, big rig, you name it — you can sign up for loads. You can sign up as a single operator company or as part of a larger carrier. You can sign up with a box truck. There are YouTube videos to help you figure out the details.
“ Amazon's traffic growth is so astounding that, while it is likely to handle more of its own traffic in coming years, its delivery partners will probably not see any drop-off in their own volumes.”
Maybe no one noticed the drop-off in volumes, but we’re all noticing that the drivers have gone Somewhere Else.
Meanwhile, a year later at Business Insider, FreightWaves is knocking the rates Amazon is paying (nowhere in this does it note that comparing mileage rates with detention time to drop-and-hook mileage rates is totally ridiculous, especially on linehaul).
https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-truckers-low-rates-no-work-2019-6
Also, there’s this quote: “ "Amazon contracts are pretty demanding," Satish Jindel, the SJ Consulting Group's principal consultant, previously told Business Insider. "Because they're growing so rapidly, they can suck up a lot more of your capacity that you planned to make available to them."”
BI from 2020: https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-truck-drivers-prime-transportation-strategy-2020-9
Amazon was having to pay more money, and go back to some of the bigger companies.
https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-truck-drivers-pay-hourly-per-mile-2019-11#
Really good summary article ; may be behind a paywall. Talks about pay-per-day vs mileage pay, and how that likely attracts early career drivers. It also explains basic terms like solo1, solo2 and team and how they are compensated and where they make the most money — I have not seen this summarized in other coverage. It also covers how long the mileage pay has been around (does not mention the decades of rate regulation, nor does it describe the evolution of unions and lack thereof in trucking). It mentions detention time, court challenges to not getting paid for it. It does an unusually good job of explaining how disruptive the compensation scheme is.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/30/amazon-freight-uber-for-trucking-service-running-since-last-year.html
Relay is NOT just running Amazon stuff around; it is a general purpose freight broker.
ETA:
I thought to myself, I wonder if Amazon is now running a trucking school? No, of course they are not! However, they have partnered with at least one: https://www.sageschools.com/amazon/
https://www.dcvelocity.com/articles/29761-amazon-pushes-dedicated-truck-operation-will-it-suck-oxygen-out-of-the-driver-room
“In his pitch, Greg Sellers, program manager of line-haul distribution, said the company is "working with line-haul providers of all sizes" and will "continue to recruit for trucking companies to join our team." The unit offers a "steady, high volume of freight, the ability to plan ahead, automatic weekly direct-deposit settlements, as well as a roster of lifestyle features that trucking-company employees really seem to like," Sellers wrote. He didn't elaborate on the specific amenities.”
Amazon Linehaul is a division that is Hiring. (I own stock, I haven’t worked there in forever, I don’t know anyone who does currently, this is not insider information.) The Linehaul operation is promising all drop-and-hook, apparently: “ All the freight is of the "drop and hook" variety, meaning a driver drops off a full or empty trailer at a specified location and moves on with another trailer, either empty or full, without waiting for the dropped-off equipment to be unloaded. Drivers can be home the same day or, at worst, the next day, according to Sellers. "There's work for singles and teams" as long as the drivers are employees of the trucking company, Sellers said.” Yeah, so, the usual drill — they don’t want you to be an employee of Amazon.
Amazon Relay is an App, that if you have a truck — box truck, big rig, you name it — you can sign up for loads. You can sign up as a single operator company or as part of a larger carrier. You can sign up with a box truck. There are YouTube videos to help you figure out the details.
“ Amazon's traffic growth is so astounding that, while it is likely to handle more of its own traffic in coming years, its delivery partners will probably not see any drop-off in their own volumes.”
Maybe no one noticed the drop-off in volumes, but we’re all noticing that the drivers have gone Somewhere Else.
Meanwhile, a year later at Business Insider, FreightWaves is knocking the rates Amazon is paying (nowhere in this does it note that comparing mileage rates with detention time to drop-and-hook mileage rates is totally ridiculous, especially on linehaul).
https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-truckers-low-rates-no-work-2019-6
Also, there’s this quote: “ "Amazon contracts are pretty demanding," Satish Jindel, the SJ Consulting Group's principal consultant, previously told Business Insider. "Because they're growing so rapidly, they can suck up a lot more of your capacity that you planned to make available to them."”
BI from 2020: https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-truck-drivers-prime-transportation-strategy-2020-9
Amazon was having to pay more money, and go back to some of the bigger companies.
https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-truck-drivers-pay-hourly-per-mile-2019-11#
Really good summary article ; may be behind a paywall. Talks about pay-per-day vs mileage pay, and how that likely attracts early career drivers. It also explains basic terms like solo1, solo2 and team and how they are compensated and where they make the most money — I have not seen this summarized in other coverage. It also covers how long the mileage pay has been around (does not mention the decades of rate regulation, nor does it describe the evolution of unions and lack thereof in trucking). It mentions detention time, court challenges to not getting paid for it. It does an unusually good job of explaining how disruptive the compensation scheme is.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/30/amazon-freight-uber-for-trucking-service-running-since-last-year.html
Relay is NOT just running Amazon stuff around; it is a general purpose freight broker.
ETA:
I thought to myself, I wonder if Amazon is now running a trucking school? No, of course they are not! However, they have partnered with at least one: https://www.sageschools.com/amazon/