CR England Vs Swift

A member contacted me via subspace network with this question:

Hey Errol. I'm getting ready to go to a school on Monday. Already am locked into 2. Can you give me any insight on why Swift is better than CR England? Or vice versa. Listening to recruiters is a crap shoot,

I'm putting my reply out here for all to comment on.

Yes, I drive for Swift for almost two years now. I have no real complaints about them. When I was OTR , I got home home at about 1 day home for 1 week out. Such things as layover, cancellation and detention were posted to my paycheck, I never had to ask about them. The equipment is very good, and any complaint I took to the shop was fixed. I don't have plans to move to another company.

As for CRE, since I never drove for them, I can't say one way or another. I understand they push Lease owners. That's about it. And the big red "black letter" C R England with a coat of arms looks better than Swift's lightning bolt (?) zig-zag "S".

Phoenix needs to comment on this since she drives for CR England. Hopefully she still lurks lol.

My understanding from my own research is that they are very similar. We haul freight for many of the same customers and have some of the same dedicated accounts, like Walmart.

A few key differences:

1A--no contract at Swift if you get your cdl training with them. It's just a finance agreement. It's kinda hard to explain exactly how it works so I'll just sum it up. Swift deducts the cost of the schooling from your paychecks. The first year, you pay them half. Over the second year, they pay you back what you paid the first year. So it's free after two years. If you leave before a year, you end up having to pay more than half the cost. But they don't charge interest or keep you from getting hired elsewhere. It's not a bad deal at all.

1B--CR England has a 9 month contract (that was the length last time i checked). I don't know what happens if you leave early, but I believe they have some sort of no competition clause or something, so you have a hard time getting hired elsewhere??? An England driver needs to chime in here. Basically, if you plan on leaving during your first year, do yourself a favor and go with Swift. We don't recommend leaving during your first year anyways though.

2-- Swift's starting pay is higher than England's. I believe England has more raises during the first year (again need an England driver to chime in with specifics).

3--CR England is primarily (exclusively??) a reefer company. Swift hauls mostly dry but has tons of reefer freight as well since they acquired Central Refrigerated Service a couple of years ago.

4--training is set up differently. I can only speak for Swift since I don't know the specifics of the training structure at England. Swift puts you through 160 hrs of cdl training. If you pass and get your cdl, they send you to orientation and then you go out with a mentor for 200 behind-the-wheel (BTW) hrs. The first 50 are 100% supervised (mentor in front seat), and for the rest you are your mentor are dispatched as a team. Then you test out and get your own truck. The little I do know about CR England's training is that it involves alot more teaming and it lasts significantly longer.

Thanks for the replies. Going with Swift on Monday, I think I made the right choice. Maybe I'll do a training diary if I have time. It's a private school in North Carolina that Swift pays.

Phoenix needs to comment on this since she drives for CR England. Hopefully she still lurks lol.

I am still around, just stuck in the "no service" zone most of the time on this dedicated run within the dedicated fleet. I tried to post night before last, and lost service before I was able to submit it. Frustrating lol. Anyway, C.R.England doesn't push the lease program anymore. Their policy is now two years experience. I'm going to submit now before i lose service again...I'm heading into Nebraska and will be behind the wheel soon...but I will try to respond in more depth asap.

To the real OP who contacted me, this is why subspace networks (emails) aren't as good as an open post. More answers, and more accuracy.

Going to attempt to continue and hope I don't lose service quite yet. Perhaps I should create a diary or blog about CRE's training schedule. There really isn't much about them, and though we were really frustrated at the beginning because the pay was so low, as were our miles as rookies, we're now very very happy with our pay, our miles, and our DMs. We're so well taken care of here, it wouldn't make sense for us to begin at the bottom all over again somewhere else.

As for the training school... they wanted us to have our permits before arrival, (UT residents got theirs through the school while in class with us). They greyhounded us to SLC, UT (one of five schools) and put us up in a dorm-like room by ourselves. We started class at 6am Monday morning with lots of paperwork (including the contract - 6months for vets, 9months for the rest of us), the physical, and a urinalysis. We were informed that hair follicle tests would be by random selection over the next few days. I was not selected, but my husband was.

And I just lost service...ugh...lol... perhaps if I keep swiping I'll run through a town where I have service...then you'll all get whatever I have, incomplete or not lol.

Continuing...within 10 days of class, driving/shifting range/city driving, backing range, then testing out, we had our CDL A's and awaited a trainer to come pick us up, and head through our home state to arrange to get a hard copy of that license. Did I feel ready? Not just no, but hell no!! Have I been o.k. out here though? I haven't squashed anybody lol. Actually, knock on wood, we haven't had any incidents at all.

We went out together with that trainer for 160 hours (each), then headed back to upgrade (road and backing tests) from phase1 to phase2, which consisted of muy husband and I alone, driving as a team... wait for it.... in a brand new Cascadia... until our 6 month mark as company drivers. In phase 1, we earned $10/hr when driving and our state's min wage for all on duty/not driving time. In phase 2 we earned .14cpm for all routed miles the truck did.

We upgraded from phase two at five months and transferred to a Wal-Mart dedicated fleet, and now average $1100/wk gross (each) when we aren't called home for family emergencies. Home time brings that amount down, of course.

To be continued...hope this helps...

I'm baaack lol.

To continue, and to respond to some of Paul W.'s uncertainties regarding C.R. England..

1B England does have you sign a contract, and yes, it's 9 months, 6 months for vets, however, they do not deduct any payments for tuition from your pay. The debt is just forgiven once you've completed your contact. If you quit before your contract term is fulfilled, you owe them the entire amount of $4999 (i believe), plus a $2500 penalty. That's a lot, but $0 if you fulfill your end of the deal.

2 I was under the impression that Swift's starting pay was 0.26cpm or .013cpm for teams. Hmmm. England's starting wage, once you're officially hired, is 0.28cpm, or 0.14cpm for teams. And there are indeed raises throughout your first year. I deleted the chart I had downloaded, but I believe you get two cents per mile more ( split for teams), at 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months. I need to verify that though.

3 England hauls mostly refrigerated, but transports everything except tankers.

I realise I'm a little late with this info, but whenever I have the opportunity to post, it seems we are in farmland, and as my husband says...they must figure cows don't need internet.

two cents per mile more ( split for teams), at 6 months,

Error here...at six months your cpm goes up to 0.21 for teams. I have to check for solo, but 0.37cpm sounds about right. Then it's 2 cpm.

We went out together with that trainer for 160 hours (each)

Also an error...180 hours, but can be as low as 150, depending on need.

Sorry, I really need to proofread, but usually hurrying to post before I lose service.

Phoenix, THANK YOU. Great info. Yes, it would be a huge resouce to this site if you started a CRE diary. With above info and more details on training. Also would like to know if there is training pay? How much? When do you stat getting paid?