American Central Transport/ACT
Topic 26472 | Page 1
Welcome to Trucking Truth, Jerry. First, one suggestion: don't waste your time looking for posted opinions (Truckers Report, Indeed, etc.), they are mostly bad. The people happy with their jobs are busy enjoying their lifestyle and don't have time to post the glowing stuff.
Being a small outfit, probably not many TT members have personal experience. One place to look is the FMCSA Company Snapshot for American Central Transport, which says:
307 Power Units but 287 Drivers! In the last 24 months, DOT inspections put 10.4% of their trucks Out Of Service (Industry wide is 20.72%) and 0.8% of drivers (Industry: 5.51%). Compare that with Prime: 7,099. Inspections: power units & 8,610 drivers. Truck OOS: 11%, driver OOS: 1.2%
CSA:
Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA)
The CSA is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities that are related to commercial motor vehicle
FMCSA:
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
The FMCSA was established within the Department of Transportation on January 1, 2000. Their primary mission is to prevent commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries.
What Does The FMCSA Do?
- Commercial Drivers' Licenses
- Data and Analysis
- Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement
- Research and Technology
- Safety Assistance
- Support and Information Sharing
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Fm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
Oh, yeah: here's some things you might find interesting:
- Trucking Company Reviews (Your ACT is not listed here.)
- Trucker's Career Guide: Choosing Your First Truck Driving Job
- Article Category: Finding The Right Truck Driving Job
- Forum Topics Tagged "Choosing A Trucking Company"
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
This probably won’t be useful, but I’ll put in my two cents. I’m not a driver - just someone who is considering becoming one - and I mostly lurk. I do happen to know ACT though. My brother in law’s dad started the company, and it’s still family owned. The oldest brother now runs the company. My brother in law says they put drivers first and go out of their way to keep them happy. Take that for what’s it worth - that’s coming from a part owner (one who isn’t even involved with the day to day operations of the company).
Being a small outfit, probably not many TT members have personal experience. One place to look is the FMCSA Company Snapshot for American Central Transport
thanks for the reply and the link to the FMCSA is really cool I've never used it before and it has a lot of information and even shows the type of freight they haul.
Overall I just wanted what people have to say, but if I call a recruiter I'll let you guys know. I'm not sure if they just have the one terminal in KC or not but overall they look impressive. btw while looking them up they made the "2019 best fleets to drive for" by the Truckload Carriers Association idk if TT uses that. I'm in a "route delivery" type job currently (similar to Gordon Foods/Coca Cola) and I'd say it's not for me I'm working 13 hour days lumping a truckload of refrigerated goods over 18 different stops. I'm probably gonna back to otr with a larger carrier because they have more drop and hook loads and I don't have any experience with the small companies.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
CSA:
Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA)
The CSA is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities that are related to commercial motor vehicle
FMCSA:
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
The FMCSA was established within the Department of Transportation on January 1, 2000. Their primary mission is to prevent commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries.
What Does The FMCSA Do?
- Commercial Drivers' Licenses
- Data and Analysis
- Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement
- Research and Technology
- Safety Assistance
- Support and Information Sharing
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Fm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.Drop And Hook:
Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.
In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.
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Has anyone else heard anything good or bad about ACT? I couldn't find anything on them at all and wondering what people have to say. They are a small outfit out of Kansas City. what sparked my interest in them is that I've been seeing their trucks a lot recently and a neighbor had a old cabover and now he works for ACT and parks the company truck in his yard now and looks like all their trucks are newer and well maintained. One thing that concerns me is that they have driver facing cameras and are a small fleet but let me know what you guys think