Driver Apprentice....Is FedEx In Need Of CDL Drivers?

FedEx freight has a ton of driver apprentice jobs posted for city and road. Is FedEx hard up for drivers? I’ve heard that they mostly promote from within so it is strange to me to see so many openings. Anyone know about this?

Banks will be by later im sure but thats how he got started. You can read his diary as a fed ex apprentice. Starting local is risky but it can be done, although we don't typically advise people take that route.

Good question Tyler. If you apply, please let us know how it goes and where you are, cuz I and others here are no doubt still at that stage…

Well, UPS is both somewhat different and similar to FedEx…I worked briefly for them this time last year as a "personal vehicle delivery driver" (using my small pickup truck, but they over-hired for the Xmas rush and basically laid off the newbies by not giving them work as soon as they saw the rush wasn’t as big as they’d hoped/feared… A major bummer cuz my learning curve was taking off and I was really into it, hoping to get hired on to their entry-level warehouse job after the rush, then get going OTR , which is the way it works there…And man, I really needed the work!) Driving for them that way seemed a clear path to a good trucking job…alas they chose to over-work their box truck drivers and promote from within. It’ll be interesting to hear what Banks knows, cuz I’ll bet that FedEx big rig jobs are similarly coveted internally (which was definitely true at UPS). Then I heard that Amazon was hiring like 10,000 employees nationwide and sure enough had regular local job postings, but checking regularly only brought up a notice saying something like "nothing was found"…ever.

I have read that thread and found it very informative. I am very comfortable with maneuvering and driving so I am very confident in city situations. But I have read your thought on starting out city and I think you are spot on for some individuals. However I do still have some questions about getting into the industry. A little background on myself, I am a new cdl A holder w/ two endorsements and a few months of straight truck experience. I’m looking to get into the LTL field and I’ve been doing a lot of research lately. I’ve had mixed opinions about how to get started. Some suggest starting on the dock for an unknown amount of tome, while other have told me dock work is no longer necessary with the need for drivers right now. Also I’m in south Florida which makes things a bit tougher, but I would be willing to relocate to make something happen. I would appreciate any thoughts or advice on this matter.

Old Dominion is hiring nationwide, my terminal needs at least 10 drivers currently. For some reason we along with other companies are having a hard time finding drivers right now. In the Chicago/Indianapolis region I know OD, FedEx, Dayton, Black Horse, UPS, ABF, XPO, Estes and Saia are all hiring right now.

Unfortunately south Florida is difficult because you can only go up with freight so it limits your options. I would check out those company's and see what they have.

As far as dock work it can very by company and by terminal so its hard to say.

Old Dominion is hiring nationwide, my terminal needs at least 10 drivers currently. For some reason we along with other companies are having a hard time finding drivers right now. In the Chicago/Indianapolis region I know OD, FedEx, Dayton, Black Horse, UPS, ABF, XPO, Estes and Saia are all hiring right now.

Unfortunately south Florida is difficult because you can only go up with freight so it limits your options. I would check out those company's and see what they have.

As far as dock work it can very by company and by terminal so its hard to say.

Thanks for the information. How do you like it at OD?

Good question Tyler. If you apply, please let us know how it goes and where you are, cuz I and others here are no doubt still at that stage…

Well, UPS is both somewhat different and similar to FedEx…I worked briefly for them this time last year as a "personal vehicle delivery driver" (using my small pickup truck, but they over-hired for the Xmas rush and basically laid off the newbies by not giving them work as soon as they saw the rush wasn’t as big as they’d hoped/feared… A major bummer cuz my learning curve was taking off and I was really into it, hoping to get hired on to their entry-level warehouse job after the rush, then get going OTR , which is the way it works there…And man, I really needed the work!) Driving for them that way seemed a clear path to a good trucking job…alas they chose to over-work their box truck drivers and promote from within. It’ll be interesting to hear what Banks knows, cuz I’ll bet that FedEx big rig jobs are similarly coveted internally (which was definitely true at UPS). Then I heard that Amazon was hiring like 10,000 employees nationwide and sure enough had regular local job postings, but checking regularly only brought up a notice saying something like "nothing was found"…ever.

I plan on doing more research in the next month or so and making some decisions. I will post my experiences

I really like it I hope to retire from here in 34 years.

I've been here a little over 3 years and due to Covid will come up a little short of my 100k goal for the year.

I really like it I hope to retire from here in 34 years.

I've been here a little over 3 years and due to Covid will come up a little short of my 100k goal for the year.

That’s really inspiring, Im looking forward to getting to that point one day. I’ve heard great things about working for OD and to be honest after researching all of the big LTLs I think I’m gonna put a great deal of effort into getting in with OD in the beginning of the new year. I’ve even considered working the dock for them if necessary to get my shot. Are you doing linehaul or city?

Each FedEx center has a set number of drivers they need to have to be considered fully staffed. That number varies by center, but it's pretty much set in stone. At my center its 86 road drivers and 80 city drivers. The apprentice program isn't anything new. My trainer went through the program 5 years ago and so did my mentor. They were in the same class.

FedEx does mostly promote from within. Drivers at that center get first crack at jobs and then it goes nationwide. If the positions don't get filled, then it goes public. A lot of full-time dock workers have no interest in driving. They make a high hourly wage and get time and a half after 8 hours. In my building, they top out at 26 an hour and they don't have any of the responsibilities we have. They don't get drug tested and nobody cares about their driving record.

Not being able to find drivers isn't all that surprising. Experienced drivers prefer to go somewhere that doesn't require dock work and all of the LTL companies are hiring right now. The leg up I give to FedEx is that during the height of COVID, they didn't layoff a single full-time employee. Road drivers that had their runs cancelled had the option to either stay home or work the dock for 8 hours. When FedEx ground got backed up, a lot of freight guys went to ground and pulled their trailers. I made a lot of money at ground this year. I'm hitting 65-70K this year and I got my first progression raise in August. I have 2 more raises before I'm at top rate.

FedEx freight did do voluntary furloughs in April. A lot of guys decided to retire and others moved on. The ones that decided to come back, came back right to their seniority spots.

If you have any other questions, please post them.