Refrigerated Intermodal Container(s) - JB Hunt - Trains Magazine

from: Samfp1943:

"... My big concern is dovetailing refrigerated product handling into the skill set of driver's w ho are primarily used to the dry freight side of how things are done...

...I know training within the driver pool will be a Corporate challenge, truck drivers sometimes can be pretty resistant to change their ideas of how things shoud be done..." 

greyhounds

"

edbenton

Greyhounds I hate to tell you this BUT JBHT will FAIL in this venture for one reason.  Their Drivers are NOT USED TO PULLING REEFERS.  Pulling a reefer trailer is a different animal.  Put it to you this ay it is like going from owning a Goldfish (Dry Van) and thinking you can keep a Coral Reef System alive (Reefer Trailers).  My last Carrier I drove for if you had NO REEFER EXPERIANCE when you hired in you SPENT ONE MONTH WITH A TRAINER to get to know all the IN'S AND OUTS of reefer Freight.  See what is the temp of one thing WILL NOT WORK FOR ANOTHER.  Also different things react differantly to how they are handled.  Smash Strawberries and you end up with MUSH same with Apricots Rasberries and Blueberries.  Yet Celery you can beat that to death.  So you see there is a fine line on how you treat it. 

You could be right Ed.  This whole thing could be a bust.  KLLM tried it before and couldn't/didn't make it work.

I know about the different temps (Chiquita Bananas go at 58 degrees.)

I don't think the problem will be the drivers.  Hunt can just hire carriers/drivers/supervisors/OO's that have temp controlled experience.  I think the container is the wrong vehicle for the job.  After working on this for over a year I came to the conclusion, hotly disputed by my partner, that the right rail vehicle was a RoadRailer/RailMate trailer.

We're just going to have to see how it plays out.

Greyhounds: I would not to pretend to speak to the appropriate equipment used in the Rail transport side of this refrigerated type of service. I see both refrigerated trailers and reefer containers on the BNSF out here, I never see the net results of the product arrival after the rail transport segment these days.

My experience was dealing with the drivers at conventional trucking operations, and within the recuitment and safety aspects of the same.

Ed Benton is right in all he states, I would suggest that the driver aspect will boil down to training, and more training in the aspects of handling refrigerated products. Each one has its own requirements for handling to achieve good product quality at destination.

The next major hurdle to overcome is the driver personel issues. Recruiting of drivers is an area of personel management that has its own set of challenges , a good recruiter must be smewhat of a Svengali and have the sociological understanding of Dr. Ruth with a combination of understanding and patience of a Saint.

First of all, most driver's are always willing to entertain a potential job change to a new carrier, particularly if that new carrier has a BIG Chrome-Heavy/big sleeper compartment, tractor with an engine approaching the size of a locomotive diesel.  That is what the new trucker wants( one with not a lot of road experience). The more seasoned driver is looking for fairly new tractor, preferably an assigned unit, and BENEFITS. They have realized that 'chrome and big motors' can potentially cost THEM wages in the long run. The new guy is still locked up in braggin and ego.  Not to mention the ultimate drivers come back to a recruiter " If I had wanted to drive for......., I'd already be working for them."

Companies like Hunt offer a driver, plenty of work, wage stability, and a reasonable benefit package, but there are trade-offs for the driver.( like no assigned units and forced dispatches, etc).  The one advantage that a company like Hunt has is the ability to offer a driver training and a knowledge base of information on how to handle different kinds of freight. The las is key to refrigerated ops as will be potential, enroute monitoring of loads by remote sensing (read Qualcom, or equivalent) and instaneous communications with the driver.

The training curve can be steep and expensive, at first. As Ed said, pallets of strawberry's can be pulped in a short trip, as well as other softer fruits and veggies. 

One thing for sure, I't will be an interesting ride for those involved, and those of us on the outside, I wish them LUCK.

Buckle your seatbelt, Office Jockey! You and your co-workers are in for a real ride.  

One thing for sure