Universal Am Can Ltd.

So anyone out there work for this company? As a owner operator or company driver? Anyone else have problems? FYI if you are thinking about working for them DON'T they don't give 2 shits about their drivers!

Was with their sister company Mason-Dixon for 5 months. Our last load was 4 partials loading out of Atlanta going to 4 stops from pittsburgh to philly, truck broke down 20 miles before the first stop so they didnt pay me for the WHOLE TRIP and is sueing me for the fuel I charged along the way. Still negotiating with their collection agency to resolve but you can be sure THEY ARE BLOOD SUCKERS AND WILL TRY TO BANKRUPT YOU AFTER A FEW MONTHS ESPECIALLY IF YOU DONT PLAY BALL THE WAY they WANT YOU TOO!!

They are owned by some towell heads in Dearborn Michigan who bought up a few companies and busted the unions and screw their owner-operators. Central freight,Great American Lines,Economy Transport are a few of their companies. They are already in bed with the Mexican Trucking companies hauling into the U.S.
They are a bunch of crooked ass broker screwing owner-op's I know a guy who used to be leased to Great American before they merged and it went to hell!

Central is NOT related to Universal Am Can

yes, broker girl central transport is part of ,and or owned by utsi. anyway i am looking for anyone who has gotton screwed by cherokee ins that is by the way owned by universal.

Iam Thinking About putting my truck over there want to Know more about company

here is a story about and a link
At the center of CenTra is Central Transport International, a less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier that operates throughout North America.(LTL carriers combine freight from multiple shippers into a single truckload.) Central Transport International and its affiliates operate from about 200 terminals, mainly in the eastern US. CenTra's CTX unit provides expedited freight transport, and its Central Global Express offers freight forwarding. The company also owns the Ambassador Bridge, a toll bridge that connects Detroit with Windsor, Ontario. CEO Manuel Moroun and his son Matthew control CenTra, which was founded by Manuel Moroun's father. The Morouns also control freight hauler Universal Truckload Services.

http://www.hoovers.com/centra,-inc./--ID__993...

Not true. Universal Am-Can is a subsidiary of Central Transport International. The owner of Central is on the Board of Universal. I worked for him.

Short Dogg wrote:

Iam Thinking About putting my truck over there want to Know more about company

Don't you'll regret it!!

We have worked for UACL on and off since 1995. We are owner/operators. As with any trucking company, you have to learn your way around. As with any trucking company, you learn which loads are money makers and which are not. My biggest complaint is the percentage (33%) that UACL gets of the ancillary charges such as stop pay, layover pay, detention pay etc. In my opinion they are not entitled to any of that. That being said, they pay quickly, most times the same day paperwork is submitted. They have a huge network of dispatchers that you are free to call for loads. If you are willing to do a little looking on your own you rarely are left sitting still. Owner/operators have no forced dispatch. You need to do some research regarding the terminal you are thinking of joining. Talk to other drivers from that terminal.

As anyone has ever known, Manny Maroun, has owned several companies. First starting out as Central Transport, then several others including UACL. I worked for them between 1990 to 1996, and even though they were a bit shady about things, they were easy to deal with then. I first worked for a broker, for them, and then after that as an owner operator. I never had any trouble getting my money from them. If I had any troubles, I could go personally to their home office in Warren, MI, and talk to someone face to face. I pulled a flatbed, for about four years, hauling steel, and a ven for two years, hauling automotive parts. Only reason I left, because a friend of mine talked me into going on with Heartland Express, and was that a mistake. I am not sure about the merger with the some "towel heads", but will check into it, since there is a UACL office here where I live, that I worked for then. I am still an O/O, and thinking about going back to UACL, or at least was thinking about it, until I read about it here.

Vito wrote:

We have worked for UACL on and off since 1995. We are owner/operators. As with any trucking company, you have to learn your way around. As with any trucking company, you learn which loads are money makers and which are not. My biggest complaint is the percentage (33%) that UACL gets of the ancillary charges such as stop pay, layover pay, detention pay etc. In my opinion they are not entitled to any of that. That being said, they pay quickly, most times the same day paperwork is submitted. They have a huge network of dispatchers that you are free to call for loads. If you are willing to do a little looking on your own you rarely are left sitting still. Owner/operators have no forced dispatch. You need to do some research regarding the terminal you are thinking of joining. Talk to other drivers from that terminal.

As far as you getting 67%, the Michigan based company I am leased to now, only pays 66%. Then they bitch if I miss a day. Guess we know who we are paying to work for, LOL. If you look at most companies, they are paying between 66 to 75 percent of the revenue. What really hurts in this situation is the dead head miles, where at least I don't get anything for doing. When I was at UACL, most of the trips, if automotive paid return miles, because of having empty racks, which was nice. The steel hauling we did, was from Michigan to Indiana, and Ohio, so the deadhead, if we couldn't find a back haul, wasn't too bad.

Onespeed and Halfspeed wrote:

Was with their sister company Mason-Dixon for 5 months. Our last load was 4 partials loading out of Atlanta going to 4 stops from pittsburgh to philly, truck broke down 20 miles before the first stop so they didnt pay me for the WHOLE TRIP and is sueing me for the fuel I charged along the way. Still negotiating with their collection agency to resolve but you can be sure THEY ARE BLOOD SUCKERS AND WILL TRY TO BANKRUPT YOU AFTER A FEW MONTHS ESPECIALLY IF YOU DONT PLAY BALL THE WAY they WANT YOU TOO!!

Not sure if I understand the whole situation here. I had that happen to me for another company one time. I advanced $200, on a load, and broke down in the driveway leaving to get the load. I called them up, and they told me that they were going to file charges on me for stealing their money. I told them I would be up there (Ada, MI) and give them their money back, so not to create a fuss, or legal problems. I went to the bank, got $200 in one dollar bills, and took it to Ada. They had a little window, so you couldn't get your hands around the dispatcher's neck, LOL, so I fanned out the 200 one dollar bills, and told them here is your money back, and I threw it in the air thru the window. He was pissed. I also told them I quit, and never heard anything from them again.=====Now in your situation, if you had paid them your fuel money back, I think legally they would have to pay you for your load. I know it doesn't seem right, but sometimes you have drop the pride, and do it right to get paid.

Universal and it's sister companies, overall, are good companies to work for. I do NOT force dispatch our drivers, I negotiate for the best rates per load that I can get and I do everything in my power to make sure that my drivers stay loaded, with good freight, and to the locations that they want to go to. Not all terminals are perfect, as with any company, you will have the bad eggs that spoil the bunch. I know for myself and my drivers that work out of my terminal, we have a grest working relationship and they are like family to me. Don't judge a company based on a few drivers who have had bad experiences. Every company has an ex-driver that is going to complain, even if he made good money. Thanks.

Onespeed and Halfspeed wrote:

Was with their sister company Mason-Dixon for 5 months. Our last load was 4 partials loading out of Atlanta going to 4 stops from pittsburgh to philly, truck broke down 20 miles before the first stop so they didnt pay me for the WHOLE TRIP and is sueing me for the fuel I charged along the way. Still negotiating with their collection agency to resolve but you can be sure THEY ARE BLOOD SUCKERS AND WILL TRY TO BANKRUPT YOU AFTER A FEW MONTHS ESPECIALLY IF YOU DONT PLAY BALL THE WAY they WANT YOU TOO!!

They are norm for the majority of the sh*t companies in Savannah, Georgia & South Carolina. they screw all the owner-operator truckers in the ground and then wonder where why they can't find trucks? the next several months are going to be the worst ever in trucking but when it returns late next year there will be a trucker shortage beyond belief for these bast*rds. Check the site these container haulers have in the southeast. www.porttrucker.com LOL everyone for the new year!!!

i am working for universal with my truck and am very happy with them. it depends on your agent. cheryl in chago or mike in charleston wv. are real fair and work for ya.

Sounds like a bunch of "its their fault, never mine" type of drivers here. Those drivers that require a-lot of hand holding to get the job done correctly will always have issues, regardless of where they go. Learn the program and make it work for YOU!

UACL Employee wrote:

Universal and it's sister companies, overall, are good companies to work for. I do NOT force dispatch our drivers, I negotiate for the best rates per load that I can get and I do everything in my power to make sure that my drivers stay loaded, with good freight, and to the locations that they want to go to. Not all terminals are perfect, as with any company, you will have the bad eggs that spoil the bunch. I know for myself and my drivers that work out of my terminal, we have a grest working relationship and they are like family to me. Don't judge a company based on a few drivers who have had bad experiences. Every company has an ex-driver that is going to complain, even if he made good money. Thanks.

UACL is buying Pacer Transport, Inc. to close Aug. 17,'09. Do you know if UACL has a dispatch office anywhere close to D/FW Tx.?

Well not only are they buying out Pacer they are buying out Jaro. My boyfriend is between jobs and applied to both companies only to be told that they were being bought out my UACL. Just an FYI

maddog wrote:

<quoted text>
They are norm for the majority of the sh*t companies in Savannah, Georgia & South Carolina. they screw all the owner-operator truckers in the ground and then wonder where why they can't find trucks? the next several months are going to be the worst ever in trucking but when it returns late next year there will be a trucker shortage beyond belief for these bast*rds. Check the site these container haulers have in the southeast. www.porttrucker.com LOL everyone for the new year!!!

You were right on about the next several months Maddog, how about the whole damn yearof 2009 so far!! Good site www.porttrucker.com I checked it out & go to it often to keep up, boy this can hauling business is a dog eat dog industry, worse now than ever.