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ABF Freight System reviews

4.3
(4)
•
$1,000 - $1,731/week

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Summary

Overall

Home Time

Equipment and Maintenance

Dispatchers and Managers

Salary Surveys

$1,000 $1,402 $1,731
weekly average

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Ratings and Reviews

Current Employee - Jan 7, 2019

Orientation was 3 days, and I did one trip to Mississippi and back before going on my own. Orientation was 8 hours of pay per day ($24.92/hr) and I got paid for the one trip with a trainer as if I had been by myself (62.6 cpm). Here is all the info I can think of to pass along: You have thirty days of probation. I was at full pay from day one. Benefits start after probation ends. Automatic enrollment. Probation, it’s ok if you screw up, just don’t get in a wreck or a serious moving violation. 62.6 CPM. It is essentially hub miles. A few routes we run, there are quicker ways to get there than the pay route, but for the most part you’re truly paid for every mile. Want to go a longer way? Go out of route for some bubbas BBQ? No problem, just don’t expect to get paid for it. $24.92 hourly pay. Hourly pay you get when you’re told to come in at 9, and the load isn’t ready or hooked yet. You get it for any time on other yards while doing hooking yourself, which only seems to happen 2-3 times a week at the most. If there’s a dock worker doing the hooking you still get paid the same to wait while they do the work. At large terminals like Atlanta, Winston Salem, Little Rock, Dayton, etc. you’ll never do the hooking yourself. Other terminals you may only do the hooking yourself at night or on weekends and whatnot. If you’re at a terminal and have to take the truck to a hotel, you get 15 min to drop your set. And another 15 when you come back to hook to your set. If the set isn’t strung, then of course you get paid actual time, not just the 15 minutes and depending on the situation you may get paid a penalty for your set not being hooked when you start your shift out of a hotel. You get hourly pay at the shop if you’re pretripping a truck and find a problem, and on the road if you are broken down and need roadside. No free time is given for that, it starts when the breakdown happens, not after thirty minutes or anything like that. Having started in August, I am averaging $1718.12 a week which is just shy of $90k a year if that average continues. There are drivers making over $100k here, and not just ones that have been around 20 years and have all the seniority. It is possible to hit $100k your third or even second year. I’ve had paychecks over $2600, lowest one was like $930 and that was only for 4 days work. We get five sick days per year, paid at 8 hours which is almost $200. Use them or lose them. If you haven’t used em by thanksgiving or so, start claiming them on your off days. You don’t have to call in sick to use them, but you can’t work on a day you claim one either. One week of vacation first year, two weeks after that. It builds up to five weeks after 20 years, I’m not sure when you get three or four. You earn vacation for the year after 180 shifts, or about 7-8 months of work depending on how much you work. Vacation is paid as 6 days of work and based on your average daily earnings. Layover is paid starting at the 16th hour, with a two hour minimum. This would happen at the hotel. You get up to 8 hours pay, give ten hours for free, then start getting paid for up to 8, and so on. Meal allowance is paid as well at certain intervals as well as at a higher rate and more frequent interval if your layover starts on a Sunday. Holidays are paid at 8 hours, again, almost $200. These include New Years, 4th of July, Labor Day, thanksgiving and the day after, Christmas Eve and day. If you work on a holiday you get the 8 hours as well as a 4 hour bonus, and of course whatever your run for the day pays. Your birthday and company anniversary date are paid as holidays. Insurance (health, dental, and vision) is all provided at no cost for you, your spouse, and your children. This is not cheap insurance. It is blue cross for health, not sure what the dental and vision is. Very low deductibles and prescription cost, vision is very good, dental is very good. I’m a former HR exec and this insurance plan is one of the best ones available, free or not. Retirement is sort of a toss. There is a 401k plan, but no match. The plan is decent, good investment options for the average person to set it and forget it. The reason we don’t get a match is because of the pension we receive. I won’t go into the pension because it will likely be bankrupt within a decade. I’m saving enough to not count on the pension or social security, and that isn’t difficult to do with what ABF pays. Hometime: You can take off after 6, 12, and 18 shifts. After 6 shifts you get 58 hours off, 12 you get 72, 18 you get 96 hours off. If you aren’t at your home terminal at the end of your 6th shift, then the next time you end a shift at your home terminal, you are then allowed to take off as if it were your 6th trip. Seniority date is based on your first shift. We have 139 or so road drivers in Atlanta, and looking at the seniority list it looks like people who have been here say, five years, are around the 90s-low 100s in seniority. A lot of guys here are nearing retirement age(or past it)so I imagine over the next five years people may be moving up the board very quickly. Seniority get you out of your home terminal first and gives you first choice of available runs. Expect shorter runs a lot for the first year or two with some longer runs mixed in, and as the longer you stay, that will reverse. Of course if you have the seniority and want the short runs, you could do that too I guess. We have bid runs, about 65-70 of them so about half the board. I would guess to get a bid run paying $90k+ you’ll have to be here 8-10 years. But $90k is possible for a hard worker on the extra board from pretty much day one. The hotels we stay at are decent for the most part, a couple are trashy, a couple are very nice. Once you punch out to go to the hotel they can call you as soon as 8 hours with a 2 hour notice to return.

Pros

High pay, home every other day 90% of the time, great health insurance at no cost, not much hard work like hooking trailers as they’re mostly pre hooked for you.

Cons

Pension will be bankrupt in 7 years, work can be slow in January.

Home Time
Equipment and Maintenance
Dispatchers and Managers

Current Employee - Jul 28, 2018

Great driving job. Managment trust you to do your job and let you run your route your way no micro managment. Great benifit package . great pay per hour yearly raises and home for dinner or breakfreast every day.difficult to get in . union job. But great place to work

Pros

Pay and benifits. No micro managment

Cons

None.

Home Time
Equipment and Maintenance
Dispatchers and Managers

Current Employee - Sep 8, 2017

Best pay and home time I have ever had in this industry. We get paid 62 vets a mile on practical measures miles and a little over 24$ per hour while waiting, broke down, dropping and hooking, and hotel delay time

Pros

Great home time, pay and benefits

Cons

Not really anything negative to say about this company

Home Time
Equipment and Maintenance
Dispatchers and Managers

Former Employee - Jun 17, 2017

Pay not good; $24.00 per hour max to work like an animal. Hiring process ridiculous; extensive and very lengthy background checks for a low paying job driving a truck. Managers act as if they actually own the company and micromanage employees continuously while the employees perform the same, repetitive tasks over and over again.

Pros

Decent health benefits as well as a retirement pension, although both are provided through the Teamsters Union.

Cons

Home Time
Equipment and Maintenance
Dispatchers and Managers

Salary Surveys

Company Driver - 5+ Years CDL Experience

Surveyed in Carlisle, PA on Feb 13, 2021

$1,731 per week

Current Employee

No

Company Driver - 1-5 Months CDL Experience

Surveyed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Dec 13, 2020

$1,000 per week

Current Employee

No

Company Driver - 5+ Years CDL Experience

Surveyed in Cabool, Missouri on Jan 15, 2020

$1,120 per week

Current Employee

No

Company Driver - 1 Year CDL Experience

Surveyed in Atlanta, GA on Jan 7, 2019

$1,731 per week

Current Employee

Yes

Company Driver - 5+ Years CDL Experience

Surveyed in Norfolk, va on Jul 28, 2018

$1,538 per week

Current Employee

Yes

Discussions

ABF

Sean_Memphis

Feb 12, 2015

ABF

Q: I didn't see a forum for ABF: What does ABF look for in a new driver/how to get hired on?

A: I heard ABF is a solid company, I'm interested in looking into them myself, I've been using this forum to research all the prime jobs... LtL is my choice of trucking, it's more $ by clock & more cpm by" click".... beverage & food seems to be more hectic driving although most local driving is a little more hairy canary, but you get bored sitting in the sattle for hrs and you see your family every day & live a fuller life

Full Discussion
ABF Freight P&D career info please.

Drake L.

Feb 11, 2016

ABF Freight P&D career info please.

Q: Im about to get my CDL at C1 truck driver training and i was wondering is ABF a good career choice for a local ltl career. I live about a half mile away from ABF and Averitt. I was wondering what is the pay, benefits, perks, and retirement like. I really want to use this experience to get my foot through the door at UPS as a delivery driver or tractor trailer driver. Do you guys think i should focus on ABF or try to get into UPS asap.


A: ABF has their own training and CDL course. You might want to ask them about that instead of doing it yourself first. Plus certain terminals like to hire or bring on their own. Some Companies like to train you their way. Plus getting a free CDL is worth it. That's their home office I'm sure they have a program plus you might have to start on the dock for that particular program. But seniority starts the minute you work there even on dock cause it's a union gig. If it's down the street id try to get on.

Full Discussion
ABF

driverjoe

Sep 21, 2012

ABF


 Q: Can anyone tell me anything about ABF? As a road driver how long does it take to move up the board to get put on a steady bid/turn? Are u on call for long? Thinking of maybe going with them but not sure I can deal with being on call. Thanks

 

A: Go there and dont look back. They are teamsters, and pay very well! You will be on an extra board for quite some time as the turn-over rate is very very VERY low. I didnt take the job because they are a hour away and didnt feel like being on call for that. I work at YRC where Im not on call, but im a city driver and go in every day at 8am. If there is no work they call me, or if someone is late they go home and I get their route for the day.


Full Discussion
ABF Freight

SMIDAK

May 20, 2016

ABF Freight

Q: Anyone here know how long the process is for abf freight hiring process?

 

A: Very long and very thorough. Usually around 3 months

Full Discussion
NEMF or ABF

232trucker

Jun 29, 2016

NEMF or ABF

Q: Hey guys. I have been over the road for 2 yrs and it's time to come home.. I live in Nyc and looking for a local job. It's either NEMF in old bethpage, NY of ABF in bay shore, NY, please any advice on these 2 companies, pay, routes or which one you think is best well be helpful. I am trying to bring home at least $850 a week and be home everyday..


A: ABF no vacation until you have been there 2 years, then 1 week. 2 weeks after 8 years. Retirement plan is pension which is likely near bankruptcy.

A: ABF also has better equipment. 

Full Discussion
ABF road driver

Cajuntex

May 5, 2016

ABF road driver

Q: i just applied and now I'm trying to get some info from a ABF road driver. What is the schedule , average miles, CPM. Thanks

 

A: ABF has ALOT of Senior drivers. Drivers that came in when OTR and running miles was the "in" thing to do. So they do have a lot of retirements coming up but don't get your hopes up about having a schedule or a bid. Money's there in Cpm better then 90% of company trucking jobs. Just like getting experience you gotta do your time. So expect to work 6-7 days a week and work thru the weekends. This is for any LTL linehaul job. Too many people come in hoping to have weekends off like its a guarantee then get mad when they can't get what they want as a Jr guy. Sorry it's trucking it's LTL extra board. You got to sit down and really think about it before you make a move into any LTL outfit. I don't run for ABF but us LTL guys do talk to each other. We are always trying to recruit each other lol.

 

Full Discussion
Old Dominion or ABF

JenV

Apr 5, 2016

Old Dominion or ABF

Q: Hello, I started HACC, and I LOVE it! ABF is coming to talk to the class today, and Old Dominion is coming Thursday. I understand ABF is union with company-paid benefits. I understand ABF has a higher pay rate. I understand Old Dominion has a pay rate just shy of ABF. I understand Old Dominion's line haul job is AWESOME. Which one would you choose and why, ABF or Old Dominion? (I know there is an older post of this nature. I'm looking for current info.) Thank you!

 

A: Depends on the individual situation, both companies are excellent choices for a CAREER opportunity. If you were able to suck it up on the extra board for a while, ABF would be the choice. Marginally higher wages with FREEinsurance = greater take home pay, not to mention the pension, although some will question it's solvency. 

 

A: JenV said they were going to HACC so that means they may live around Carlisle, just a guess though. Both companies are great, I work for ABF and a friend of mine works for OD. I am linehaul and he runs team. He made around 120k last year while I would have made 80 if not for illness. His benefits are cheap per week while mine are free, I think he pays like $18 a week or something. I am not one of those pro union or anti union guys I just want whats best for your situation so it really depends on what you want.

Full Discussion
UPSF,Fedex freight,Old dominion or ABF

canviskiller

May 12, 2016

UPSF,Fedex freight,Old dominion or ABF

The ABF drivers I run into (in Columbus) are all super-busy, working tons of hours, even during slow times. Their terminal here is small because they have a monster hub in Dayton, so Columbus is an end-of-line terminal despite being a much bigger city. They need more space, but can't really expand where they're at. I think that's one reason they are stuck personnel-wise. They can't hire as many drivers as they'd need, because there's no room for any extra equipment in there. 

Full Discussion
ABF

plankton

Jul 22, 2015

ABF

ABF will and does check everything, if you lie or omit ANYTHING they will trash the app and you will never hear from them. I have 2 friends that work there good company , vacation sucks for new guys, 100% paid ins and pension

Full Discussion
ABF Freight P&D career info please.

Drake L.

Feb 11, 2016

ABF Freight P&D career info please.

I would be very surprised if abf hired you right outta driving school but like most companies they are hurting for drivers. Top pay is around $25 an hour. You start out at 90% of that amount for 1 year and then top out. Your insurancefor you and your family will be paid for fully by abf. They also pay into a pension plan for you and you will collect $75 for every year worked at the age of retirement. You have to work 2 years to gain your first week of vacation.

Full Discussion