owner operator driver

cargo handler

truck driver

office administrator

customer service representative

Forward Air

Not enough loads for the owner operators in ltx.  This company tells you drivers will get no less than 2,000 miles per week, but taht is not the case for at first 5 to 6 months of the year.  Drivers have told me that starting in july through the end of the year you will get more miles than you want, but the 1st part of the year drivers will starve.

They also don't pay tolls and scale tickets in a timely manner.  I have tolls and scale tickets from over a month ago that are still not paid even after calling them multiple times.  Their fuel surcharge is also a joke.. Fuel surcharge is like $.05 Cents/per mile.

They also won't pay you for sitting and waiting when there is a problem with their trailer.  I was tied up two days because of a problem with their trailer and they told me they don't pay owner operators for sitting and waiting.  I took their trailer to the shop and waited a total of 8.5 Hours, went home and came back and waited more time, then went to load again and the trailer was rejected again.  Three weeks later and I still have not been paid and was just told if I was a company driver I would have been paid by the hour for my time, but since I am an owner operator forward air does not pay for that.

I am waiting for a call to leave this company any day now..

Stay away from forward if you are an owner operator they don't care about us!!!

1) "a typical day at work": When, and if the manager(s) decided that assigned Truck would or would not be repaired, the wait to get into the assigned repair shop was ridiculous.

2) "what you learned": My time was wasted at Forward Air, Inc.; the company was definitely not ready to take on a 'Company Driver' operation; based on the age, and or condition of the Trucks offered to this Driver. Those Trucks should have either been repaired or traded in.

3) "management": Management appears to have long term job security with the company.

4) "your co-workers": That would be Dispatchers; Yard-workers; Truck, and Trailer Maintenance Department personnel; other office personnel, all appear to have secure long term employment.

5) "the hardest part of the job": Waiting for maintenance, and or for management to decide whether or not to have the maintenance performed on the assigned Trucks. Trying to contact personnel, within various departments by phone; long wait times, too much voice mail with no return calls. Being terminated from my job for doing the job right.

6) "the most enjoyable part of the job": Knowing that I gave my very best efforts when doing my job, and hoping that the employees, and or management would take the appropriate measures to turn the situation around resulting in a better outcome for those involved.

A typical day at work would start with organizing pallets in rows and cleaning up the area that we were going to be using of wrap, broken pallets, and wood shards. Then we would offload a trailer that would be full to the ceiling with boxes, totes, and other material, by hand onto a conveyor belt that would be scanned before stacking them on their designated pallet that went to a specific store/ driver. After that we would offload other trailers either with manual pallet jacks or fork lift depending if the merchandise had made it to the warehouse still on the pallets or if the pallets had fallen over then we would have to take the time to build them up all over again and that's what would eat into our loading time for our drivers. After we would organize the pallets and merchandise based on the drivers delivery route we would then load the trucks and make sure that we would include all the necessary equipment needed for the job. EX: Pallet jack, Dolly, Breakdowns, and straps. After that we would clean up the warehouse of most of the clutter "Pallets and wrap" then we would leave the warehouse exhausted and depending on the loads we would get our work hours would very from 6-11 hour work days.

This has to be one of the worst companies in Montgomery, AL to work for. From top to bottom. 

The Current Terminal Manager - Prejudice, manipulative, judgemental, and lack inter and intrapersonal skills. 

Driver Check-In - The responsibilities doesn't add up to the hourly wage. Underpaid. No salary.

Transportation Supervisor - Is very reliable and knowledgeable in his position but can if pressured by the TM, he can make mistakes.

Dock - They're lazy and lack discipline. Unproductive. But at times can do wonderful things if motivate

Supervisors - From my experience, they worked diligently and tolerated a lot of things from the TM. They focused on maintaining quality production and were very hands on.

Office Reps and Managers - Many of the personnel that had a position in the office didn't last long. Whether it was the current terminal manager trying to enforce policies that wasn't company policies or mistreating and discrediting they office personnel, they all had anonymous reasons for leaving. 

Drivers - Some are good, some are bad and at often times are taken advantage of. 


If you don't want to work in an environment that is going to depreciate your employment value with no room for growth, do not apply here. 

The "buddy-buddy" system is very effective as well. It was once diverse; now the ratio has changed dramatically. 

Corporate should do a better job in selecting who they hire as managers.

Well, overall is a decent company to work for. I was brought on for a newly created role, where there was zero corporate support. I was blessed with great managers that worked in operations, so there are zero complaints in that department. Unfortunately, there are office politics within the corporate office (based in Ohio) which has a Recruiting Director that is, for lack of a better term, very power hungry and wants control of all recruiters within the company, regardless of what department or org chart. 

If an operations recruiter (one that has to travel frequently to satellite sites) needs marketing support - such as placards, signs, online advertising, etc announcing a job fair - ALL contact info is to go to the corporate recruiting group, which means that the field recruiter will receive zero credit which means said recruiter will not meet required metrics. 

Outside of the HR Director, there is ZERO HR support for issues outside of benefits questions, and even that is on a limited basis. 

If one develops a serious illness, be prepared for zero support, as you will be responsible for initiating any claims to the third party STD/LTD company. If said serious illness requires a job change, ie: Remote work for a position you are well qualified for... well, that is not allowed. 

Overall, I give it 3 stars.

As a company driver, Forwardair soluiton will  use you up. you will work about 10-14 hours a day, your pay is based off of a   set zone pay.or 18% of your truck. to get the 18% you are going to have about 800-1000 boxes you are going to have to deliver by hand. This is a touch freight job, but you still want even make 300 hundred dollars for the day of work. you work quick 10, meaning you go home and come back in 10 hours no home life. all deliveres are made on window times,if you are late to them to much they will be ready to fire you. all the class B trucks have high miles they always break down.when you have a heavy case day you will not get any help they dont believe in team work. they dont have good equipment to work with to move the freight. when Christmas come they want you to work 6 days straight for three months. the dispatcher sucks there what ever the owner/operator dont want they put it on your truck and make your day longer. your start times will be 2AM-3to4 is when you will get off. mangement will not have your back, i repeat mangement will not have your back. and its a lot more ( BS) you will go through as well. so you will have to work there to see for your self. but i wouldn't recommend this company to anyone. thats on the FORWARD AIR SOLUITON side.

Very disappointed in this company. Went though training going though a Manuel having the trainer reading to you. Near the end of training you are on a computer to complete test. On the floor with the trainer taking calls then the trainer takes control of the computer to complete the transaction for the caller. In order to answer another call. Once you are turned loose and have questions you are told to use your book while you have a customer waiting. Not good Customer Service then the caller gets frustrated because they are on hold for so long. 

Coworkers are afraid to talk to each other due to management will send an instant message less talking more answering phones. You are ask to take short lunches due to the volume of calls. Turn over rate I noticed was very high. Not a fun place to work.  Management did buy lunch  and doughnuts at certain times.

I saw people crying due to stress. Not the work environment most people enjoy working in. 

Management friendly when you are hired in and in training. After training you are a number. 

A typical day: Being on the phone all day taking calls. An hour lunch if you are lucky and two fifteen minute breaks if you work eight hours.

Is it easy money? yes. However, is it worth your mental health? Nope. These people are supposed to be your boss and they have no idea how to run a smooth, efficient, safe company. They don’t even communicate to each other and just telling the workers  different things. Now you’re stuck with 2 different methods that are the exact opposite and don’t know who to follow. These people are ADULTS but they clearly don’t act like one. They do not care about your well-being. Two people tested positive for Covid and guess what they’re doing? Nothing. No plan, no way to compensate whatsoever. Now you don’t even know what will happen to you if you end up testing positive as well. They hire ANYBODY as long as they breathe and their hours are ridiculous. You never ever expect to leave on time but they expect you to come extra early. If you’re working for a specific shift, best believe you will stay for the next shift even though they hired people for that specific shift as well. So now you’re stuck working 2 shifts for no reason because these people are incompetent. You can find yourself working from lunch time and won’t leave till the NEXT day after 2am. Latest, 6am. 

The good: Paycheck, weekly pay, and maybe weekends off. Might of changed with this company. 

The bad: weekends off, but might guilt trip you into working or try. 
Dash cams yes I realize their worth. You'll also realize you lost your job during a pandemic now that they've installed them. Won't show footage, won't discuss, won't take into consideration your driving record over 5 years, or anything. Just put you out on the street like you just started there.
Inter-modal equipment no brakes, bad brakes, light issues, wiring issues, expired yearly inspection, low psi, flat tires, no tires, loosely screwed on tires, flat spots, etc extremely long waiting lines for various things at rail yards. mechanics unwilling to help at rail yards. ABS issues that won't be resolved by forward air, or the owner of the chassis. I can guarantee you it'll be resolved by the dot and it'll be on you.   
all the insurance options are terrible.

The biggest mistake to sign up with the company. The ad sounds promising, but there is also an untold part of the truth. There is no word anywhere, and no one will tell you, until after the orientation is completed, that the job is 100% OVERNIGHT. Even worse - as a new driver ( at the company because they do not care if you have spent your entire life on the road)- you will get no miles to run. 
This is how the work goes: In the morning, they dispatch everyone, but the process is very biased. As a "new" driver, you will be the last to be considered. So, be prepared to get a load with minimum miles( 200-300 miles), if any. Then, the entire day you will sit like a dog at the terminal till about 11 PM to pick up your load. BUT(!) do not feel lucky yet, because half of the time, they will cancel the load on you at the last minute. In reality, it is not canceled, but they need this load for another driver who just arrived at the terminal and has been working for them longer or for the team, which is always their priority. In my case, it was happening literally with every other load. All of it will be done to you very politely but ruthlessly. They only need you to cover what no other driver( with seniority) wants. So, do not let them fool you. 


Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Owner operator driver 222 salaries reported	$3,166 per week
Cargo handler 26 salaries reported	$16.51 per hour
Truck driver 116 salaries reported	$25.18 per hour
Office administrator 6 salaries reported	$19.31 per hour
Customer service representative 10 salaries reported	$21.05 per hour

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