Letters to the Editor: The Pros at CF

img src="/sites/default/files/images/articles/printeditiontag_new.gif" width=120 align=right>While Consolidated Freightways was not one of our primary carriers, our company did have some freight stuck in their system following their untimely demise. At first we were going to let the freight run its course, but it quickly became an urgent situation, as we now needed the material.

After contacting the local terminal we were informed that our shipment had yet to be recovered. I requested that they flag our shipment and I would arrange for pickup at their location.

Even though they were working with a skeleton crew, the staff at the Phoenix terminal shortly recovered our shipment and called me to tell me it was now available. Even under their given situation, they were still courteous and professional. It is people that make the industry work, and I tip my hat to the staff at the Phoenix CF terminal.

I>Traffic Technician

alt River Project

hoenix

I'm a former employee of Consolidated Freightways and Preston Trucking, both of which fell to the depths of bankruptcy due to deregulation of the industry. I also worked for Continental Airlines in the early 1980s. They filed for bankruptcy but reorganized to cut employee wages and reduce consumer services.

Transportation as a whole has suffered since the early 1970s, slowly declining in quality and service in the name of competition.

There was a time when trucking companies and major airlines worked together to provide a superior quality of service for the consumer. Since tariffs were regulated, trucking companies and airlines had to devise other ways to attract consumers. Now, however, they must compete for high market share and volume, cutting corners while doing so, which affects public safety, service and quality. I do believe in competition, but not at the expense of the consumer. In industries that the whole country depends upon there must be some regulation.

Frederick R. Fisher Sr.

I>Dockman/Spotter

ellow Freight System

anover Park, Ill.

These letters appear in the Sept. 23 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.