Swift Walmart Dedicated Holidays

Google isn't usefully. Freshly got hired by Swift to do Walmart Dedicated. Trying to figure out the busy Holiday season for Walmart. Are there typically a lot of loads on the main holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. My understanding is Wal-Mart is closed on Christmas day, so when do the associates leave and return during this? Also does Swift make you run in extreme weather? Last year was bad for road conditions due to snow.

Google isn't usefully. Freshly got hired by Swift to do Walmart Dedicated. Trying to figure out the busy Holiday season for Walmart. Are there typically a lot of loads on the main holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. My understanding is Wal-Mart is closed on Christmas day, so when do the associates leave and return during this? Also does Swift make you run in extreme weather? Last year was bad for road conditions due to snow.

I don't know much about what Swift is running this time of year. G-Town will have more insight on this.

I did with for Walmart DC for some time though. This time of year we moved a lot of canned goods and groceries. We were done with Christmas items (decorations, trees and toys) right around now.

Walmart tends to be months ahead of everything. They're shipping patio furniture and grills in February, Heaters in August and back to school supplies in June.

Hey, Nathan, welcome to Trucking Truth!

First a simple answer to a simple question.

My understanding is Wal-Mart is closed on Christmas day, so when do the associates leave and return during this?

When a store is open has zero relationship to whether they take deliveries. Also, by Christmas day, the "Christmas season" is done with.

When does Swift run? All the big trucking companies run 24/ 7/ 365. Trucks will roll on Christmas day and all other holidays.

The whole Christmas/ holiday freight business for retailers actually begins in about August. Ships with containers get unloaded, factories are ramping up, and all those sugar plums and frozen turkeys work there way through the system, and by mid November are all lined up for your local Big Box. Yes, you, too, driver, will be very busy.

So take your observation,

Walmart tends to be months ahead of everything. They're shipping patio furniture and grills in February, Heaters in August and back to school supplies in June.

and just turn the calendar over a few months up to August.

I can’t speak for Swift/Walmart deliveries but we were told to expect to run six days A week during the month of November/December. We’ve seen an increase in trip counts during the last part of October.

I’ll probably end up running Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and off Christmas Day...but if not I’ll take the $200 plus whatever my trip pays and get home ASAP.

I’m taking any and all I can get, cause in January , February it’ll slow down.

I run for Ruan/Target dedicated.

As Errol said when the stores are closed has no relevance to our schedules.

Although there are definite similarities between Target and Walmart; each operation has specific and unique guidelines on dispatch, routing, store delivery and time-off.

Nathan the answer(s) to your inquiry depends on whether you are working for a grocery DC or general merchandise (GM) DC.

Grocery is predominantly “just-in-time” and replenishes depleted inventory of perishables and non-perishable grocery items on an as-needed basis. Especially true for perishables because many of the older/smaller stores are limited on refrigeration and freezer space.

“Grocery” runs hard from now until the first week of January. Seasonal items like pumpkins, potatoes, turkeys, hams, holiday cookies, cranberry sauce, etc., many times are moved directly to the sales floor; “pallet and all”. Driver availability is mandatory during this period with only the 1 day-off per week allowed.

GM is more in-line with the replies of Old School and Errol. GM does not usually have shelf life to contend with, thus its temporarily stored/warehoused in the back of the stores and staged for whenever it’s needed on the sales floor. Very obvious with seasonal decorations; as an example Halloween decorations were on warehouse shelves Kate August/ early September.

As a rule of thumb the DCs shutdown from midnight to midnight on the major holidays of Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. For instance my last store delivery on Christmas Eve is usually off the truck by 2:00pm, getting me back to the DC in time to be home that evening.

I suggest that you confirm this with your assigned Swift Driver Leader once you begin work.

Here is a link that will hopefully help you with A Rookie Running Walmart.

Good luck, be safe and watch your wagon!