Stevens Transport reviews

Well I drive for Stevens(3+ years) and I have interviewed and was tendered an offer with Schneider. Are you an experienced driver? Three weeks training is a joke especially only one week in a truck. You are not a driver with only one week of road experience, you really need to go out for at least 5 - 8 weeks with and experienced driver just to get the basics down and Stevens is good at that. You can not learn to drive in a classroom or on a simulator. As for why I am still with Stevens, I get respect and make decent money doing Regional driving. As to Schneider the drawbacks for me where equipment, Stevens has APU and invertors in all trucks, Schneider only newer ones. At Stevens even new drivers get in a fairly new truck(even more so now that training is moving to autos. As a note so is Schneider. The one week on one off regional is slip seating, you share the truck with 2 other drivers actual 2 trucks for 3 drivers and you rotate every week I believe, so making the truck a home is not possible. I have my TV, Microwave and other cooking items on my truck at all times. I was not impressed with the trailers either(I rarely get a trailer I worry about going through a DOT inspection with Stevens). I also make more cpm with Stevens than Schneider offered(35cpm). So YMMV but I would opt for a little inconvenience and go with the better training and experience. It will pay down the road.

Stevens is a great training company, one of the best out there. The program is extensive and it is thorough. There is a culture of safety there and they preach it. The Safety Dept overrides everyone else.

I was running pretty good miles there. I was making a descent living. The CPM for company drivers is on the lower side, but as my dad used to say when I was growing up, a fast Nickel beats a slow dime. In other words, high cpm doesn't mean a lot of the miles aren't there. If you average around 2800 a week as a company driver, your gross should be around $900. Average more, you make more.

I don't know what the pay scale is there now, but when I left, I was paid .14 more a mile, my miles dropped from 3000 at Stevens to around 1800 at the new place. I sat in docks most of the time I wasn't driving and life generally sucked.

I took a .10 cpm pay cut to move where I am now, but I Average. between 3200 and 3400 miles per week. In 4 months at the new place, I hadade 50% more than I had at the old place.

In short. I don't recommend leasing, I highly recommend Stevens for their Training and as a great ace to start a career.

Personally, I am one of those who will only drive 500 a day when I can get away with it, I made plenty of money at Stevens without killing myself. The secret is to be proactive, call those receivers and deliver early whenever possible, and it helps if you have a good DM too. I actually had to tell them to let me rest a few times

Am a solo driver and alliance. I make stevens work for me I do a lot of the leg work. I call shippers and receivers. Get my app times moved up to fit my needs (when the shipper/reciever will do so otherwise I get to finally relax) I look not one or two days ahead but at least a week ahead to see if a load will work for me or if I need to ask for a repower. I am clearing $1200 average a week. After all my paybacks I also run 610 to 652 a day. I have done way better than anyone else from my class that's stil here. I was talking to a team and they said they were only getting around $1000 a week. I guess they are not calling and doing the leg work. I like to question every load and see what are my next load options when I'm empty if it puts me in a place that has no freight but has good miles I run the heck out of it and repower. I also watch repowers and don't take every load some of then just are a bad wrap and got that way by a lazy driver that only drives 500 a day and shuts down. It is possible to make money here but you have to work to get your money some times. Of course that should be a duh statement but to many drivers don't want to work they just want to drive the bare min and then complain. It's a job yes you work. I say this is the hardest laziest job I know. I know I can do better but just started a few mo ago. Learning how to play the game. 

Yes I am serious, Stevens does not want nor recruits seasoned drivers... Just stating the reality of the market. Stevens business model is as a training company that happens to move refrigerated freight. Training is a profitable business model for them. 

The industry really does not need more drivers, but there are those that profit from that perpetual lie. Stevens being one. 

One year of accident free, claim free service is required before a driver at stevens can be considered for the training position. There are some who make a good living and enjoy training and sharing the limited space with a new stranger every 6 weeks. Those tend to stay. 

As for your 20 years down the road, drivers will not be needed anymore than an engineer is needed on a freight train.

I am a former Stevens Alliance driver, never trained, always ran solo, and stayed for 5 years. Enjoyed my time, put money in the bank, and it worked for me. Left to ride the boom cycle of the crude hauling at home.

Drivers who have been with Stevens for over a year are eligible for a new automatic as long as they are a solo driver. The one year mark can also be the time to join the training side of Stevens. (It was for me).
I went with ATBS for tax work. After talking with my consultant there, in comparison with other drivers for Feb I had above average miles, below average pay and above average percentage for fuel costs to miles coming in at 20%. So to break it down further, I had my best month in January, worst month in Feb by going home in Feb to do tax paperwork and had go through storms and the computer to get me within a hundred miles of home. 
I qualified and became a trainer in March, and the settlements are going higher again. I have my first student and he is doing well.
The secret to Stevens alliance lease program is their fuel program.

Trucks governed at 62. To pay the school back I do believe it takes 3 years unless you pay more. I have been here for over a year and an alliance driver after one month have not had any negative settlements still make around 1000 solo some weeks better some worse. Started training now on student 5 pay is a little better but hard to run two clocks with all the restrictions it is a learning curve. I feel Stevens is a great company to start with learn the lanes and how to make your clock work for you. As a company driver you follow the directions they give. you can call your Dm and have them change your route line if you can show it's a better way as alliance I can pick my route and where I stop for fuel as I am paying for my fuel I work with my Dm to get the miles added. They do pay zip code to zip code. So yes if you have a pick and drop 25 miles apart but in the same zip code you only get paid one mile. Saftey is big here. And people they "screw over" are not always as innocent as they make it sound. If your not making money don't blame Stevens look at what you are not doing. Are you running hard or driving 400 miles and sitting for 12 hrs. Are you not calling your Dm asking for repowers when you are early on your load. Are you not asking the shippers and receiver if they have parking and stopping 39 miles before just to start your clock to sit. Are you not asking for pre plans a day before you get there. Low miles means you are running recap hours and the computer won't let them dispatch you on a good mile load 34 can be a friend.

Just to explain how company per diem works:
So, say you get paid 30 cents a mile. You choose per diem pay at 10 cents a mile.
On your settlement it will show:
1500 miles at .20/mi = $300 less taxes, ss, medicare, and any other deductions. This is your net pay.
Then add the .10/mi per diem of $150, which is not taxed to Net pay for your final pay.
Now, say you average over the years time, 450 miles a day, At .10/mi that equals $45/ day.
At tax time, you, as a driver governed by Federal HOS rules allowed to claim $63 a day X 80% for each day out on the road. This leave you approx $2.40 for each day that you can add to your tax deduction.
This is a simplified example, but is just to show how it works.
By taking the per mile per diem, you bring home more each check. By not taking it, you take the full per diem deduction at tax time and bring home a little less each paycheck.
Good luck to you no matter which way you decide to go.

Ok, left Stevens earlier this week for a more local job after 3 1/2 years. I believe starting pay as a driver(not training with a trainer) is 30cpm out of that only 20cpm is taxed 10cpm is considered per diem. Now you can talk to drivers services to have that eliminated and all will be taxed and you can use your logbook to figure out how many days you where out to claim at tax time. You are also given raises during first year but I am not sure what current amounts are. I ran Texas Regional so my pay was much higher than doing otr.
Stevens is a great company where you CAN make money but you need to learn the system, as with any company. Even though it has changed over the last couple years then training is still very good. The equipment is also some of the best for a training company as well as for several non-training companies. I know I have been looking for a couple years and still had to settle for a company that does not have apu's , inverters or any type of navigation in all trucks yet. Even though Jill is not the best, she is better than nothing. I get to go old school again, hope I remember.

I've said it in the aviary and I'll say it here, the key to Alliance leasing is their fuel program. I came in with 20% fuel costs as a solo driver. Stevens usually has the miles for you to drive. Ive picked loads as a solo that teams took over when I ran out hours or whatever. Compare 20% fuel costs lets say with ATBS, and see how they think Stevens fuel costs compare.