Any Advice on Line Haul Companies?

Old Dominion is a good company . WHen i was at OD there were several fed ex guys left and came to OD. Southeastern is a pretty good one as well.

 

Starting pay at UPS Freight is $15.05 per hour on drop/hooks, fueling and most delay time along with .38 cpm. IMO the starting pay is more then you will make at almost any OTR job while being home daily and off weekends.

Top rate now is $24.00 hr after 3 years and will be $26.15 at the end of the contract in 2013. Top mileage rate will be around .66 cpm.

My advice is find someone that works there that can refer you and you will have a much better shot getting in then just filing out online apps.

 

So I take it you work for UPS freight????


If so wanna refer me?




American Trucker

 

he might of got a call from UPS Freight and not known it...alot of people cant tell the difference

i wouldnt recommend trying to get on as a ups driver....you will be waiting 10 years to get into a semi...you will start out part time making mexican wages, then move into driving a package car, then finally getting into the feeders (semis)

UPS Freight is completely different...you can get hired in directly as a driver...starts at like $15 but after 3 years you hit the top pay scale, which is a little over $24 an hour right now....62 cents a mile to run linehaul...if your wheels aint rollin youre making $24 an hour...that includes dock time, fueling, hooking set/breaking down set, tire checks, paperwork, breakdown, etc....

so yes, UPS does pay more then just about anybody else out there, but it is extremely difficult to become a ups parcel semi driver......not even worth it in my opinion

dayton freight seems to be a bottom feeder....r&l doesnt pay much, estes doesnt pay overtime til i think 55 hours, old dominion doesnt pay overtime til 58 hours

id say go for conway, ups freight, fed ex freight or ABF

 

believe it or not, this is my ups freight rig



nothin brown about it but the name on the door

snapped this picture during my lunch break

 

Saia would be my top choice for anything below UPS. I started at $20.30 hour there as a combo driver. Good benefits such as holiday pay (240 @day) paid vacation, personal days etc. Be advised....you do earn the money, its not a free ride. Rarely did I gross under 1300-1400 a week unless night shuttle slacked off which was 53 cpm when I quit in 08. You're on the clock in 15 minutes after arrival at a terminal if your load aint ready. You'll need haz mat and of course doubles along with a good work history and background.

 

From what I heard about driving companies ups is like better for a driver but I needed more money for my family and fedex started me out at 21.40 hr. I use to see od trucks constantly moving freight at night but they were starting kinda high at one point don't know about that now but I'm happy with my choice and fedex is no bottom feeder company so on that note !!!! Good luck to all !!

 

I believe somebody already mentioned it but generally speaking, you won't hire directly into a steady line-haul position at any LTL carrier. Some of it depends on how the company classifies it's different positions - dock, line-haul, P&D, etc, but even if you're hired as a line-haul driver you would probably take extra runs or the short ones senior drivers don't bid at first till something steady opens up.

I think it's pretty much a consensus that UPS Parcel and Freight are the two best gigs but a lot of it comes down to timing and a companies growth in a given area. Since all these companies run seniority based driver boards, a good roster number can make you more money than a few extra $'s an hour or C's per mile. It's pretty hard to rank the LTL companies because so much can vary from region to region and even terminal to terminal. In my opinion, they all have their good and bad points but in the end, they're all pretty good places to work.

 

I think your best bet would be to talk with the driver of that company and take notes. You can ask about pay,benefits, and if they have drivers that retire.