Why are HAZMAT Crude Haulers working for the same pay (or less) as Water Haulers

You nailed it. Hear a lot of claims about ND but who wants to make $100K/year then pay 1/3 of that for living expenses. In the end doesn't add up so you know why they are making $100K!

 

Personally I think the crude hauling rates are being pushed down so the drivers are being offered less pay and benefits. Crude is at $99/ barrel and the drilling is still going strong as I see lots of rigs over in the TX panhandle around HWY 6 East of Wheeler. I've seen a lot of fracking going on right off of HWY 6 too so the boom is still going no doubt. So why are the rates under pressure???...

Where I haul the crude to I see no less than 7 different 3rd party carriers. I spoke to one driver and he said his company just moved down from N Dakota due to all the rates being put under pressure up there and they struggled to get a contract so to me they probably took what they could get, low rates. One driver said he is being paid a flat fee of $240/day no matter how far he hauls from to deliver during a 12 hour shift. That sucks if you ask me! Also I have seen some companies hiring drivers with little experience and then tossing them out to do the work with like 1 days training. I also know a company who hired a driver who got busted with some crack so the trucking companies are obviously not looking for the same quality of drivers they were looking for in the past. I've run into some drivers who are leaving crude hauling to go tank NO2 or head back overseas to tank fuel. Not good signs!

 

No our account in Victoria got downsized back in Sep of 2012 but two days before we were let go we received an offer for a crude hauling job in OK so we made the move. We had to live out of a hotel in the Alva, OK area for a month then got relocated to Weatherford, OK (about 45 min West of Oklahoma City) where we live now. Truth is we spend more time hauling crude in Texas than OK, LOL! Currently hauling crude from the Texas panhandle then back to OK for zzzz.

Hope all is going great for you, the husband, and family!

 

Who are you addressing Canadianredneck? Can't understand what point you are trying to make.

 

I paid $1450/month for a 2 BR house in Victoria, TX so $1200 apartment in West TX seems relative. But just last night I spoke to a driver who left ND and he was paying $400/week to live in a mancamp and when my boss was in ND they rented a 2 BR house for $3500 a month. Makes a $1200 apartment sound like a good deal, LOL!