Fired on day 2 of a new job?!?!?

Nah, maybe rookies. Try finding a good driver with few years experience, it's not easy, especially in Chicago, the trucking Capital of US

 

@nightgunner You did the right thing. Don’t get too bothered by the trolls. If you don’t have a contract for 1099 hires you can probably pick up a template on legal zoom or something like it. For what it’s worth, it sounds to me like you are doing your best to make a good job while still making money for your efforts. Best of luck with your new driver.

Drive safely!

 

I've done that routinely as a company driver. Because I got a company paid hotel room and $150 layover pay. Plus a $300 log bonus every quarter for a clean log with no violations.

 

Look,this is simple.It's not a problem for vast majority of companies big or small to buy or lease more trucks.Hell,I could buy me a little fleet if I wanted too.
But somehow they don't do it.
Want to know why? Because trucks parked in a yard don't make any money, in fact they cost money.They need drivers.Truck without a driver is a liability not an asset.
Everyone is looking for drivers in Chicago,immigrants,small Americans,big Americans (Saia,UPS,FedEx etc).They have trucks.They can buy or lease even more trucks.I never heard of trucks for sell shortage, have you?

 

I'll never forget the first OTR trip I did in '09. I drove by Crete's yard in Nebraska. There were hundreds of tractors (it seemed anyways) just sitting there.

I was blown away how a company could have that many trucks just sitting.

 

Heck,I just looked up Indeed.com
There is 1480 ads for truck drivers in Chicago.And that's just indeed.Maybe they hire and fire drivers by truckload in your neck of woods but not over here.

 

Yep that's right, a truck doesn't move without you turning the key on, selecting drive and hitting the D button.

Don't forget to wash your toes before you stick your foot up in the drivers window. Make sure your iTunes are all ready before you put your earbuds in. Now no matter what, make absolutely certain your sweat shorts and wife beater are up to spec, you wouldn't want to make a bad impression after all.

 

LOL
Nah, I am East European buddy,my attire of choice is Adidas track suit and flip flops.Makes me comfortable,you know.

 

Because you don't have enough contract freight to keep the trucks moving.

Because maintence cost per mile rises sharply once you go from a one truck operation to multiple trucks, until economies of scale come in.

Because more trucks equal more paperwork, which means someone to do the paperwork, which means more employees who don't directly create revenue.

2014 - the megas were screaming for NEW trucks and trailers, couldn't get all they needed/wanted.

2015 - swift, werner, schneider all reduced operations as freight rates didn't warrent expansion. Growth thru acquisition yes, pure growth no.

There were/are other market forces at play. The only time you deal with single variable economics is when talking economic theory. Labor is a commodity, just like anything else. The truck doesn't move without a driver, the driver doesn't earn without a truck. A lot of companies business model is based on keeping driver wages low. A new driver is 2/3 as productive as an experienced, but costs 1/2 as much. If you pay on a 1099 you can cut your labor cost by up to 1/3.

Filter the indeed.com search to omit multiple postings, class b jobs, and headhunters. You'll see a much smaller number.