mercer transportation

I understand

I sometimes find loads on the board that everyone has passed upon. They were all 8'+ loads that required tarping, but they paid more than $3 a mile. I got several good loads that way. It took 2.5 hours to secure and tarp, but it was worth it. Even if I had to haul my 240# butt on top of the load several times without a ladder. I was tired, but the job was done correctly.

I think I would rather just get paid for each day that I am gone with the exception of restarting hours.

I really need to buy my own truck

 

The way I look at it is the company will make more money annually keeping a good driver in the truck. Than it would keeping the whole FSC and them making less money. I believe in compensating our drivers. Therefore I do not have a high turnover rate. If I have to pay a little extra in payroll it helps keep the truck with a driver in it vs sitting for weeks till I can approve a new driver. If the truck sits for four weeks a year it looses roughly $20,000-$24,000 plus a year. If I include the fuel surcharge in the percentage I spend roughly $18,000 in payroll. So which one is more profitable?

I highly believe in paying a driver percentage on flatbeds. My companies FedEx drivers get paid milage but they do the same thing every day. Flatbed drivers don't. They never know what is being thrown at them and the harder loads pay better which makes it worth their time and effort. I have a driver on his last load made $.75cpm for $1,500 miles. He loads tomorrow on a load he will make over $1.00 a mile on. So my driver there will make more money than he would at a milage rate of $.40-.50cpm plus tarp pay. They are compensated for the harder loads than the easier ones. What incentive does a driver have to haul an oversized load if he makes the same pay as a light easy load? The company still makes a decent profit off of the trucks doing this. So why would I want to change it. We are building at a rate of 2 trucks a year and could do more if we wanted too. We have a certain budget when it comes to buying new trucks. We actually already bought one more already and plan on one in the third and one at the end of the fourth quarter. We started with one truck and are up to ten. We also have a very low turnover rate which keeps cash flow. Our profits on a per truck basis also does not have to be as high as a person with one or two.

 

I don't beleive his complaint or argument was with how he was getting paid but with working with his coodinator for loads.

 

Yea, no loads = no money = a very grumpy driver

But it's good to hear the various ways some of you guys pay your drivers. Makes me think there is hope for me someday

 

Steve I know you I was in orientation a few weeks back picking your brain for knowledge the big black guy...

 

I don't think if you had your own truck the outcome would've been any different.

 

It's very easy to come out twice as broke when you own your own truck. With your own truck things can be very good when it's good. But when things go bad, it can get very very very .................... bad.

 

The per mile pay gets a little misleading because you are not paying for empty miles. If you average 20% empty miles, that changes .75 to .63. Were either of these loads over size or require big tarps? That would change things again. If you read what I wrote, I indicated drivers should be paid a flat rate per mile PLUS extras when they do more. In other words, loads requiring additional work on the drivers part gets extra pay. However, I don't believe in paying a driver more just because I did my job really well. For example, a driver might pick up a trailer that is loaded in my yard that has two "truckloads" on the same trailer. Why should the driver make additional compensation on this load? Let's say my driver loads a tractor in Iowa going to Baltimore, then stops in IL and picks up a partial going to Baltimore. Why should the gravy go in his pocket? He didn't do anything to secure the additional revenue. He simply drove to the next pick up an put it on the trailer.

I am assuming the loads you mention are highlights and that your average compensation for company drivers is much lower when you look at all miles. That being said, it appears you are overpaying. If I paid my company drivers .60/mi + accessorials I am sure I would keep all of my trucks full all the time. However, I would be overpaying my wages by 20% to accomplish this. If this is the way you want to run your business, knock yourself out. That is the great thing about this country...at least for now. I'll shut up now before this devolves into a political rant.

Good luck to you.

 

I believe in treating my employees well. The company makes a profit and a decent one. I am paid salary. My salary does not fluctuate. All profits go back into the company. I will always try to take care of the people that pay my paycheck. They get bonuses and other perks. Could profit margins be less then yes they could. I am happy with what the company is doing and the revenue it brings in. My drivers are family and they get treated as such. My drivers choose their hometime. The ones that stay out make more money than those home every weekend but they are happy.

As far as drivers doing nothing but driving from point A to B that's not my way of thinking. I can't drive ten trucks I can't get them to ten point A's and ten point B's. I can't check the trucks and trailers out daily, I can't do all the log books, I can't take care and secure every load. I can find loads, accept loads, provide good maintained trucks and trailers and so on. But without the drivers the company does not run and does not stay in business. The drivers give me a job. Without them I am without a job with them we all make a good living.

As far as the extrodanary loads actually only one of those loads was oversized. The other was a gravy load. My flatbed drivers average .50-.60cpm on an average week for all miles but some weeks more if we hit it right.

Every business is run differently my model works for us. We make a profit and we all put food on the table.

 

Whats going on how's Mercer working out for you so far?