Question about the Mega carriers.

3-5 loads per week for Tanker? So these are at most Regional or local positions I'm assuming.

 

The TWIC is similar -- yes.

If you wait until you are part of Schneider's tanker fleet to get it -- Schneider should also help you pay for it.....$$$$.

-- L

 

Most Schneider tanker freight will not be coast-to-coast, long haul loads.

Instead -- it will be more regional.

Expect to be home every other weekend...for a few days.

-- L

 

Back when I was there -- Schneider would issue new tanker drivers a tanker "bible"....which was a Schneider driver handbook for Schneider's tanker fleet...but also a handbook for those new to trucking.

To say the least -- it was a very valuable resource for those new to tanker trucking.

I would assume it is still being issued...in an up-to-date version.

No other starter tanker fleet is likely to offer such a thorough reference book.

-- L

 

Say it costs $15,000 to recruit and train an inexperienced driver. That new driver will work for $60,000 the first year and $70,000 the second year. He will be 80% as productive as a driver with 5 or more years of experience, let's call it a 'cost' of $10,000 a year. Over two years the inexperienced driver will cost the company $165,000. The driver with 5 or more years of experience earns $90,000 - total cost $180,000. All things considered the company will net $15,000 more with the inexperienced driver over two years. In reality, the numbers skew much harder to the new driver - once the driver has been on his own for 6 months the company has broken even on his training costs. So long as there is a supply of new drivers, driver churn is financially incentivized.

That's the underlying economics. As others have stated, plenty of guys find a comfortable home at the megas - earning competitive wages with a comfortable working environment. Historically, that wasn't always the case. Up until the early 2000s, once a driver had experience they could move to a mid or small carrier and usually get a nice pay bump and drive nicer equipment. The mid and small sized carriers could afford this because their drivers were more skilled, thus made fewer expensive mistakes and had higher service levels. In the early 2000s, Freightliners improved in quality while Peterbilt and Kenworths diminished and the pay gap began closing. When I started exploring my options I never found another OTR company that was going to definitively pay more than Schneider (taking into account benefits) with a comparable work environment. I found plenty that talked a big game about increasing my earnings, but when the details were discussed I would actually have taken a pay CUT to leave. By the mid 2010s Schneider, Swift, JB Hunt, etc were all paying competitive wages and running comparable equipment. Despite this, the narrative of "megas bad, small company good" remains.

It's why it's important to really understand your pay structure and what you're actually making. Then you can compare it to potential new jobs and make informed decisions.