Questions To Ask Recruiters

That's the problem. Quit it with the 0.35

That's so 40 years ago.

 

Was the pay that bad even 40 years ago lol.
Tell them you will drive for $0.35 a mile...so long as that is on top of your monthly $9,000 base pay.

 

Sorta. 40 years ago makes it the 80's 25% of truck in NE Reefer for me, dedicated GM Salary, 100 dollars for Philly per secan regardless of what comes back if anything for the day etc. Keep in mind the american dollar was worth a lot more in those days. OTR pay was around 0.24 and up. Top hands got into the 30's Which is why I usually settled into the 34 range I keep seeing in recruiting material. PRobably because the influx of foreign immigrants to make a new life in America (After all, it's what we are... long before we were America) did not know anything of our history so Fleets contain costs and try to pay very little. If you can get so and so to smile and hire on at 0.34 of his or her free will so be it.

Worked for Port East in Baltimore who paid around 45 dollars to get a seacan to Norfolk in the morning, Not too bad. But when you sit in a day cab from 6 am until 6 PM calling dispatch hour on the hour all day with nothing back to Baltimore and a 4 hour or less rest and back out at 2 am for another 45 dollars... there is no point. I put a stop to that fast.
My training pay in the late 80s and early 90's was 300 a week. Orientation 150. So you walked to your trainers truck with 450 cash to start. Payroll in 2 weeks. Now.. I must add a certain element of differentation to pay. Namely Bulk Cement.

That was my first. And what they paid from Lime Kiln Maryland (Rail Sourced supported major Eascalo Portland Cement producer to Arlington Pentagon Silos which is essentially not far from the pentagon. Paid about 65 a load. They send 6 loads early before sunrise. We all pound across the Legion Bridge (Border of Md and VA DC Beltway, major bridge) herded together to be the first 5 at the silo. The pay out for that is to make potentially 450 gross a day times 5. Speeds were as much as you could wind out of them trucks, the newer ones had a advantage. We had a damaged Vietnam Vet who was considered crazier than most any of us up and down that part of the USA with a tanker doing things with it as if he was still at war. Which he probably was.

Anyway that's just a rough picture of the overall. Not the best situation to be in if you were not settled into a good outfit. It was a time where companies, industries and pensions went out of America and spread to cheaper labor overseas and so goes the freight.

Looking back at the 60's and 70's as a child where we were trucking was up to our ears. Talk in the tavern of the drivers finishing up their day rang of money to be made and raging against the pending deregulation. It was enough to set me to trucking at 6. And anything else was just a passing fancy.

Now if you paid a OTR trucker today equal to about 2000 gross a week regardless of miles you would have a salary situation that has no hidden landmines or gotchas. It would not be too difficult for a larger fleet to carry that kind of cost. Considering truck, insurance and fuel is always before payroll. Then tires and maintenance.

 

And yes your dollar is worth between 23 and 24% more, but its not worth 98% more. People in many places work way to cheap. Even in American money a driver should be making well over $100k a year in my opinion.

 

Everyone thinks they should make great money until you find out people don't pay you what ever you want. It's not 80s anymore. Maybe of you drive and 80s or 70s cabover truck with 200 HP maybe you can make more. I'm guessing people want a modern truck and you get 2019 pay also. That's how works, their are lots of car hauler that drive old crappy truck. I dove one and they did pay good. Laying in bed to get dressed and undressed get old. If you want a modern $155,000 truck you get the pay to go with it.

Just think it funny people keep looking back to 70s and 80s when trucking was regulated and keep saying we should get the same pay for today.

 

The cost of living has doubled since 1985...so should have wages. Why would I, or anyone, go to work in 2019 for 1975 or 1985 wages.

 

It's called comparing wages vs inflation. The math does not add up currently in todays value of a dollar.
If the recruiter won't sign his name in blood they are a professional liar.

 

We can only get in pay what the economy of trucking will pay. I guess people today don't think your worth the same as people in 70s or 80s. Look how the freight rates are dropping because so many people got in when the rates were very high.

 

^^^^ this ^^^^
There is a lot of money to made out there if you wanna unload 3000 cases of soda a day or 200 kegs of beer. Just like otr it's not for everyone, you need to find what level of physical work and pay for your lifestyle.