What is the best trucking company? Most benefits, pay, and work-life balance besides owner-op?

I live in NJ, and ltl companies such as New Penn and Old Dominion have a good starting wage of between $20 to $25/hr. I believe theyre union, too. About 4 weeks ago, I went to the trucking school I graduated from to check on who was hiring, and they were both looking for new full-time employees. But I know I've heard that if its a union outfit youre getting on with, work at first can be spotty until you put your time in, so I'm not sure if thatd be the case with these outfits.

 

You ask a great question. Which trucking companies are the best to work for. I will make this easy.

#1 They do not try to rope the driver into a fleece purchase scam! In fact don't go to a LP company.
#2 Look at compensation package. (Pay, insurance, 401k etc)
#3 Look at turn over. Are they a driver mill that loves to use and discard drivers like firewood?
#4 Dont trust recruiters or referral hunting drivers. Do your due diligence and do research.
#5 Look at the SAFER WEB to review company's SMS.

 

I'm a professional job hopper.

You have to be a job hopper to find a good fit for yourself.

What I've discovered:

OTR is great IF

1) company gives you miles (keep in mind, one driver may get a lot of miles and another with the same company may starve). You won't know until you drive for a company.

2) you can stomach being away from family. I could not. So, I went local.

Local is great IF

1) you get decent pay. Some companies want to pay you like you're driving a forklift. One driver might be happy making 16/ hour. Others might need 25 to pay bills.

2) have a route you like that can be run in adverse weather and perfect weather and still get you home without being forced to log out of the truck and driving illegally to get home.

3) if you have to handle freight. I learned the hard way that unloading a 53' alone can be challenging

4) drive irregular routes when you're new

5) can put up with seeing management at the end of a 12-16 hour shift to do BS stuff
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I think I've finally found a good mix for me. Hop around until you find something you can enjoy and put up with.

What works for me probably won't work for you. What turns out to be a perfect job for you probably would make me miserable. Everyone has different needs, wants, tolerance for BS.

 

Hazmat/tankers for me. Even a rookie can make $65K.

 

Going back to liquid tanker old school company,modern equipment paid by the hour overtime after 40 running down to the gulf states,works for me but don't get me wrong I'll still b**** cause thats what makes me happy.haha

 

I do not think this thread is asking a question that is a real world question. We are in a highly competitive business. No company pays more then they absolutely have to pay.

Shippers do not have brand loyalty. To them a truck is a truck. Or a broker is a broker. There is no one working in the shipping department who goes home at night and says, "Sweetheart, today I shipped a load with Swift. Aren't you proud of me."
Shippers want the cheapest freight that gets there on time. They want a large company for reliability but they want that cheap. So large companies under cut each other. The first place a company looks to save money is drivers pay and fuel. The accountant types work in the office and it is always someone outside of the office who is costing the company money. Cut the drivers pay and they can afford to give a raise to the office.

The government has Log Book requirements. As drivers we often see these as a way to keep us from making money. But they are in fact an attempt to keep wages up. Companies are looking to drive them down as is the case with robo trucks.

Unions did a great job of keeping wages up but unions have become too political and the leadership of unions have seemed to have forgotten what they are for. They would rather go to a party then stand on the strike line.

The best company out there is a single truck company that the driver owns. No other employees. But it has to be a company that refuses to haul cheap.

 

Just get on with a private fleet as soon as you can . Common carrier is too much bs for too little pay.

 

IMO - (for 7 years) ODFL.
Worked well for us.

 

Anybody around D.C. I work for CMI. Early start time/ early home time (usually) so decent work life balance. Mon-Fri. Home every night, weekends off, holidays off, health benefits, 401K. Consistant/ dependable weekly paycheck. It's a private small company so the guy is flexible with your home life. He's looking for cement tankers drivers and willing to train you on the hoppers.