Would like a little info on bulk

Are you talking as an owner operator or as a company driver. If you are asking as a company driver in the range of 20-25% is a common range many drivers will see. I pay a per load rate with waiting time on top but on average it works out to about 23% for cement work.

It will range as you need to be more specific about what you are wanting to haul, gravel, fuel, hazmat, food grade, cement, lime, liquids.

Some businesses like local gravel are going to be very competivtive and therefore the rates are going to be pretty low, both as company and O/O. The more specialized you can get the better the pay should theoretically be. Also be aware that some jobs can be more seasonal. You are from alabama so you don't have to worry about winters but it is a warning I give anyone that I interview.

 

100% of zero is still zero

 

There is one major problem with any company that pays by the job, risk!

There are some honest companies out there and there are some dishonest ones. If you can find an honest one you can be set for life. The problem is how do you really know who is honest and who isn't. If you are paid by the mile it is right there empty and loaded miles and you already know what your earning CPM. When your paid by the job you don't really know what the job pays you only know what the company tells you the job pays from which you figure out your earnings based on the % you make.

Over the past 20 years many companies, some even well known, have been caught not telling the truth to their drivers about what the loads are really paying and/or what the fuel surcharges are in order for the company to receive a better % and therefore lower their over head on payroll to the drivers. Some have even went so far as to even doctor the books so when feds showed up it looked ok even to them at first.

But not all companies are like that and normally those drivers who are lucky enough to find an honest company do tend to make more than the CPM based drivers.

I work bulk and I'm a CPM driver now. I wish you the best of luck in your search!

 

You will have to ask them what the average pay cheque will look like in both a busy month and a slow month. Then I would reduce that by 25%. If you can cover all of your expenses off of that amount then I would give it a shot. I am not saying that they are inflating the numbers, they could be, but it allows you to prepare for any slow downs that you will run through or down time you might experience.

I think bulk work is the best trucking work out there as it is one of the few ones that should give you plenty of home time. The trade off is it can me a more cyclical and seasonal job.

 

I worked w/ a truck owner who paid his guys 22%.
He had his own freight when he came into our company and he made more because he had his own tanks.
Problem his drivers ran into was the 'wall' of rates not increasing.
Since rates did not change guys found themselves doing the same work, year after year, for the same money.
The truck owner was good enough to take any rate decreases from his portion but guys still used to burn out thinking they would NEVER get a raise.

 

When you are a company driver working percentage you do NOT get a percentage of the fuel surcharge. that goes to whoever owns he truck. Fuel Surcharge is not a part of the rate unless specified. As for percentage pay I have found that the best way to work and will not work for cents per mile. Esp now that I am an O/O. While all these van drivers are pulling for .90 cpm = fuel I am averaging over 2 a mile for all miles including deadhead. When I was a company driver running percentage when I broke it down to cpm it was usually in the 60 cpm range. But I also got paid by the weight. when I was a company driver there was several times I pulled loads that with my percentage cut I made a dollar a mile