Percent vs. Mileage?

[AsphaltBound]

Which would be better?
Percent of the job or mileage pay?
I'm sure there's pro's and con's to both. Feel free to elaborate and edumacate me

[Uturn2001]

It all depends, but often in the end the paycheck is close either way.

CPM: Know what you are making all the time. Paid for loaded and empty miles.

Percent: Usually only paid for loaded miles, and pay will depend on the shipping charges. The higher the freight rate the more you will make, but if the company tends to haul cheap freight then you may find yourself making very little for the effort.

If you go to work for percentage make sure the company is willing to show you the rate sheets for every load you haul to ensure you are getting your fair share.

[GoldiesPlating]

I chose percent because I could ALWAYS track and calculate what I would make cpm wile running percent. If I found that mileage paid better, I would switch. TMC allows you to switch every 6 months.
Also with percent pay, I was making as much as a veteran after only one or two months behind the wheel, whereas with mileage pay, raises are based on time spent with the company, so it would take longer to make top pay.
In flatbedding, loads almost always pay more than dry van so making a percent of that beats making cpm, even if the cpm paid were equal.

[Blacksheep]

Mileage always pays better when you haul cheap freight. high dollar freight and percentage is the ticket. :wink:

[Useless]

I think that overall, CPM would be better if companies were not allowed to legally steal from their drivers by paying "HHG" mileage. If the HHG miles were figured accurately, then even that would not be a problem.

Thankfully, some companies have moved to "Hub Mileage".

As for load percentages, as long as an employer is honest about what they are, in fact, charging for the load, that would be okay, too, but how can a driver verify the numbers an employer is providing them??

[Mackman]

I want to drive OTR and get paid Hourly am waiting for that Something tells me i will be waiting a long time. :wink:

[Useless]

I want to drive OTR and get paid Hourly am waiting for that Something tells me i will me waiting a long time. :wink:

Something tells me that you are absolutely correct!! :wink:

[yoopr]

If you have the Option to switch from CPM to Percentage what I suggest is that you run CPM and while you're doing that Ask them what the Load would pay if you ran %-Do this for awhile and then make your decision on which is better for you.

[BanditsCousin]

Lots of scenarios-

Get 70 cpm, run under 800 miles/wk
Get 34 cpm, run 3400 miles/wk

Run for high % of low dollar freight...could bite you in the arse :wink:
Run for low % on high dollar freight and still keep your shirt

As Yoopr said, the best way to find out is ask what the load pays (if not on the BOL). Make sure FSC and the rate are spearate (but all considered).

You might also want to check the deadhead between loads. If Its a lot of deadhead, with little return on the % for hauling it, you may be better off cpm. This is helpful if you are currently employed somewhere, as you have other drivers to talk to.

HTH

[yoopr]

Make sure FSC and the rate are spearate (but all considered).

I think he's saying he'll be a company driver so FSC won't apply.

[BanditsCousin]

Does he get a chunk of the fsc, though? Or does he get his % of the linehaul? I'm not familiar with this kind of arrangement.

[yoopr]

Does he get a chunk of the fsc, though? Or does he get his % of the linehaul? I'm not familiar with this kind of arrangement.

no-He'd just get the %

[GMAN]

Most companies or owner operators don't pay their driver a percentage of the fuel surcharge. They only pay on what the load pays.

[AsphaltBound]

So the key to becoming a rich truck driver would be to haul expensive freight many miles (if i choose %). But I doubt one gets the option to choose which freight he gets to haul if I become a co. driver. I guess there is no perfect senerio, otherwise you fellas would be doing it already.

[BanditsCousin]

Most companies or owner operators don't pay their driver a percentage of the fuel surcharge. They only pay on what the load pays.

Thank you. Thats what I was referring to

[GMAN]

So the key to becoming a rich truck driver would be to haul expensive freight many miles (if i choose %). But I doubt one gets the option to choose which freight he gets to haul if I become a co. driver. I guess there is no perfect senerio, otherwise you fellas would be doing it already.

Some companies will allow a driver to have some input as to what they haul and where they go. You are more likely to have a say so with a percentage carrier than mileage. Most of the mileage carriers seem to have forced dispatch.

[GoldiesPlating]

So the key to becoming a rich truck driver would be to haul expensive freight many miles (if i choose %). But I doubt one gets the option to choose which freight he gets to haul if I become a co. driver. I guess there is no perfect senerio, otherwise you fellas would be doing it already.

Some companies will allow a driver to have some input as to what they haul and where they go. You are more likely to have a say so with a percentage carrier than mileage. Most of the mileage carriers seem to have forced dispatch.

True. TMC is not forced dispatch and most times we do get to chose our loads if multiple loads are available.

[Flash]

Other than TMC, what major carriers pay percentage?

[Frogman]

Two questions:

1) One of MAVERICK recruiter's points was that you never really knew what the company was charging the customer so how could you really know as a driver what your load was worth?

Low blow . . . but interesting point.

At TMC, how do you know what the company is charging and therefore what your "cut" is?

2) If a new driver can "make as much" as an experienced driver then there's no logical reason for an experienced driver to remain at TMC.

Yet, obviously they do.

So there has to be something more to it. I don't know what, but it makes sense that older drivers expect higher pay on top of other benefits so obviously they're either getting greater percentage or more expensive loads.

Are there "levels" to loads with some getting the best and some getting the worst?

If older drivers do make greater percentage, how far can you be after 3-5 years?

Can someone explain how that works?

[AsphaltBound]

Why is it that experienced drivers expect more wages, just because their experienced? Don't get me wrong in most professions an entry level position is going to be a must. But in truck driving aren't the newbie and the seasoned pro doing the exact same thing?, both are taking the same kind of risk and both can expect the same kind of results if an incident happens. Just because the seasoned pro knows the the highway a lot better and can take short cuts accordingly does it mean that he should get more pay? Maybe the insurance for a pro is a little less or is it that the insurance company takes less of a risk with the pro I don't know, just a thought. Seems to me if I'm doing the same job shouldn't I expect the same wages? Like i said just a thought, I'm not naive, nor do I think that I'm going to get the same wages as a pro, but don't think I wont ask when I get there to orientation.