CPM...Methods of determining miles

[Thor]

I am a recent school graduate and have been doing seasonal local work since graduating. I am looking to be OTR within the next six months and have begun my research for a suitable company. I am under the impression that the method used to determine mileage varies. I have heard terms like: Hub miles, Terminal to Terminal, Zone and a couple more that escapes me.

Can this forum provide a list of the different methods companies use to determine mileage, an explanation of the term and which is good and bad.

/Steve

[TK THE TRUCKER]

I am a recent school graduate and have been doing seasonal local work since graduating. I am looking to be OTR within the next six months and have begun my research for a suitable company. I am under the impression that the method used to determine mileage varies. I have heard terms like: Hub miles, Terminal to Terminal, Zone and a couple more that escapes me.

Can this forum provide a list of the different methods companies use to determine mileage, an explanation of the term and which is good and bad.

/Steve

Most companies pay by shortest route miles. The shortest route between point A and B. This may the shortest route but is usually not the most efficient especially time wise. This means the miles you get paid for and the miles you actually run will have about 5%-10% difference or more.

Next some companies will pay practical route miles, the route that makes the most sense to get a truck from point A to B. The mileage difference is usually 2% or less from what I hear. Many companies are switching to this to attract drivers.

Then there is hub miles. The amount of mileage pay is calculated right off the truck. There aren't very many companies using this as their pay method.

Of course there's more methods but I consider those the most popular beside getting % of load pay.

[Uturn2001]

HUb mile......actual distance traveled from pickup to delivery point based on either odometer or a hubometer on the truck and/or trailer.

Practical Miles..... Miles from post office to post office based on the most practical route a truck would have to take.

HHG (Household Guide)...... Absolutely shortest route from post office to post office regardless if the route is truck approved.

Rand Mcnally, PC Miler, etc are just terms describing which program a company is using to determine how it pays it drivers, but many can be set for practical or HHG.


Terminal to terminal and zone to zone are terms used by LTL type carriers mostly and can mean many different things depending on what a company wants to tack onto it.

[Ian Williams]

Our terminal to terminal miles are within 1% of what the odometer shows at Con-Way.