I just went through all the paper work sent to me by USX, they start new drivers at .25 CPM and after 6 months you get a raise...

 

25cpm? C.R.England pays more than that!Why do they cut your pay for longer trips? I thought USX drivers would scream over that! :x I wood.

 

The sliding pay scale can be seen at this page:
http://www.xpressdrivers.com/solos.html - click the "Click for Pay Scale"

It ranges from .35cpm to .25cpm for 0 experience to .44cpm to .41cpm with 15+ years experience.

 

At Medway, Ohio you can't get oil at the terminal to put in your truck.
They won't give it to you to put in yourself.

So I get oil when I fuel and put it in myself.

I'm glad your getting the miles, I got a whole 1300 miles this week "Oh boy! I can pay half of the electric bill at home,
But it's going to be canned beans all next week.

 

The recruiters go on and on about the 35 cpm and how its one of the best rates in the industry but when you ask about the 900+ mile rate being 25 cpm they ALL will answer "Oh don't worry about that, only the teams get the long runs like that. No solo driver ever gets a 900+ mile run"

I talked to a USX driver in a rest area this morning he has gotten 1550 miles in 7 days and he is fed up. He was under a load to be delivered on Tuesday just over 300 miles away. So he cant get home for the holiday and he is stuck until Tuesday. Which really has to suck.

I dont know why USX has gotten this way, maybe its the 12 million dollar building they are just about to finish in Chattanooga. Yes, thats right, they are about to open a 12 million dollar "expansion" to thier office complex. Figure up how many miles have to be driven to pay for that.

HT

 

To me a 900 mile trip is a short haul.Most of mine are atleast 1500 or better.I think USX is gonna loose a lot of drivers over that garbage! :x

 

After four months in the general USX fleet I went dedicated, going from .29cpm to .35cpm as a newbie driver, prior to the new pay hikes that they implemented at the beginning of '04. As such, I was paid .35cpm regardless of trip length. Not too bad for a newbie who had only a few months prior been earning .25cpm at Willis Shaw.

USX is a business and as such does it's best (not always very well admittedly, but what company does??) to keep the pay scale in line with the rest of it's competitors to attrack and keep drivers.

 

Roadpup; Do you like your pay cut to 25CPM? Not me.

 

I wouldn't either. But then again, you have the choice of not going to USX. It's your choice. Life is all about choices. You make those that benefit you based on the amount of knowledge you have been given.

I liked working at USX. When I go back to Oklahoma this coming July I'll be going back to them.

 

I'm not trying to change anybody's mind about USX. I can only tell you what my experience with them has been like and you can draw your own conclusions.

The first six months were hard but not any harder than they would have been anywhere else as a brand-new, fresh out of school driver. Anywhere you go, especially larger training companies, please know that it will not be a rose garden from day one. You will get frustrated with backing, bad directions, missed hometimes, feeling incompetent and unsupported (because while it's never good to stay on hold forever it's especially vexing when you're very green and have no idea how else or WHO else to talk to get answers). But, hang in there. It gets better and you will get better at figuring things out yourself (from experience) and not feeling like the sky is falling because one thing went wrong. I know some of you old timers are laughing at that but it's the truth and I think, honestly, it's one of the reasons new drivers either let the aggravation get to them and quit or continually change companies in search of ''greener pastures''. The simplest things can be overwhelming when you already feel pretty uncertain about your skills. Add to that homesickness, maybe money worries and whatever else is on a new driver's mind and it's a wonder anyone makes it past the first six months to a year.

Anyway, about USX. I don't mind the sliding pay scale and I think they pay very fairly (and usually with few errors that take longer than a week to correct). Their equipment is well maintained and their hometime policies are fair (and honestly, they do a great job of getting you home on time most of the time). They will not hassle you about idle time (although I think they offer a bonus of some sort for low idle time but it's not anything I would know about or that they push on you, at all). That may not sound important but if it's 15 and snowing I do not want to worry about my truck shutting itself off or getting foul messages via SATCOM about idle times. But that's just my preference (and something you should keep in mind when selecting a company). USX also doesn't give you a hard time about getting your truck fixed on the road at a dealership, a Petro, a T/A or a terminal. Whatever is closest, they are alright with and I like that as I don't like the idea of delaying repairs until I'm close to a terminal as I know some companies require ''terminal only'' repairs and that can be a pain if it's something serious (like an air leak) or just a matter of comfort (heat or a/c). Some companies also have very strict ''terminal'' fueling policies or very ''etched in stone'' fuel stops that cannot be deviated from at all. USX will send a ''fuel stop'' with most loads but since I like to scale and fuel at the same time (after getting loaded), I always check to see what is close to where I am getting loaded and just ask for a different fuel stop. I have never been told no or given a hard time (although if it's somewhere with a Pilot, Petro and Flying J grouped together I may ask for Pilot and get Petro depending on the price that day but that, to me, is not a big deal). It's all part of my trip planning and I appreciate that they understand.

None of these things seem of particular consequence when choosing a company because most drivers are more focused on pay, hometime and regional vs OTR opportunities. All of which are important but aren't the total picture once you're actually on the road and losing time by having to go out of the way for fuel, wait for repairs or find yourself in Pocono Summit, PA, in December, with a ''smart idle'' truck shutting itself off continually (or not even being able to idle, period).

Anyway, it's just my two cents about USX. Also, unless you really like getting into and out of strip malls on tight schedules and unloading trailers for hours on end, avoid the Dollar Tree and some of the Dollar General dedicated routes. On paper they are great money but the reality is you can drive a truck or unload one but doing both at the same time is not a fun time.