Can anyone tell me anything good or bad about P.A.M. Transportation, I have been offered a job by them I'm a newbie and want to know if they are a good company to work for or not.

 

Are you going through their school? If so I would avoid.

 

Not going to there school, I went to South Texas College professional driving school and I have my CDL A with Hazmat, Tanker, doubles, triples endorcement's. PAM called out of the blue and offered me a job, so hence my question are they a good o0utfit to work for.

 

Looks like Pam is having some problems right now

Inspection Selection System (ISS-2) Recommendation*
(As of January 26, 2007)
Carrier Name: PAM TRANSPORT INC
US DOT #: 179752 MC #: 150496
ISS Inspection Value: 93
ISS Recommendation: INSPECT
Basis for Recommendation: Safety

Detailed Inspection Report
(As of January 26, 2007)
Carrier Information Time and Location
PAM TRANSPORT INC
P O BOX 188
TONTITOWN, AR 72770-9989
US DOT#: 179752 MC#: 150496

Report #: EEAE000711
Inspection Date: 4/29/2005
Start-End Time: 10:40 - 11:09
Inspection Level: 1-Full
Inspection Facility: Fixed Site
Post Crash Inspection: No
Vehicle Information
Unit Type Make State License # VIN #
1 TRUCK TRACTOR FRHT OK 2BA672 1FUJBBCG73LK42735
2 SEMI-TRAILER WANC OK 3890EE 1JJV532W6XL548692
Violations
Section Code Unit OOS Violation Category Violations Discovered
393.207(B) 2 Y SUSPENSION Adj axle locking pin missing/disengaged
393.207(C) 2 Y SUSPENSION Leaf spring assembly defective/missing
393.46 2 Y BRAKES, ALL OTHERS BRAKE HOSE/TUBE CONNECTION
396.3A1B 2 Y BRAKES, ALL OTHERS Brakes (general)
396.7 2 Y ALL OTHER VEHICLE DEFECTS Unsafe operations forbidden
392.2W D N SIZE AND WEIGHT Size and weight

Looks more like admin problems more than anything else

 

look driver, STAY AWAY from PAM period. heres why, the turnover rate there is disgusting, you will get NO miles period, i know first hand i stuck it out there for 8 months hoping things would get better but they just never did. pretty much the miles are so low that you will be living on advances for weeks on end. then when you do get the whopping 1200 miles or so for a week, youre paycheck is negative 2 or 3 hundred because they had you on that advance crap. heres what gets me, they dont remotely care about you at all, they offer you an advance then charge you a 10.50 fee for the advance, times that by the 2800 drivers they got and wha laa, big money. they pretty much run general freight and a few auto loads. so you might run out to new jersey to drop some air conditioners off. then sit for 3 or 4 days till they can find you a load of dog food or something. its a student company, there were 6 of us that went to their school together and we keep in touch alot, on average between us all our biggest paycheck averaged about 150.00 a week to 300.00. thats a 7 day work week. NOT COOL. i never understood how they keep any drivers, but out of the 6 of us i was the last to leave. now im at central ref and so far so good.

caps

 

I have been at P.A.M since last September. They are an "average" large otr company. You can expect to be out 2-3 weeks at a time unless you are on a dedicated account. My average weekly miles have been around
2400 miles. P.A.M is not a place you go to planning on doing 20 years and retiring. Just a company to get some training and experience under your belt. Then you move on to greener $$ pastures.

 

Heh.....sounds like much hasn't changed since I was there 6 years ago.

It's not a reassuring thing when your trainer tells you this is just a stepping stone.....that 98% of the drivers you see here right now will be gone in less than a years time. I had every intention of fufilling that 1 year commitment, but due to next to no miles and an unreliable truck(broke down 4 times within July 2001), I had no choice but to bail. My pregnant wife, 2 kids and a monthly mortgage weren't gonna live on that lying SOB dispatcher's claim that there was no freight. Horse Pudding, I said!

 

yeah bowslap i understand u 200%. i guess when you're a newb like i was, you get to thinking that all trucking outfits are the same and you get kinda scared to leave PAM. hell, i was 2 weeks away from eviction from my home, wife mad as hell before i bailed. i hated to not fulfill that year but i did do 8 months. barely made 12,000 on my W2 which i barely got from PAM yesterday. so needless to say they suck. but hey PAM. thanks for the 5,300 tax refund. at least i can start over again. haha. anyhow im sure there has to be a better starting company for this guy who started the post.

caps

 

I would stay away if you can. I worked for them for 7 months. Quit the day that I was supposed to be bumped up to $.30 per mile. Had 4 paychecks in less than 3 months that had $0 take home pay. Was constantly living on their advances. Then that advance money was taken back on the good weeks, dropping that week's pay.

Miles per week were all over the place. 1200 one week and then 3000 miles another week. I guess that I averaged about 2100-2200 miles a week. Not good at $.28-$.29 per mile.

With no experience, you will start at $.28 per mile. Every 3 months after you finish training you will get bumped up $.01 per mile. Once you hit $.32 per mile at the year point (13 months including the 30 days training), I think that it goes to $.01 increase per year.

They are a training company (but according to their financials, they make about a $30,000 profit per truck and that is after all expenses - overhead, dispatchers, staff, buildings, etc.). Once you get to the $.32 per mile, it is cheaper to replace you with a new driver making $.28 per mile.

Getting your first years experience is rough, no matter where you go. Most companies require 1 year experience to hire on. You might have to bite the bullet and go with a "training" company (such as PAM, Swift, Schneider, etc.).

I wish you luck no matter which company you go with.