Owners paying the 60/40 split.

[Bruno]

Expedite owners back in 1995 paid drivers 50% of what the truck made and they paid the fuel, and tolls. There was no FSC at this time because fuel was at $1.20 per gallon. When fuel started going up back in 2001 owners gave drivers 60% to help with the cost of fuel as there wasn't any kind of FSC given to a truck at that time. Now that most carriers pay a FSC that keeps the cost of fuel down to $1.20 a gallon, why are owners still paying 60% plus 100% of the FSC?

We don't pay our drivers this way as I have never liked paying that way. We pay the fuel, tolls and road taxes as that is the way we have always done it. I guess what I'm saying is, why are owners giving up so much of the pie to keep drivers when they have the investment and not the driver? I read posts all the time about my owners truck got repossessed and I have no truck to drive. Why, because the owner was getting 40% and still had things like QC rental, truck insurance, road taxes, repairs, truck payments, truck washes and so much more to pay. Everyone wants a nice new truck to drive, but they don't care if the owner makes money it seems.

Lets take a Panther straight truck getting $1.35 per mile with a team getting 50% and 100% of the FSC that is .31 average. That is .675 plus .31 a mile FSC which comes out to .98.5 CPM. to the sub contractor that is leasing the truck. Now this is for a straight truck, which most Owner operators at other companies get .98 a mile for their trucks and still are make it when they don't get 8 to 11 mpg. At $4.00 a gallon with most straight trucks getting 10 mpg that is a .40 a mile cost leaving .585 left over to pay tolls and themselves. The tolls would cost around .01 to .02 which would leave .565 per mile to be split between two drivers which would be .285 for every loaded mile the truck drives.

So based on a team doing 3000 miles a week, that is a gross of $855.00 each per week or $41,040 a year based on driving 48 weeks a year. Not bad money for a drivers that are only driving 1500 loaded miles each. If you was getting paid on the miles you drove only, that would be .57 a mile each based on driving 1500 miles each. The guys driving for some trucking companies don't even make that per mile. All I'm say is owners are not getting rich as some may think.

 

[tenntrucker]

Very true, that's why I keep it simple. I own and drive a truck, so I keep the whole thing and make a nice living without all that driver hassle and drama.

Sent from my DROID X2

 

[Bruno]

Very true, that's why I keep it simple. I own and drive a truck, so I keep the whole thing and make a nice living without all that driver hassle and drama.

Sent from my DROID X2

For the most part we don't have any problems with the way we pay our contractors.

 

[zorry]

There's another thread going where a driver is looking at $750 per week, 3 weeks out, 1 week off. He says this is "too good to be true !" $29,000 per year ? To be gone 75?% of the time ? Bruno. Do you have your drivers work 48 weeks per year ? 6 weeeks off. 3.5 days per month off ? Usually with NO BENEFITS, VACATION PAY, AND ASSUMING ALL TAX LIABILITIES . If you look at the more generous owners they usually attract the better drivers, have less turnover, and are able to run better equipment. My biggest shock since entering this business is how little owners want to give drivers/and how little they want to return to the business.You need to pay your drivers, take care of your equipment and what's left is the owner's profit. If there's not enough profit, learn the business better.

 

[tenntrucker]

For the most part we don't have any problems with the way we pay our contractors.

From your reputation, I'd say you really try to get good drivers then take care of them, my hats off to your company, good job!

Sent from my DROID X2

 

[zorry]

Bruno, the previous was NOT directed at you personally. I don't know you or anything about how you run your trucks. You seem to have a good rep here. There are 4 owners I know running driver wanted ads today. I like 2 of them but could only recommend 1 of them. The guy I'm driving for now pays All fuel,all tolls, sat radio,sat TV, a motel if in shop overnite, the Occ Health Ins, and washes the truck weekly (more if needed). He expects a good team and we're glad to make the effort for him. In 6 months I've had one payroll question for him;"Did you overpay us for this load ?" He didn't. He pays 100 % of the tolls put gives us 40% of what the carrier gives him for tolls. Also, since he and his wife know what it's like to be out here he puts top quality mattresses in his fleet of 96" sleepers. He isn't going broke. He's a SAVY OWNER that knows how to handle his money !

 

[moose]

Lets see:
40% out of 1.35 x 3,000
= 1,620$/Week
more then enough to maintain a St. truck...& then some.
that's why.

 

[Bruno]

There's another thread going where a driver is looking at $750 per week, 3 weeks out, 1 week off. He says this is "too good to be true !" $29,000 per year ? To be gone 75?% of the time ? Bruno. Do you have your drivers work 48 weeks per year ? 6 weeeks off. 3.5 days per month off ? Usually with NO BENEFITS, VACATION PAY, AND ASSUMING ALL TAX LIABILITIES . If you look at the more generous owners they usually attract the better drivers, have less turnover, and are able to run better equipment. My biggest shock since entering this business is how little owners want to give drivers/and how little they want to return to the business.You need to pay your drivers, take care of your equipment and what's left is the owner's profit. If there's not enough profit, learn the business better.

I don't pay our drivers like that. We pay our drivers 20% each with Haz mat. We get our drivers home every other weekend 80% of the time. Some choose to stay out longer but we don't ask them too. We don't give Vacation Pay as they are contractors. We do give BONUS's to them. We make sure they are home for EVERY holiday. We have deadhead a team 1500 miles home on our dime to be with their family for Thanksgiving. When it comes to family that is important to me as my father was a driver for over 30 years. As a child there was times I didn't get to see him for three months at a time.

I will never ask that of any contractors nor will I let them stay out over a month if they have kids at home if I can help it. I put TV, DVD player, Microwaves, Refrigerators, GPS units and CB's in our trucks for our drivers. We even offer a fuel bonus that what ever is loaded to the comdata card and they slow down don't use as much fuel they get half of what is left on the card as a fuel bonus. So if a team comes home with $1000.00 on the comdata card they each get $250.00 as a fuel bonus. As to how we run, I don't know any CEO that takes 12 weeks off a year. Yes, our drivers get time off but they don't do it during the week. They are home for 72hrs then back at each time. Some drivers take off for hunting season for 10 days but they let us know 30 days in advance. We work as a team and partners in this business.

 

[Bruno]

Lets see:
40% out of 1.35 x 3,000
= 1,620$/Week
more then enough to maintain a St. truck...& then some.
that's why.

Moose, you and I make think that is. But the truck owner that has the brand new truck with a $3000 a month truck payment may say other wise. Two blown tires other things can put the guy in the poor house.

 

[zorry]

Moose, thats only $388,000 for the 5 years of truck ownership. Yeah, owners aren't getting enough. I sat in a $500,000 lakefront home and agreed to go to work for an owner. The next day I drove his truck 6 miles. We talked, he told me what he wouldn't fix, and the next morning I quit. There's good owners out here. Just too many not so good owners.

 

[Bruno]

Bruno, the previous was NOT directed at you personally. I don't know you or anything about how you run your trucks. You seem to have a good rep here. There are 4 owners I know running driver wanted ads today. I like 2 of them but could only recommend 1 of them. The guy I'm driving for now pays All fuel,all tolls, sat radio,sat TV, a motel if in shop overnite, the Occ Health Ins, and washes the truck weekly (more if needed). He expects a good team and we're glad to make the effort for him. In 6 months I've had one payroll question for him;"Did you overpay us for this load ?" He didn't. He pays 100 % of the tolls put gives us 40% of what the carrier gives him for tolls. Also, since he and his wife know what it's like to be out here he puts top quality mattresses in his fleet of 96" sleepers. He isn't going broke. He's a SAVY OWNER that knows how to handle his money !

Sounds like a owner I know that is very good to his drivers. Yea we replace the mattresses with pillow tops if the driver needs a new one.

 

[chefdennis]

I charge the person the rents my truck a flat fixed fee that doesn't change at all no matter how much the truck makes....and most of you here would not believe how low it is..sometimes it might be 50% of that the truck makes other times it might only be 10%....but no matter what the truck makes , i take that same flat fixed rental feel each week....Oh and in a certain amount of time (per the contract), I will give the title to the van to the driver....so he can do with it as he pleases....

 

[Bruno]

Moose, thats only $388,000 for the 5 years of truck ownership. Yeah, owners aren't getting enough. I sat in a $500,000 lakefront home and agreed to go to work for an owner. The next day I drove his truck 6 miles. We talked, he told me what he wouldn't fix, and the next morning I quit. There's good owners out here. Just too many not so good owners.

Not all owners are greedy as your implying. If I lived in a house like that I would have 50 trucks maybe. I pay myself the same every week and the rest goes back into the business. Some weeks I don't get a pay check because our drivers are the first ones to get paid. We may of had a repair or something that or load didn't get paid on time. If you don't pay your drivers or fix things, you won't have drivers to long. They are in this business to make money, we try to pay our drivers something if the truck is in the shop for a repair. If a truck is in the shop we put them in a Hotel and pay for their meals. We don't have to do that but we do.

That is why we pay our driver on the 40/60 program and we pay the fuel and tolls.

 

[zorry]

Bruno, you sound like you "get it." I know you're expanding and I wish you continued success.

 

[davekc]

All things being equal, Bruno is correct in that fleet owners make less when they pay the 60 percent and all of the FSC to their drivers.
Yep, and the drivers will make more unless of course they are doing a ton of DH.
The fleet owners may make less, but the expenditures we found are considerably less. Most of it is tied to equipment maintenance and driving habits. When a team is buying the fuel, they are much more conscience of those things.
You usually won't see the truck idling 24/7 to keep Fido comfy.
Little things like driving slower, minimal idling, watching tire pressure, all add up.
We had it as a optional thing many years ago and once the 40 percenters seen what they were giving up, they requested to be changed.
The other consideration we took several years ago was that gray area of independent contractor status. That was prompted by several fleet owners than ran into the employee misclassification problem. One of those common themes was paying the fuel, but there was other items as well.
In today's environment, you have to provide competitive compensation in order to retain quality teams.
Pretty much the reason one will seldom see us hiring unless we are expanding.

 

[flattop40]

OUTSTANDING thread. Very informative, factual, and insightful. I may have to start frequenting this site on a regular basis again. Cudos

 

[Yesteryear]

Hmmm why do we drivers deserve the money we make? ? ? Well, lets see what your investment would be worth without us drivers! Drivers are the ones doing all the work not the "invester"!
Drivers are the ones out here 24/7 without the luxury of going home for weeks and months at a time! Drivers dont get the luxury of putting their feet up after a hard days work or maybe a nice hot bath to soak in after fighting the snowy icy highways and bi-ways all day or night! Drivers don't have the comfort of going into their kitchens and cooking up a nice meal to sit down to on a Sunday! Drivers don't get to go out to a nice movie on Friday or just hang out with friends or maybe have a day at the beach during the summer. Jeez drivers don't get to plant flowers in their yard or spend time with family! Drivers are what MAKES YOUR investment! The greediness of some owners is just beyond my comprehension! Yeah, maybe a team might get 3000 miles a week! Drivers can't controll how many miles are assigned to the truck! It we are dispatched a 1000 miles a week or 6000 miles a week we will run it! But bottom line is we are the ones out here doing the work, making the "investment" pay off! We are the ones spending 24/7 in this truck for months at a time! Jeez, let's see, I think we have been home a total of 8 days this year! 4 days in April and 4 days in September! And don't think that is unusual, a lot of us stay out here and run just trying to get a little ahead! We are the ones taking all the risk! If that truck skids out on the ice the owners aren't the one paying the deductible, if that truck is over-loaded by a company who is paying the over-wieght ticket? The driver! If the truck has anything wrong with it who is getting the DOT hit, the driver! The driver is doing all the work and taking all the risk!

So, let's see . . . how much would your "INVESTMENT" be worth without drivers? Well I guess that depends on how many of your "investments" you can stay out here and drive 24/7 BY YOUR SELF?

 

[greg334]

Yesteryear
When you think about it, the driver has it easy.

I mean that when you start getting a fleet together and stop being a weekend owner, it gets to be a pain in the a** at time and sometimes not worth it.

The first myth that comes across with many of these threads is the idea that owners have it easy - they don't. It may be a large investment with the trucks but the owner has more of risks taken, they can't control the driver and Dave (bruno) can tell you that there are drivers who put everything owner has at risk by their behavior. The drivers don't pay the towing charge, they should with an overweight ticket because that's their fault but towing, repairs and so on, that's the owner.

The second myth is this idea that it is easy, it isn't. The reward may be great and again people like DaveKC and Dave (bruno) do make it look easy because it is a progression and continuing learner. Yea some of us can enjoy dinner at home but in many case that dinner is interrupted by the drivers asking questions or in trouble. Owners don't have HOS to deal with, it is a 24/7 thing regardless what some say. Getting a call in the middle of the night telling you that your truck is in a ditch on the Trans-Canada highway 100 miles east of thunder bay and you have to get in your pickup to go up there and help out - is not fun regardless how much money you make.

The third myth seems to be that the driver always deserves. I got to tell you it takes a long time to find good drivers and because of crappy owners, it is even harder. BUT because a lot of drivers have nothing to risk by treating the truck like crap and running into the ground (believe me a crappy driver can do a lot of damage in 50,000 miles). The driver doesn't deserve a thing until they prove they can do the job. When that proof happens, then the owner should keep that driver happy.

The fourth myth seems to be a question - what is this thread about? For some reason people still think within the box and maybe Dave (bruno) is getting people to think - good thing. I'm sort of like Dennis, I lease a couple of my trucks out to people for them to work the way they want to, and it works for both of us. I may not get rich but I can tell you that it is easier than chasing 1.20 a mile. A couple other trucks I have the drivers work for their 70% and this means work. But then again it isn't the 1.20 a mile, which when split up with the 40/60 thing is not much money.

 

[Stxredneck]

There's another thread going where a driver is looking at $750 per week, 3 weeks out, 1 week off. He says this is "too good to be true !" $29,000 per year ? To be gone 75?% of the time ? Bruno. Do you have your drivers work 48 weeks per year ? 6 weeeks off. 3.5 days per month off ? Usually with NO BENEFITS, VACATION PAY, AND ASSUMING ALL TAX LIABILITIES . If you look at the more generous owners they usually attract the better drivers, have less turnover, and are able to run better equipment. My biggest shock since entering this business is how little owners want to give drivers/and how little they want to return to the business.You need to pay your drivers, take care of your equipment and what's left is the owner's profit. If there's not enough profit, learn the business better.

I am the person that posted that thread. The ad I read posted by the company is advertising $750 per driver, out 3 weeks home 1 week. I have talked to a couple of people who works for the company and said they have been home once since September and their pay has been as low as $50 each driver up to over $1100.
I spoke with the company on Friday and decided not to go with them.

I'm not new to the trucking industry, just to the expedited world. I used to drive a hotshot rig PT made a % and would bring home $600 up to s1800 in a weeks time and most of the time going out and back. Sure wish I could find that sweet deal again.

 

[davekc]

Hmmm why do we drivers deserve the money we make? ? ? Well, lets see what your investment would be worth without us drivers! Drivers are the ones doing all the work not the "invester"!
Drivers are the ones out here 24/7 without the luxury of going home for weeks and months at a time! Drivers dont get the luxury of putting their feet up after a hard days work or maybe a nice hot bath to soak in after fighting the snowy icy highways and bi-ways all day or night! Drivers don't have the comfort of going into their kitchens and cooking up a nice meal to sit down to on a Sunday! Drivers don't get to go out to a nice movie on Friday or just hang out with friends or maybe have a day at the beach during the summer. Jeez drivers don't get to plant flowers in their yard or spend time with family! Drivers are what MAKES YOUR investment! The greediness of some owners is just beyond my comprehension! Yeah, maybe a team might get 3000 miles a week! Drivers can't controll how many miles are assigned to the truck! It we are dispatched a 1000 miles a week or 6000 miles a week we will run it! But bottom line is we are the ones out here doing the work, making the "investment" pay off! We are the ones spending 24/7 in this truck for months at a time! Jeez, let's see, I think we have been home a total of 8 days this year! 4 days in April and 4 days in September! And don't think that is unusual, a lot of us stay out here and run just trying to get a little ahead! We are the ones taking all the risk! If that truck skids out on the ice the owners aren't the one paying the deductible, if that truck is over-loaded by a company who is paying the over-wieght ticket? The driver! If the truck has anything wrong with it who is getting the DOT hit, the driver! The driver is doing all the work and taking all the risk!

So, let's see . . . how much would your "INVESTMENT" be worth without drivers? Well I guess that depends on how many of your "investments" you can stay out here and drive 24/7 BY YOUR SELF?

Are you sure you are in the right profession?
Just an observation.