Paid by the Hour or the Mile?

The driver shortage isn’t getting any better. Do you think maybe it’s time to change the way truck drivers are getting paid?

“It is getting more and more difficult to find reliable trucking these days and a lot of customers are beginning to say that we just can’t rely on the truck being there,” said Jon Schultz of Westfalia Technologies, in a Manufacturing.net article.

Schultz goes on.

“They may be scheduled, but they may or may not show up. They may drop the order and say they aren’t doing it because they found a better deal, and are taking a different load for a different customer. That is just the reality of trucking these days.”

Do you agree?

As Schultz talks about the unreliable nature of trucking right now, we must delve deeper and try to figure out why it is so unreliable. Dave MacMillan, owner-operator, sheds some light.

“You can’t attract young people to this industry anymore,” said MacMillan in a Fleet Owner article. “When I was a kid all I ever wanted to do was drive a truck. Now, you look at this industry and you think, ‘Geeze, I may stay away from home almost all year long, in and out, and only make $30,000. Or, I can go into construction, be home every night, and make $50,000.’ It’s not much of a choice.”

How are you paid by your trucking company? Do you think there should be a change in the compensation structure?

“I think the only way is to pay drivers by the hour, because there’s so much time lost in transportation that paying by the mile just doesn’t cut it,” said MacMillan in a Fleet Owner article.