First, demanding an excessive and unrealistic rate of pay will only disrupt the economy and raise prices on all consumer products. While it would be nice if all loads paid the Owner Operator $5.00 per mile, and paid the company driver $1.25 per mile, these numbers aren't realistic unless you're willing to pay $10.00 for a loaf of bread, or $40.00 a pound for meat or produce at the grocery store.

Balancing an acceptable rate of pay against the retail cost isn't going to be easy, but in order to reach a realistic goal, we have to work together as owner operators, lease operators, and company drivers at the same time.

While increasing freight rates would improve the owner operators and companies profits, unless the company driver benefits, why should they be willing to fight, and possibly shut down the trucks they drive?

Additionally, we can't expect the owner operator to support demanding a minimum mileage or percentage for company drivers if they are not getting more to haul their freight. In fact, small companies with a dozen or so trucks might gladly support an increase in freight rates to increase their profits, but would be against paying their drivers more because that reduces their profits.

Dividing company drivers, owner operators and small fleets against each other by not taking all drivers into consideration would be a disaster. Remember, working together to improve conditions doesn't necessarily mean working AGAINST the shippers and receivers, it also means WORKING WITH EACH OTHER!

Company drivers, owner operators, lease operators and small fleet owners will have to be willing to work together to help each other. Even the large trucking companies would benefit, but they would also have to be willing to stand with us instead of against us. Whether this will ever happen or not will remain to be seen, but for now, our goal is to get EVERY man and woman that drives a truck to work together.

While this may mean some compromises on everyone's part in some way, by helping other drivers in this industry achieve the goals they want, you can expect them to help you achieve yours as well.

Another issue that needs to be addressed is freight regulation. Many drivers today feel the push for de-regulation was a mistake and believe it has allowed larger companies to undercut small fleets and owner operators, and that this practice has been the primary cause of driving freight rates down. Others feel it was the right thing to do and believe they can make more hauling certain products without the government placing a fixed rate on those products.

While we can't argue the fact that a company with 100 trucks can afford to make less profit per truck than a company with 5 trucks, or an independent owner operator with one truck running under his own authority, we also can't argue that placing a fixed rate on freight would actually reduce the rate certain loads are paying.

Another issue is weight. Do we base a regulated rated on a load's weight. Trucks do use less fuel to haul lighter loads, but is the amount significant enough to be able to adjust the rate in 5,000 pound increments, 10,000 pound increments, or even 20,000 pound increments? And if we do adjust the rate based on the weight of the load, how do we compensate company drivers that are running for a fixed rate per mile?

Rather than create a complicated table of rates and adjusted pay schedules, I think it would be easier to look at the freight rates from a minimum regulated amount rather than try to control the exact rate of every piece of freight that moves by truck.

We all know what parts of the country better paying freight originates from, and we know what parts of the country the cheap freight comes from. Is it because the areas that have the cheap freight are making less money on their products that the areas that pay more? Of course not. It's simply a matter of supply and demand.

If there are 100 loads and 10 trucks in an area, it's obvious the rate will increase on the freight because the trucks have a choice of loads and can refuse a low paying load in favor of a higher paying load. But if there's 100 trucks and only 10 loads, then the rate drops because drivers become desperate to get their truck moving.

Many companies, and owner operators, will accept rates as low as 70 cents per mile just to help cover the cost of fuel to move their equipment to an area that has better paying freight rather than deadhead.

OK, we've examined the problem, so what's the solution?

Most drivers I've spoken with feel rather than actually regulating all freight rates nationwide, a federal minimum should be placed on any freight moving within the borders of the United States.

Notice I said within the borders of the United States. Why? Because we can't control what other countries will pay or charge to move freight to and from the U.S. borders, but we can control the minimum rate it will travel within our country.

Why does this matter? It eliminates the possibility of rate exemptions on imported and exported products, or even an exemption on domestic products and LTL freight by keeping things simple and demanding that any freight that moves across any road within the U.S. borders is paid at a specified minimum rate.

Will everyone like this idea? The answer to that is a resounding NO!

Drivers and companies that operate in a specific area where freight pays well will hate this idea because it could result in a decrease in the rate of some of the higher paying loads in order to offset the increase in lower paying freight. Also, some larger trucking companies will be against this type of proposal since they will not have the ability to negotiate for a lower rate in order to secure loads from certain shippers.

Although I hate to create a situation where we are placing the drivers against the larger trucking companies, the fact can't be ignored that many of us have seen a large trucking company undercut the freight charges on loads to a point where the independent owner operator could not make a profit by hauling the load for the same amount.

Some may argue this is simply how business operates in a free enterprise, capitalist economy, and they are correct. This is how business operates. If you need proof, just look at the number of large, incorporated truck stops compared to the number of small independent ones, or the number of large mega-stores compared to the small, mom and pop stores.

While I don't support a communist or socialist economy, the fact remains that the capitalist economy is structured so that the larger businesses can offset a loss in profits on individual sales by capitalizing on an increase in sales volume. That's why I believe rather than regulate the rates on every piece of freight, we opt for a minimum rate nationwide that will allow all owner operators and small fleet owners to make a reasonable profit, and although some larger companies may lose some leverage on volume, they will not lose their profit margin because their company trucks will be making more per mile on the same freight they were hauling for a cheaper rate.

So what is the minimum rate we want paid on any freight that moves across the roads in the United States?

Most owner operators and small fleet owners I have spoken to feel that with the rising cost of fuel, oil, tires, and the increase in other maintenance costs over the last four years, a rate of $1.50 per mile is an acceptable minimum. They believe this rate will not adversely affect the nations economy, will not drive down higher rates that are available, and will allow all trucks to make enough of a profit to take a load regardless of what part of the country they are sitting in.

Like I said, not everyone will agree with this figure when you look at the impact it may have nationwide, but if you have a sweet deal right now where you're running a high paying, dedicated run, remember that if that deal ever ends, you may be one of the drivers sitting somewhere one day where freight is moving at 60 cents per mile, and a dozen other drivers are there willing to take that load just to offset some of the fuel costs to get moving. You may wish you had been willing to stand up and try to help other drivers then.

I know some small companies claim they won't be able to survive if they are forced to pay drivers more than what they are already paying them. Some large companies have even made the same claim, saying a three cent per mile increase for every driver they have will drive them into bankruptcy.

Personally, I think that's a ridiculous statement. If any company is operating on such a tight budget that they can't afford to pay a driver a wage compatible with the increased cost of living, then either that company is hauling some very cheap freight, or the company owners are inflating their cost of doing business.

If the former case is true, and the company is barely surviving because they are hauling cheap freight, then with a minimum freight rate will increase their profits, and they can pay their drivers a decent wage.

Now, I've been a company driver, and I know that bonuses and health insurance are incentives that many drivers look at as an alternative to a higher wage, but the majority of bonuses I've seen come with a loophole, and there is no reason an increase in drivers pay should increase your cost for insurance, even if the company is paying part of it. Your increase in pay will be offset by an increase in freight rates, so all other factors will remain the same. Don't let a company trick you into comparing apples to oranges and they say they will have to cut insurance or bonuses to increase your pay. The increase in driver's pay will be offset equally when a minimum freight rate increases the profit each truck makes on every load.

Currently, the industry average is around 34 cents per mile. I know that some drivers make more, and some make less than this amount, but overall, without bonuses taken into consideration, 34 cents per mile seems to be the average right now.

Is that enough to live on? Maybe, if you can get enough miles each day, but that's where the problem comes in.

Company drivers and owner operators with their equipment leased on to a company have to look at more than just the freight rate or the mileage pay for the simple fact they don't find their own freight. They rely on a dispatcher or load planner to keep them moving, while the owner operator running under his own authority either works with brokers or other resources to find their own loads.

Because of this, an owner operator with his own authority accepts the fact that he or she is an independent business owner, and is not going to get layover pay unless they pay it to themselves. The company driver or lease operator on the other hand has to consider the fact that there may be times they will sit a day or two waiting for a load with no control over the situation. Also, while an independent owner operator may take a load that requires him or her to sit under the load for a day or two before they can deliver it, that is something they can control by either accepting or refusing the load. Most company drivers and lease operators are not eligible for layover pay if they refuse a load, even if the load is going to require them to sit for two days, and many companies will not pay layover to a driver if they are under a load.

OK, now that I've tried to examine the different situations the company driver or lease operator may face, what's a reasonable solution?

Rather than simply say all company drivers should get a minimum of 60 cents per mile, and all lease operators should get a minimum of $1.80 per mile (a 3:1 ratio, which is an average of the current rates I've seen offered), set the minimum for a company driver at a reasonable .35 cents per mile, and the lease operator at a reasonable$1.05 per mile, but guarantee them BOTH an hourly rate when the company can't find them a load, or if their next load requires them to sit and wait over one hour before it can load.

Currently, layover pay can take as long as 48 hours to go into effect with some companies, and 24 hours for others, but most companies will not pay a driver or lease operator if they find them a load within 47 hours or 23 hours respectively, and some companies won't even offer layover pay. Like the shippers and receivers, they expect drivers to sit for free. Another situation is where a company driver might sit until just before he or she is eligible for layover, then be dispatched on a load 20 miles away that doesn't pick up for nine hours. Since they are dispatched on a load, many companies won't pay the layover.

Since we've already covered the mandatory detention issue to be paid by the shipper and consignee, I am not going to include that as another perk the company driver gets. We have to be careful what issues we pick and choose that we are willing to fight for, because if we won't fight for mandatory detention pay for all drivers, then we upset the balance we are trying to create with a minimum freight rate and driver wage. These aren't issues I've picked randomly out of the air and simply thrown some numbers at. Every issue raised on this website is combined with every other issued, and suggestions made for one issue have to take into account there are other issues we need to see addressed as well.

By offering company drivers and lease operators a minimum of $15 per hour from the time they are empty until the load they are dispatched on can be picked up, we can create a balance that reduces the feast or famine scenario of getting 5,000 miles one week, then 500 the next. We can keep the mileage pay at a reasonable level that would not adversely affect the economy and still offer company drivers and lease operators the chance to earn a decent living without having to worry about sitting for free waiting for a load.

As far as detention for percentage, the mandatory detention issue covers that, and as far as layover pay for a driver hauling on percentage, I believe that it would be in everyone's best interest to include drivers that run for a percentage to be included in the minimum hourly wage when waiting for a load.

Why do I feel it is important to include an hourly wage for drivers that run for a percentage? Because if we don't include a minimum hourly wage for a company driver running on percentage, and we do get companies to pay the hourly wage for drivers and lease operators running on a fixed rate, I believe we will see the majority of companies switching to a percentage again in order to prevent paying their drivers to sit.

Will this create an adverse affect on the driver's wage? It's very possible that many companies may reduce the percentage if they have to pay drivers to sit, but if they are finding their drivers loads in advance already, and the drivers aren't sitting waiting for a load, then there would be no way a company could justify reducing the percentage.

For companies that do let their drivers sit now, if they do cut the percentage, the drivers will still come out ahead because now they will be getting paid while sitting for a day or two, or longer waiting for the company to find them a load.

As far as a minimum percentage rate, that would be hard to specify, as running on percentage has always been a little more of a gamble than running for a fixed rate. I know when I use to run for a company on percentage, I accepted the fact that there would be times I was going to make up to three times more than what the fixed rate driver was making, and there were times I only made about a third as much.

Since most companies have gotten away from the percentage option, and I haven't driven for a company for percentage in over 20 years, I will leave it up to other drivers out there that currently are running on percentage to make any suggestions they feel are necessary.

One thing we don't want to do is ignore the percentage aspect altogether and end up making it a loophole companies can use to try and cheat drivers and lease operators out of a fair wage.

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