‍Recently, a question on an online forum for truckers caught our eye…

TheStreaker asked:

“How often does your carrier dispatch you on a fully round trip or offer the possibility of a return load?”

One trucker responded:

“I’ve had two round trips in a single year.”

Another said:

“I don’t get too many loads with a return.”

And a third said:

“It rarely ever happens that I get a load back!”

These answers don’t surprise us. The truth is, fully-loaded round trips are a rarity in the trucking industry. And even when they do occur, they aren’t often in the best interest of drivers and carriers. Why? Because the cost for a truck to make it to and from where the driver is domiciled to the actual pick up and drop off locations is never covered. Without round trips, carriers wind up stringing together various loads to fill their work week, which adds more empty miles when considering the travel required from one drop point to another pickup.

That’s what happened to TheStreaker.

“I’m on a round trip that started Thursday and will complete tonight when I get home. The loaded miles on this trip will be 2310 miles, but I will have about 600 miles empty when you consider the distance I had to drive from my home for pickup and back from drop-off.

Today, drivers are stuck doing a lot of extra math to see whether the money they will make on any trip will cover the cost of empty miles. That’s why our team at SemiCab is pushing for change. We are disrupting the antiquated model to get drivers paid for every mile driven - no more, no less. It’s not just catchy, but it’s a model we stand by. We call it ‘all miles based compensation.’

If you are not familiar with the term, we understand. It’s definitely a fresh approach to an age-old problem: eliminating empty miles in the long-haul trucking industry. So, here are the As to your Qs regarding: all miles-based compensation.

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Q: When it comes to round trips, what is the current state of the market?

A: Round trips are out there, but they almost always involve some degree of empty miles. For example, say an independent driver or an owner operator secures a round trip between Atlanta, GA and Charlotte, NC. If this driver is domiciled in Macon, GA, the driver will not get paid for the 80+ plus miles he or she needs to travel to pick up the outbound load and the 80+ miles they need to travel to return home after dropping off the inbound load. When you consider that operating costs in the trucking industry are about $1.38 per mile1, that’s a lot of money out of the driver’s pocket.

Margins for drivers and carriers are based on the miles they run. Bottom-line is: empty miles hurt the bottom-line.

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Q: Are drivers that work for larger carriers better off than owner/operators or drivers that work for small carriers?

A: While the pay for drivers that work for larger carriers is guaranteed, they often wind up making less annually than successful owner/operators and those driving for smaller carriers.

According to truckdriverssalary.com:

On average, drivers (with some experience) are paid between $0.28 and $0.40 per mile.

Some companies pay more, but the jobs that pay between $0.40 and $0.45 per mile are typically given to drivers with many years of experience.

Most drivers will get between 2,000 and 3,000 miles per week.

Based on the averages above, pay per week can range anywhere from $800 to $1,350.

Successful owner operators often have the ability to make a bit more. It’s a tough business, but those who succeed have reported bringing home earnings of $60,000-$80,000 or more per year.

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Q: What will it take to level the playing field and ensure ‘all miles-based compensation’ for all drivers?

Nobody can afford to drive empty. It cuts into profitability for both drivers and carriers. We need technology that’s focused on reducing empty miles that is accessible to all – not just the big guys.

SemiCab has built that technology, and is pioneering a new model never seen before in the industry. We guarantee seven-day and eight-day trips to and from a driver’s domicile with all miles paid. Drivers choose their start and stop date for the trip and we do the rest, including building a schedule that takes HOS constraints and the need for breaks into account.

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Ever think:

• Empty miles could not be solved?
• Loaded round trips were not possible?
• Every mile driven could not be paid?
  

Think again. Think SemiCab.

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Curious? We want you to be part of the change! Get started by downloading our free eBook on the future of long-haul trucking.

Resource: https://www.truckdriverssalary.com/how-much-does-a-truck-driver-make-per-mile/