Schneider National announced this week that its company drivers
will receive an average increase of $4,000 per year and that its
owner-operators would see their linehaul rates increase to 90 cents per mile
plus a fuel surcharge.
The new rate is a 4-cent increase over current owner-operators pay of 86
cents a mile for solo drivers, Mike Norder, a company spokesman, said. Team
drivers will see an increase of 6 cents per mile.
Company officials said the move – which they said would more than double
the company’s 2004 pay increase – was “the largest pay increase for drivers
and owner-operators in its 70-year history.”
The new pay rates take effect on Feb. 6, 2005.
In addition to the pay hike, company drivers will receive new
short-haul premiums and increased non-driving provisions, such as detention
pay.
The company said that in addition to the mileage pay,
owner-operators would receive fuel surcharges and “savings opportunities on
business expenses.”
The fuel surcharge paid to owner-operators for the week of Dec.
5 was 14.32 cents per mile. Norder said the company made significant changes to
its fuel surcharge program in the past year, changing the formula to provide
more money to owner-operators.
The “business savings” refers to Schneider’s Purchase Power
Program.
“For me, the best way to liken it, it’s much like a super
store,” Norder said. “We obviously buy our products at a much discounted cost
simply because of our size. We are able to leverage those costs and provide
those savings to our owner-operators as well.”
The program includes discounted fuel, tires – “you’d be hard
pressed to find someone who buys more Goodyear tires than Schneider National” – maintenance parts and labor and other products and services.
Owner-operators will also receive detention costs.
The compensation ranges from $25 for 2 to 3 hours detention to
$125 for 12 to 24 hours.
– By Mark H. Reddig, associate editor
mark_reddig@landlinemag.com
