Question:
Shuffler,
It seems like Werner never used to put their pay on their website but now they're advertising at $.35/mile as an average. I presume that this is if you do their per diem plan but please post here if that is incorrect.
Thanks,
MnMadman
Answer:
Werner used to be one of the more dignified advertisers. They used to avoid two-bit slogans, snappy one liners and deceptive claims. Their integrity used to mean something.
I've been distressed to see how they've lowered themself to advertising much like the rest of the industry these days....
35cpm probably is the average -- I actually make a few cents more -- but that average includes senior drivers and is built on a comkplex set of bonuses. The yearly "safety bonus", for example, is substancial but requires no chargable fender benders and is paid for the last 12 months at the completion of each twelve months service. Layover, extra stop and low-productivity pay are also included in this 35cpm average. What they're doing is taking everything their make in gross wages and averaging it out over typical mileage, including slightly higher cpm for those drives who've chosen the per-dium pay option (which I have not).
In short -- a new driver at starting wage won't make 35cpm, and could make considerably less in total depending on which "division" they work in. Net-Ops drivers, for example, run 500-600 drop-hook relay miles every day and go home every night, but start at 21cpm base with no previous experience. Mileage, safety and fuel bonuses might put them up to 25cpm.
Our forty-eight state solo driver divisions pay the most. They make-up about 25% of our drivers. Teams, regional, dedicated, net-ops (relay), local shag and other various divisions account for 75% of our drivers, and if you decide on one of these divisions make sure you get straight answers from the recruiter on exactly what that job pays. Ask about mileage and safety bonuses and insist on firm numbers. Werner uses their 48-state pay to attract drivers, but sometimes "forgets" to imform you of the pay difference if you choose a different division during the employment or orientation process.
One positive thing I will say however. Their payroll is dead-on accurate. My trips are paid promptly and they've never cheated me out of anything they owed me. Drivers can access payroll detail on both the QualComm and the internet within days of completing the trip.
I runfor the western-state van division -- about 500 trucks. I make a couple cents less than a comparably experienced 48-state driver, but it's easier to make high mileage in this division than 48-state and the runs are generally longer, faster and less stressful since we don't go back east. But you got to work hard and smart at Werner to make any money -- which includes knowing the logging system like the back of your hand, and most of all managing your time intelligently and precisely. Steering wheel holders go broke where I work.
In Minesota, I think your options are forty-eight state vans or flatbeds -- and maybe our refer division, called "TCU" for Temperaure Controlled Units. That's a sweet division -- mostly dedicated drop and hook meat and other frozen food product. (we don't do those dreadful brokered random-dispatch grocery loads anymore). I know a couple guys from the upper midwest who run TCU and they love it. It's a small, elite division -- only a couple hundred trucks at most, I believe.
But again -- nail down the details with the recruiter who handles your applicaton and file when you apply. Don't assume anything. We have hundreds of divisions and dozens of different pay scales and combinations.

Answer:
On their site it said the average was for a 'first year driver' so it would imply not including the people who have been around longer and it probably included the $.10/mile per diem. I say this not to argue with you since you--obviously--know more about their scale than I and you have the paystubs to prove it but to avoid a swarm of replies pointing that out from people who want to argue about it.
Thanks for explaining why they don't post their pay. Schneider has theirs broken down a few ways so you have to enter your zip code to see the scale but it sounds like Werner's system is a bit too complex to put on a website that wants people to call the recruiters. Besides, most people don't like to read anything that takes up a paragraph. As you can tell by some of my posts here I don't fit in that crowd.
Answer:

Welcome!!!!!! ....
I'm in a rush to get out of this motel, but I'll check Werner's site when I get home this weekend - haven' visited it for some time. I think that number is a bit high, realistically. But I've been holed-up in my cozy little western-division gig with them for some time now, and I may be all wet about what new 48-state drivers are really making. Just keep in mind -- that (must be) 48-state solo wages, and some of it is held-back in the form of post-performance bonuses.

Answer:

Friday night and you're stuck layed over in some fleabag motel probably with a sign that says "No drugs or prostitution" displayed in the lobby. Yep, I sure do miss OTR...NOT!!!!
Answer:

Where the hel1 do they find those folks?
Answer:

In small towns where $500-$600 per week plus insurance benfits is the going rate for a day driver. They relay cross-country loads in sequential 300 miles trips -- hook them loaded, run them down the road, bring another one back -- then bobtail home for the night. I think we've got a few hundred "net-ops" (previously called pony express) spread out across major freight lanes. Believe it or not, their turnover is the lowest in the company, and those I've met are impressively non-dweller types.
mnmadman,
I talked to a recruiter today and pretended to be ignorant. He gave me a pretty good pitch that backs-up the number. He says it's computed from the average W-4 (gross wages / compensation) of new drivers that manage to complete their one-year anniversary. It includes a wide range of cpm for different divisions. I think it's a good number.
But here's the slight of hand in this 35cpm average computation:
The majority of new drivers -- the ones who quit before a year -- are not included. Werner removed less productive drivers from the W-4 total, then divides it by the ramaining average mileage. It's not dishonest, but it assumes you'll stay thru your first anniversary as those used in the computation.
May I offer an unsolicitated suggestion? After all this talk of different wage scales for diferent divisions -- do the kind of trucking you want to do, not just the one that seems to pay the most. Werner pencils it out pretty carefully. In the end, we all make pretty much the same.
(except the above mentioned local and "net-ops" drivers who generally make less than true Over The Road drivers)

Answer:

500 miles per day at .21 cpm = $105.00 gross per day = $525.00 gross per week.
500-600 miles per day at average speed of say 45 mph = 12 hour days. Say 13.5 hour days with drop/hook/paperwork/inspection/delays/waiting/etc at either end. 13.5 is definitely a conservative number btw.
13.5 X 5 = 67.5 hours per week. No overtime after 40th hour (of course )
$525.00 gross pay /67.5 hours = $7.77 per hour (before taxes).
Gee, what a deal. Where do I sign up?
Answer:
Only first year drivers would do it for peanut pay like that. You would hope those with experience know they can find local jobs that pay much better.
I sent an app to Werner about a year ago or more looking for in state work. Did that after talking to a couple drivers who did what I wanted to do. A recruiter lady called sounding all excited about a job she had for me. It was running mainly Fl. and Ga. Home most nights etc. etc.. Then she told me the pay. It was some where close to the sham Shuffler listed. I told her "you are kidding right". She said no and tried to explain it and make it sound good. I just hung up the phone.
Why drivers fall for this crap is beyond me.

Answer:
Werner trucks are blue. So you have to ask yourself a question. Do I like blue?If you answer yes then Werner is for you.
It's just like at the candy store. Sometimes the candy looks good, but doesn't taste good. You will never know until you try it.
Hope this helps.

Answer:
I like red.

Answer:
Ensoledad,
What I actualy wrote was:

Your cpm formula is off by about 20%.....and I doubt they have 3 hours a day of "delay" running two drop and hooks back and forth across Wyoming or Arizona (the ones I see don't waste much time dropping the first and hooking the one back home)...and 45mph average?.....but the point is, these folks apparently would rather make $550-$600 a week and live at home doing this every day than working at Wal-Mart or whatever. They're called "local" or "day drivers", and generally make less than the $35,000-$40,000 starting average most new OTR drivers make these days.
It's the same everywhere -- if you want to go home every night, you're going to have a hard time finding a job that pays more than $600 a week plus benefits your first year no matter who you drive for. Werner has no trouble filling these few jobs around the country, and the turnover is lower -- probably because they've got medical/dental/vision, a steady paycheck and are home every night with their families. $30,000 is actually a pretty competative wage for a high school graduate with no other marketable skills these days....
Stuffs -- I'm glad you finally found a relatively simple job that makes you feel like a proud, hot-shot know-it-all with nothing left to learn. It may not pay as much as typical random-dispatch OTR (your company quoted me pretty crappy wages) but if something with fewer demands works for you - more power to you delivering your little boats. Hold that wheel tight and be thankful you didn't choose Werner. You both would have been disappointed.

Answer:

I drove for an oil recycler when I lived in PA. I had to do around 15 stops per day, climb up and down off the tank around 40 times per day, drag hoses all over the place, and sometimes get soaked with oil. I did all this for around $700/week working 50-60 hrs per week.
Running 500 or so miles per day doing 2 drop and hooks sounds MUCH better tthan what I put up with at the oil recycler. For a first year driver to be home daily making $500-$600per week with not much physical work involved sounds like a pretty good deal if you ask me.

Answer:

Of course it does. And most of these guys are home in time for dinner. The difference in day driver pay and OTR pay is usually soaked-up by on the road expenses. I think these day jobs are great for guys who need to be home, and they probably have more money left-over to support their families at the end of the day than those who live in their trucks for weeks at a time....not to mention being there to raise your kids, etc.... Dweller work may pay more, but that doesn't make it the best option for every CMV driver....

Answer:
Sorry if this is a stupid request, but could someone break down an average OTR driver's per-hour pay? In another thread I (hopefully) understood that per the rules, an OTR driver can only work 88 hours a week. Thats 11 hours driving + 10 hours off (21 hour "sets") which can go into a full 167 hour week 8 times (rounded up).
I know it may not mean anything, but it might make for a clearer view for those of us who dont know any better.