Truck Driver Jobs Blog

WARD TRUCKLOAD PAYS ON PRACTICAL MILES; RAISES PAY

Altoona, Pa. (May 15, 2006) – Ward Truckload Express has recently moved to paying on Practical Miles rather than PC miles, resulting in a raise of approximately $3,000 per year for its drivers.
"We saw the industry moving this direction a few months ago and wanted to be one of the first to make this improvement for our driving force," says Creg Strock, director of recruiting & training at Ward Truckload Express. "Paying on Practical Miles is just the fair way to pay drivers and since we were adding a pay increase as well, we felt this was a good time to implement the change."
The company has recently upped pay for drivers with four years of experience from 36¢ per mile to 37¢ per mile and pay for those with five years of experience from 37¢ per mile to 38¢ per mile. Drivers joining Ward are required to have at least two years of experience and start at 35¢ per mile while three years of experience earns 36¢ per mile.
"In addition, we have a 2¢ per mile quarterly bonus that brings pay up even more," says Strock. "It can add up to as much as $650 per quarter."
Ward Truckload Express has experienced steady growth in recent years and has driving opportunities open now for regional and OTR drivers and owner operators.
One of the company's most attractive features is guaranteed weekend home time for 48 hours. According to company President Tim Ward, making allowances for the driver's lifestyle is a priority.
"Our goal is to provide our drivers with a lifestyle that balances time at home with time on the job," says Ward. "We are committed to providing excellent income potential and benefits, and we strive to create a pleasant work environment."
The length of haul for Ward Truckload Express OTR drivers ranges from 50 - 1,000 miles per load, with the average being about 410 miles per load. These drivers will average first year gross earnings of $52,000.
Company driver benefits include direct deposit, paid vacation and holidays; group-term life, AD & D and group medical insurance; voluntary profit sharing/401(k) plan, Ward pension plan and much more.
Benefits for owner operators/lease operators include 100% of loading/unloading billed, 100% of fuel surcharge, weekly pay settlements, direct deposit, 50% trip advance; EFS fuel card program, mobile communications at no cost, physical damage insurance, paid authorized tolls, bobtail insurance, fleet price tire purchase program, paid permits , and more.

Eagle Transport Holds Grand Opening for New Facility in Charlotte

Charlotte, N.C. --- Eagle Transport held the grand opening of its new Charlotte facility on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 from 11 am to 3 pm.
Eagle Transport, one of the most progressive petroleum transport carriers on the east coast, recently opened the facility as part of a continued effort to expand its business over several locations in the east for the past three to four years.
Bill George, President, is very excited about the new facility. He says "this is the only modern petroleum carrier terminal in the Charlotte market. It is highly visible and state of the art." The new facility is complete with electronic gates for driver security, new offices for the staff, a new driver break-room, a driver training room and a new, modernized shop.
George adds that "Mark Kinsey, the terminal manager for Charlotte, and his staff do a great job for us. They have really contributed to our growth. This really demonstrates a commitment to the driving force and customers as well. It goes to show that we are going to be a premier carrier in the marketplace for the long term." Kinsey added that the new facility "is a great improvement over our old, temporary facility. Our shop and offices are now in the same place, making everything much more convenient."
Customers and vendors were invited to the opening for a BBQ cookout along with all employees and their families. Eagle is also making plans for new facilities in Tampa, Fla. and Roanoke, Va.
If you are interested in a career with Eagle Transport, call 800-776-9664 or visit online at www.eagletransportcorp.com.

Boyd Bros. Announces Big Driver Pay Raise

Clayton, AL – Boyd Bros. trucking is proud to announce a fantastic new base pay raise for its drivers. Citing the contribution of drivers to the growth of the company, Boyd Bros. has committed to such an aggressive pay raise in order to reward their flatbed drivers for continued outstanding performance. The decision to raise the base pay is consistent with Boyd's belief that driver pay should not be loaded with stipulations and false promises.

Along with this new pay raise, they are raising tarp pay and have a new optional per-diem pay package coming soon. Boyd Bros. offers excellent benefits including Blue Cross/Blue Shield Insurance, free vision coverage and no cost life insurance.

"Our pay has always been great, because we have the best drivers in the industry and they deserve it. This new, big increase is a reward to them, and an incentive for other drivers of their caliber to join the Boyd Bros. family," explains Betty Nix, Director of Recruiting. "No other company can offer such a great pay program and an environment like Boyd Bros."

For more information about the new pay increase and great driving opportunities at Boyd Bros., call 800-543-8923 or log on to www.driveforboyd.com. Boyd Bros. is a family owned and operated business based in Clayton and Birmingham, AL. Boyd operates terminals throughout the U.S. and will soon be opening a new terminal in Cincinnati, OH.

Hogan Transport raises pay for owner operators

As posted on www.BigRigJobs.com
Hogan Transport, the company that has been putting drivers first for nearly 100 years, has again shown its commitment to being the best by raising its owner operator pay.
"If we provide plates, pay is now 90¢ per mile, a three-cent increase," says Tracey Miller of Hogan. "For owner operators with their own plates, we've raised pay by 3¢ to 91.5¢."
The raise, which was effective March 12, 2006, was an effort to meet owner operator needs. "We asked our owner operators what they wanted and we researched what was being offered elsewhere," says Miller. "We've received very positive feedback on this and with our other offerings, Hogan is an excellent career home."
In addition to higher pay, owner operators enjoy 48-state routes for solo OTR, Eastern & Western team divisions, pay for all miles both dispatched and empty, no up front escrow required, permits and tolls paid, weekly settlements, driver referral bonus, Qualcomm installed at no charge, tires available at volume discounts, no forced dispatch and network discounts available for fuel. All Hogan motor leasing shops are available at shop rate for maintenance.
Another way Hogan puts driving professionals first is by keeping them safe. Safety has long been a priority at Hogan. In April of 2005 the Commercial Carriers Journal named Hogan as its "Innovator of the Year" for their proactive safety programs. Hogan enjoys an outstanding safety record by constantly evaluating new safety methods and continually training drivers in the most recent safety techniques.
Company drivers are also welcome for regional and/or local runs in select areas, dedicated freight in select areas, excellent equipment, 401k retirement plan , vacation & holiday pay, medical, dental & life insurance, layover, unloading & loading pay,
For a limited time only both company drivers and Owner operators who hire or lease on with HOGAN will receive a $4000 sign on bonus.
Owner operators who are ready to be the #1 priority, should call Hogan at 800-444-6042 or visit www.hogan1.com.

STRONG START, SOLID FINISH FOR BARR-NUNN AND O'QUINN JR. IN NASHVILLE

As Posted on www.BigRigJobs.com
LEBANON, T.N. (April 15, 2006)- Danny O'Quinn Jr. had an impressive start to the weekend's event in Music City. A strong qualifying effort would put him third on the starting grid, best of the Roush cars and best of the rookies. O'Quinn Jr. and the team predicted they might have a good weekend, since the 20-year-old Virginia native had a previous start and sixth place finish in the ARCA Re/Max series there in 2005.

The green flag flew over the No. 50 Stonebridge Life and Barr-Nunn Ford Fusion with O'Quinn Jr. starting inside the top-five for the first time this season. Throughout the first 25 laps of the race, he maintained his top-five position, battling with cars in the lead pack. When the second caution came out on lap 25, O'Quinn Jr. made his first pit stop of the day. He had reported the car was feeling very tight, and when he brought the Fusion in for adjustments, the No. 50 crew went to work to make the car more free. Unfortunately, a problem on the pit stop would cost O'Quinn Jr. some time on pit road, resulting in a loss of positions on the racetrack. O'Quinn Jr. would restart in the 15th position.

That would be the last of his run inside the top-five, as for the rest of the day he would continue to fight an ill-handling race car. On both lap 46 and 70 following the lap 26 pit stop, O'Quinn Jr. would report an extremely tight race car. Between those laps, he would continue to run solidly in the top-15, hoping to catch a caution and make some adjustments to free the car. Despite the tight condition, he worked his way all the way to the 11th position before the caution flag flew again. This time a flawless pit stop would maintain his 11th place position for the restart on lap 95, and adjustments would be made once again to try and free the car.

Two pit stops later, after making adjustments for what had become a super loose race car and maintaining his top-15 position, O'Quinn Jr. reported a vibration. Luckily, he caught a caution just in time to save him from what would have been a costly green flag pit stop. On lap 173, the Stonebridge crew pitted the No. 50 Ford again, and found that the front wheel had been loose. O'Quinn Jr. restarted 18th, and picked off positions until the final lap. He crossed the finish line in the 14th position, ending the weekend with a solid run.

"Definitely a little bit disappointed with our run today because we had such a good car. We just kind of got behind the eight ball there, made some changes to the car that didn't work, but by the end of the race we were really good," said O'Quinn Jr. after the race. "We had some issues on one of our last pit stops, we had a wheel loose and had to pit again and put old tires on, so we lost some time there, but we still had a fast car. But not the fresh rubber we needed to pass cars. But overall, we still came out of here with a top-15, which is definitely a big improvement form where we were last week."

Next week, World Financial Group and Barr-Nunn colors return to the No. 50 for the season's first night race at the Phoenix International Raceway.

To find out more about the racing program at Barr-Nunn Transportation or to become part of the Barr-Nunn team call: 1-888-999-7576.

Barr-Nunn Transportation Announces Barr-Nunn 900

As posted on www.BigRigJobs.com
Granger, IA- April 12, 2006- Barr-Nunn Transportation is a widely acclaimed provider of highest quality transportation and logistics services. Since their inception in 1982, they have been the industry leader in pay packages; have grown to a fleet of nearly 675 tractors, 1,800 trailers and over 500 customers nationwide. Their large customer base and ability to efficiently meet the needs of shippers across the country have made them not just a stable operation, but one that is here for the long haul. They are also an organization that is poised for strategic growth. At Barr-Nunn, they strive for Owner Operators and Company Drivers to be happy. They are constantly working to come up with new ways to prove to drivers how much they value them.

Barr-Nunn just announced the new Barr-Nunn 900 appreciation bonus. This new bonus will recognize all of the most senior company drivers, paying out $900 per 60,000 miles to those whose seniority date is 9 years and greater. The Barr-Nunn 900 will be effective July 7, 2006 to show the support of their senior drivers.

In addition to the Barr-Nunn 900, there is a Barr-Nunn 600 driver appreciation bonus. All company drivers under the 9 year mark in their career with Barr-Nunn are eligible for this bonus. Similar to the other bonus, all company drivers receive a $600 pay out for every 60,000 miles.

To find out more about how Barr-Nunn anticipates and responds to the needs of their people, offers outstanding pay packages including their new Practical Mileage Program and gives drivers all the advantages they deserve, call 888-999-7576 or go to www.barr-nunn.com.

Barr-Nunn Transportation launches new Trucking Employment Assessment Monitor

As posted on www.BigRigJobs.com

Granger, IA-March 3, 2006-Barr-Nunn Transportation is a widely acclaimed provider of highest quality transportation and logistics services. Since our inception in 1982, we have been the industry leader in pay packages; have grown to a fleet of nearly 675 tractors, 1,800 trailers and over 500 customers nationwide. Our large customer base and ability to efficiently meet the needs of shippers across the country have made us not just a stable operation, but one that is here for the long haul. We are also an organization that is poised for strategic growth. At Barr-Nunn, we want all Owner Operators and Company Drivers to be happy. We constantly work hard to come up with new ways to prove how much we value them.

Barr-Nunn Transportation has now launched T.E.A.M. (Trucking Employment Assessment Monitor). This allows any driver or owner operator looking for employment to log on to www.barr-nunn.com and compare the features of any company with Barr-Nunn Transportation's features. "This will allow company drivers and owner operators to see why Barr-Nunn is a great place to work and all of the driver designed benefits we offer", said Doug Albrecht, Recruiting Director.

For your chance to compare other carriers with Barr-Nunn, log onto www.barr-nunn.com and click on T.E.A.M.

To find out more about how Barr-Nunn anticipates and responds to the needs of our people, offers outstanding pay packages including our New Practical Mileage Program and gives them all the advantages they deserve, call us at: 888-999-7576, Visit our website at: www.barr-nunn.com

DANNY O'QUINN JR. FINISHES WHERE HE STARTS IN FIRST CAREER ROAD COURSE RACE. WE ARE PROUD AT BARR-NUNN TRANSPORTATION.

As posted on www.BigRigJobs.com

MEXICO CITY (March 3, 2006)- Danny O'Quinn Jr., the No. 50 World Financial Group team and associate sponsor Barr-Nunn Transportation, headed south of the border for the first time this weekend to race in the TelCel Motorola Mexico 300 presented by Banamex. It was O'Quinn Jr.'s first trip outside of the country, and he wanted to do well in his first showing in a race outside of the U.S.

As has been the case previously in the season, O'Quinn Jr. and team came into the weekend focused on qualifying. At this race in particular, qualifying was even more present on the minds of the crew, because it was O'Quinn Jr.'s first time on a road course. Going into the season, it was the one race that the team was most concerned about.

That concern was forgotten when qualifying time came around. During his first laps on the track, O'Quinn Jr. ran a lap fast enough to guarantee him a spot on the starting grid of the TelCel Motorola Mexico 300. At the time he ran, he was the quickest rookie on the track, with a lap time of 90.034 seconds. His time qualified his Ford Fusion in the 26th position.

O'Quinn wasn’t unhappy with that run, and talked about how he gained the speed in the practice sessions on Friday.

"I just ran as many laps yesterday [in practice] as I could trying to get a feel for the track," O'Quinn Jr. said in a post-qualifying interview. "We never really changed anything and I picked up maybe seven seconds from start to end. I think that says a lot for seat time for me on road courses."

O'Quinn Jr. also shared his strategy for the race.

"The same is going to be for the race. It's just ride the race out and learn what everybody is doing and apply that," said O'Quinn Jr. "I'm going to take the first half of the race and try to learn, and try to keep myself on the blacktop and out of harm's way for a while."

This is exactly what he did.

When the race started, O'Quinn Jr. was already learning, racing with those who started around him. On lap five, the first caution of the day fell for trouble on Stacy Compton's machine.

Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer called O'Quinn Jr. to come in and pit on the last caution lap before the restart, to execute his pit strategy of coming in early and only having to make one more pit stop. If the plan worked out right, Blickensderfer would put O'Quinn Jr. out front late in the race.

It worked. For the first half of the race, O'Quinn Jr. logged laps and learned how to race on a road course.

He was going a little too fast into one of the turns early, and spun-out on his own, causing the second caution of the day on lap 19. But it was a clean, harmless spin, as he didn't hit the wall or damage the car. He got back on course and kept digging.

With about 33 laps to go, the pit strategy plan came to fruition. O'Quinn Jr. found himself in the ninth position. He began to pick off cars, as one lap later he was in the eighth position and with 31 laps to go, he had worked his way to the fifth position.

O'Quinn Jr. ran as high as third during the closing 30 laps of the race as a result of the pit strategy, but fell behind in the closing laps.

O'Quinn Jr. finished in the 26th position after falling from the top-five.

"We're happy with the way the car came out of it. We're definitely not happy with the finish, but I learned a lot," O'Quinn Jr. said in a post race interview. "So, we'll take this and it will make us 100 percent better when we go to Watkins Glen."

Officially, it was O'Quinn Jr.'s first ride in the top-five in his NASCAR Busch series career. Thanks to a good pit strategy by Blickensderfer and team, O'Quinn Jr. saw the front of the field at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

O'Quinn Jr. and his No. 50 World Financial Group team head to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway next weekend for the Sam's Town 300.


Roush Racing is a subsidiary of Livonia, Mich., based Roush Enterprises which operates 13 motorsports teams; five in NASCAR Nextel Cup with drivers Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards, six in the Busch Series with Martin, Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, Todd Kluever and Danny O'Quinn, Jr. and two in the Craftsman Truck Series with Martin, David Ragan and Erik Darnell.

To find out more about more about the racing program at Barr-Nunn Transportation, or about joining us as a Company Driver or Owner Operator, please call us at: 1-888-999-7576, or visit our website at: www.barr-nunn.com

American Truck Driver Job Shortage

Most people in the trucking industry already know this, but there is a shortage of qualified OTR truck drivers in the United States. The American Trucking Association reports that there are nearly 3.5 million truckers in the U.S. and that almost half of them are long haul drivers. The shortage is now considered to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000 truck drivers. It is estimated that there will be a shortage of around 111,000 drivers by the year 2014 if current economic trends continue.

This presents a dramatic problem especially when one finds out that large truckload carriers reported an average annual turnover of 121% last year. I personally have heard that of one of the nation’s largest trucking company’s (they will remain nameless) hires of truck drivers, an estimated 42 percent of those are rehires. There is a tremendous amount of turnover (churning) in the trucking industry and a recent study says the same. That same study reports that the average truck driver makes less money than they did before the 2000 recession. A lot of this churning is the result of many truckers’ complaints about lack of home time and regularly scheduled home time not just truck driver pay.

Another issue to consider is the 219,000 truck drivers who are over the age of 55 that will likely be retiring in the next 10 years. Most truckers do not continue to drive beyond the age of 65. In the year 2000, drivers between the ages of 55 and 65 comprised roughly 14% of the driving workforce. Only 2.8% of that same workforce was made up of drivers who were 65 years or older.

The trucking industry may be facing these driver shortage problems because of issues outside of home time and pay. An estimated 95% of truck drivers are male. This is not to say that women have been excluded from truck driver hiring practices, but it does show a great example of an outlier. Another startling statistic from the 2000 census is that more than 80% of all truck drivers are white only. Roughly 12% were black only and 8% were some other race. Roughly 10% claimed some Hispanic origin. According
to these Census data, the Hispanic population is slightly under-represented, and the African American population is slightly over-represented among truck drivers in the American Truck Transportation Industry.
All of this while the female population is grossly under-represented.

In order for the American Truck Transportation Industry to continue to be able to move 85% of all goods in the United States, they have a long road to travel. Trucking companies must target minorities not just white males. They must also deal with drivers’ concerns over home time, the scheduling of that home time, and most importantly driver pay.

For a more in-depth look at this situation, point your browser to: http://www.truckline.com/NR/rdonlyres/E2E789CF-F308-463F-8831-0F7E283A0218/0/ATADriverShortageStudy05.pdf

MCT Truck Driver School Announces its 35th Anniversary

As posted on www.BigRigJobs.com

MCT Driver School Announces its 35th Anniversary

The Midwest Coast Transport Driver School has been training men and women to become professional truck drivers since 1971. This year marks its 35th anniversary, and to celebrate, they’re offering a special discount to students during the first half of 2006. Insurance and drug screening, which usually cost $67, will instead be offered for only $35 for the first six months of this year.
Improvements in technology and equipment have caused the Sioux Falls, South Dakota campus to change through the years, but its solid reputation for putting prepared, competent and professional drivers on the road has remained constant. Last year, over 80 students graduated from the program.
The MCT Driver School is known for its warm, personal atmosphere, low student to teacher ratio, and quality curriculum. With an emphasis on professionalism and safety as well as basic technical skills, the MCT Driver School equips its students to build solid careers as professional truck drivers.
To receive an application to attend, plus more information about MCT's tuition-free training program, please dial 1-877-JOIN-MCT or e-mail recruitment@mct.comcar.com.