How Much Do You Really Make per Hour?

[hedgehog]

I asked this question years ago, when times were more profitable then. It seemed to be 50/50.

Some drivers figured their waiting time into the hourly rate, an equal amount thought otherwise.

So, here it is again:

Example:

You've just called dispatch to say you are available (no matter where you are) and are waiting for a load. Do you consider this part of your hourly wage ??

I do. The moment I notify dispatch I am back in service, to when I arrive home from however long I've been away.

Previously, some drivers only considered the hourly amount when they were under load.

Waiting 2-3 days at a Pilot for a load did not figure into their equation.

What's your thought ??

 

[fastman_1]

I asked this question years ago, when times were more profitable then. It seemed to be 50/50.

Some drivers figured their waiting time into the hourly rate, an equal amount thought otherwise.

So, here it is again:

Example:

You've just called dispatch to say you are available (no matter where you are) and are waiting for a load. Do you consider this part of your hourly wage ??

I do. The moment I notify dispatch I am back in service, to when I arrive home from however long I've been away.

Previously, some drivers only considered the hourly amount when they were under load.

Waiting 2-3 days at a Pilot for a load did not figure into their equation.

What's your thought ??

I'm on the clock from the time I accept a load until I return home.

 

[Ragman]

I don't bother trying to calculate an hourly rate. I'm paid x dollars to move the load.

 

[Mailer]

My thought, when the IC starts talking about rate per hour, the IC status may be crossing into the employer-employee relationships. Therefore, I am thinking the same way as Ragman.

I think the annual net or gross would paint more accurate picture in our line of business.

 

[Turtle]

You've just called dispatch to say you are available (no matter where you are) and are waiting for a load. Do you consider this part of your hourly wage ??

If you go to eHarmony and post that you are available, does that mean you are on a date?

Unless you bill your time by the hour, you don't have an hourly wage. As an independent contractor running your own business, the only person that pays you is you. If you want to pay yourself to sit at a Pilot for 2 or 3 days, then by all means do so. The question is, would you hire an employee and pay them to do the same exact thing?

 

[Moot]

I pay myself $16/hour for waiting between loads. After 8 hours the hourly rate goes to $24/hour. Saturdays and Sundays are double time. Of course paying for sitting between loads cuts rather deeply into my mileage rate.

 

[andrew sterling]

if youre on call, youre on the clock...

 

[OntarioVanMan]

168 hours in a week...@ $10.00 an hour would be $1680 gross.....been hard to manage that of late...but I digress...its not about the hours just ask a small store operator....

 

[ATeam]

The construction contractor who built our gym had several employees on the job that he paid by the hour. When something needed to be done like run an off-site errand to get a needed tool or materials that were unexpectedly unavailable, this business owner made the trip because, he joked, "I'm the lowest paid person on the clock." It made more sense to keep his crew working on task than it did to pay one of them to run to Home Depot.

For self-employed expediters, it makes more sense to calculate your earnings by the year than it does by the hour.

If you are self-employed, you are running a business, not a time clock. As a self-employed business person, your value is not gauged by the hour, it is gauged by the profits and losses of your your company. A company income statement (also known as the profit and loss statement) does not show profit and loss numbers by the hour. It shows them by the day, week, month, quarter, or year. And it does not show them by the individual, it shows them for the company as a whole (even if it is a company of one).

If you were an hourly employee, the time clock and rate per hour would matter. As a self-employed expediter who brings capital to the game (truck, equipment), the capital must be factored in too. That's what your income statements and balance sheets do. Time sheets are for employees. Income statements and balance sheets are for business owners.

Expediters have expenses that continue whether you are in service or not. If you are an expediter who considers yourself to be an hourly employee, the trouble is your expenses don't care what you call yourself. Neither do your carrier, brokers, dispatchers, vendors, truck mechanics, shippers, scale cops and everyone else you interact with in this business.

If you want to win in the expediting business, it is more likely to happen if you view yourself as someone who owns and operates an expediting business. You are not a truck owner/operator, you are a business owner/operator.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

question must be addressed....Am I investing too much time on the job for very little income?....Maybe a
re evaluation of your goals is in order?....your expectations?....I just know from 10 yrs ago I must be in service and run more miles to make the same money I did 10 yrs ago....and I don't like it of course, but the business is not the (Reliable) goldmine it once was.....but then again no one said it would be easy.....

 

[OntarioVanMan]

question must be addressed....Am I investing too much time on the job for very little income?....Maybe a
re evaluation of your goals is in order?....your expectations?....I just know from 10 yrs ago I must be in service and run more miles to make the same money I did 10 yrs ago....and I don't like it of course, but the business is not the (Reliable) goldmine it once was.....but then again no one said it would be easy.....

to add: I am still not making even 50% of what I did 10 yrs ago....but then again the effort I am putting in has been reduced as well....because my time is better spent doing enjoyable endeavours...

 

[jaxonviking]

I make "x" amount per year. Per hour means nothing to me. That's for the poor souls who sit all day at a very loud machine cranking out the parts I carry.

 

[Windsor]

I'm so cool to hang out with that just being with myself is enough payment. Any money I make out here is just a bonus.

 

[Ragman]

I'm so cool to hang out with that just being with myself is enough payment. Any money I make out here is just a bonus.

What's money?

 

[Moot]

Paying yourself an hourly wage in this industry is kinda like masturbation. If it makes you feel good, go for it. Just remember you're only fooling with yourself.

 

[Ragman]

.... kinda like masturbation. .

You're just bound and determined to get me in trouble, aren't you?

 

[blizzard2014]

if youre on call, youre on the clock...

Only firefighters get paid for waiting in between jobs/fires. We are independent contractors just waiting for loads. You're still free to do whatever you want. You're not tied down to a fire house for 24 hours. You can either accept or decline jobs as they come to you. A fireman or cop can't.

 

[geo]

That is why I have had a side line to hold me, went I lay over waiting for next load
Sold lap top, pc's , new used' struck , mason shoes, Mary Kay , gen set's.

 

[brokcanadian]

I calculate the hourly, with deadheading, just as a gauge to see whether I should be looking elsewhere or not. But think of all the people driving to work that don't include that...or taxes...you can be misguided as an employee too

 

[Steady Eddie]

There are no pay per hour here. Unless you drill down your hourly rate would be somewhere around 7.5 cents per hour. Do you really want to try and drive yourself nuts? This is NOT an hourly business.