Schneider Recruiter Q&A

Today I spoke with a Schneider recruiter. Many of the questions I asked were from a PDF list I got from here on TT. I omitted several questions from the list that have the answers on their website. I don't know how accurate the info is, but I thought I'd share... Hope it helps:

Q- Where is your orientation locations? A- Green Bay WI, Indy IN (dedicated & dry van), Chicago (intermodal), Houston TX & Pittsburg PA (tanker division)

Q- Do the trainers get graded by the students after completion or is there a feedback loop to make the training better? A- YES

Q- Team driving during training? A- NO,

Q- What is the pay during orientation and training? A- $80/day

Q- Idling policy? A- Idling is allowed Under 32degrees, Over 75 degrees. See state specific laws for allowed length of time.

Q- APU units in trucks? A- NO

Q- Is per diem built into the pay? A- per diem is optional

Q- Breakdown and layover pay? A- Detention pay? YES, all 3 are $10/hour after 2 hours.

Q- Are they no touch or is unloading involved? Pay for unloading? A- Pay for load is $100. Pay for unload is $100 (I didnt ask how many loads or unloads there can be per load).

Q- How does the pay period work? A- Paid on Friday's, delayed 1 week.

Q- Slip seating or assigned trucks? A- YES, however it is account specific. Slip seating is generally used on 7/7 and 7/4/7/3

Q- What percentage of the fleet are automatic transmissions? A- Approx 20% at this time. Schneider plans on changing the fleet to 100% Automatics.

Q- What speed are trucks governed at? A- 63mph on cruise, and 65mph on pedal. Actual governed mph can vary.

Q- What miles are paid miles and what miles are not? A- All miles are paid at the same CPM rate. Rates vary with experience & load type.

Q- If weather, driver (sick) or road conditions are such that I feel it is unsafe to continue driving, will I be penalized for parking until it is safe? A- Safety first

Q- Other than obvious reasons, what are the reasons I could be disciplined and or fired for? A- Safety violations, multiple late deliveries.

Q- How are delivery times calculated? A- Delivery time is calculated at 50mph from the time the load is dispatched. 10 hours off is added for each 14 hours at 50mph. I'm not sure if I am calculating this correctly. I only came up with a 4 hour buffer on a 1000 mile run:

Calculated: 1000 mile run at 50mph= 20 hours + 10 hours off after 14 hours (14h + 10h + 6h)= 30hours total

Actual: 1000 mile run at 63mph= 16 hours + 10 hours off after 14 hours (14h + 10h + 2h)= 26hours total (4 hour buffer)

Q- If for any reason I don’t make it through orientation, does the company provide return transport to my home, or am I left on the curb? A-Schneider provides a bus ticket home. If distance is greater that 600 miles, a plane ticket may be provided instead.

Q- Is the new "Earn your CDL" program nation wide? A- NO, it is only in selected areas of IL, OH, and CO.

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

• Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
• Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

Intermodal:

Transporting freight using two or more transportation modes. An example would be freight that is moved by truck from the shipper's dock to the rail yard, then placed on a train to the next rail yard, and finally returned to a truck for delivery to the receiving customer.

In trucking when you hear someone refer to an intermodal job they're normally talking about hauling shipping containers to and from the shipyards and railyards.

Dry Van:

A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.

CPM:

Cents Per Mile

Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.

Per Diem:

Getting paid per diem means getting a portion of your salary paid to you without taxes taken out. It's technically classified as a meal and expense reimbursement.

Truck drivers and others who travel for a living get large tax deductions for meal expenses. The Government set up per diem pay as a way to reimburse some of the taxes you pay with each paycheck instead of making you wait until tax filing season.

Getting per diem pay means a driver will get a larger paycheck each week but a smaller tax return at tax time.

We have a ton of information on our wiki page on per diem pay

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

They also have a training facility in Carlisle PA. Was just there today to talk to them.

Thanks Huntin'- good info. I like Schneider also, looking for home on weekends, would prefer home every night. Here's a good link to Schneider's web site for jobs available:

http://schneiderjobs.com/search-driving-opportunities

Also at the bottom of the page there's a link: "Find Company Driver Jobs"

One thing I forgot to add is even though Schneider is going to all automatics, canidates still have to be certified to operate a manual transmission.

Hey thanks a bunch for taking the time to let us know all of that!

Keep us updated on things. It is really helpful.

Thanks for all the info man