How Covenant Relies On Teams For Its Edge

An informative read if you are interested in team driving, particularly with Covenant Transport. I'll post some key points below from the story that may peak your interest. Check out the link below for all the details:

* How Covenant relies on teams for its edge *

~ The company has about 900 teams and 375 solo drivers.

~ Covenant hauls freight for companies such as Amazon, FedEx, UPS, Fresh Express, Delta Airlines, Walmart, Taylor Farms and Ready Pac. Team operations can meet deadlines acceptable to these customers that solo drivers can’t.

~ Covenant is looking at alternate forms of compensation, perhaps performance-based, to ensure that its teams are well paid. The company now offers 52 cents to 56 cents per mile for teams, which is roughly 30 percent more than solo pay.

~ When family members come in as a team, they’re "gold". They get priority in training and the best trucks.

~ Covenant changed its orientation practices to ensure that drivers with little experience in winter driving get the training they need.

Excellent post Anchorman. As a team currently at a company based primarily on regional solos, I've been keeping my eye on them amongst a few others. I'm still hanging tough and hopeful as my much loved company attempts to learn teaming and (hopefully) develop a full fledged team division. We're guinea pigs.

Thank you! I always pass along all the good info I run across for others to take advantage of. I've only heard good things about Covenant. Usually related to how they are mainly teams. My Aunt retired from there years ago. She was in the office side of things dealing with accidents and claims.

I talked to Covenant pretty extensively a while ago and their pay rate is outstanding. Not to mention they pay extra cpm if you have HAZMAT. On all loads, not just HAZMAT.

I would have had to team with someone for at least 30 days before moving to a solo driver, even they even had a solo position available. I just can't sleep in a moving truck. Teaming just isn't for me.

We aren't job hoppers and don't like to hop and both really like our company, however, we are an "experiment". We are 1 of only 2 teams at West Side. They do have solo regional down to an art and are phenomenal at that. Teaming, not so much. They are attempting to get teaming right but honestly, we're sitting too much, so the excellent pay rate doesn't mean as much. We are all trying to sort this out and work together. They have some dedicated lanes that would be perfect for teaming, and we do fill in on those often, but those lanes are currently assigned to other solo drivers with more seniority than my codriver. The customer apparently loves us and we've been told, want us to have those accounts, but don't think its right either to bump other good drivers off their route. We shall see lol, but not holding our breath.

I've now got 7 months with the company, and he has 3-1/2 years there, so we won't consider any move to a more team focused company, for a minimum of 5 more months, probably longer. I love being known by name at the main terminal , and they are such a great company to work for, overall. I'm hoping they get it ironed out.