JB Hunt Dedicated Questions / No Co. Review?

Not seeing current info nor a company review here...

We had a career fair at Tech College today. Couple of surprises / "hadn't considereds" came up.

One was dump trailers. On my resume I list objective as OTR of dry van , refer or flat bed with "minimal hometime" requirement. Ultimately I really want to drive for touring bands.

Talked with JB Hunt "newbie" recruiter. They are looking for dedicated drivers in our area for Target and Amazon. They will hire right out of our school, possibly even "holding open" a spot for a soon-to-be graduate. Said things like "partnership " and "mutual success". Said they don't take newbies OTR.

Averitt (not at event) does have dedicated and a touring logistics division. I think they want 4 most. min. but may waive it for students of our 400-hour tech school program.

So... my initial biases were try to start OTR... open road better than city routes. Try to start with a company that has a division that is ultimate target so I don't have to switch companies, just divisions.

Believe what Brett and others say but JBH WILL send a newbie to their best customers on day one. In fact, he said they do most of the onboarding remotely and after brief orientation you report on day one at the customer location.

So... looking for advice on OTR vs. Dedicated for a newbie, info on JB Hunt (and Averitt) and more.

Why no company info on them here.

BTW... Indeed and Glass Door reviews say pay at JB Hunt is low and benefits are expensive.

So the "hunt" continues!

FYI... only 4 days on the road and only 3 with trailers, but getting a bit more comfortable. Straight-line and offset backing pretty well... just introduced to 90. Testing and Graduation set for December.

Appreciate any/all inputs.

Thanks!

If you want true OTR experience, then go OTR. Dedicated can be like OTR, we have two members that are on dedicated accounts and go all over the country. However for the most part most dedicated has you home daily or at least once a week.

I do walmart dedicated in New Mexico. We service New Mexico, Southern Colorado, El Paso, West Texas, and Guymon Oklahoma.

Times like last week I was home every night and other weeks home every 2 to 3 nights. It can be a difficult account mainly due to crazy hours. One day you will start at 10 am and the next start at 9 pm.

I like dedicated because I am not sitting at truck stops very often, always have work, and for the most part never have to worry about miles.

Being that you want to eventually run with touring bands it would be good to get with an OTR company or a dedicated account that covers more than just where you live. Some other places to consider due to your location are Millis (not fully otr being that they don't seem to go out west), Swift, Werner, Schneider, Marten, and H.O.Wolding, just to name a few.

If you want true OTR experience, then go OTR.

Being that you want to eventually run with touring bands it would be good to get with an OTR company or a dedicated account that covers more than just where you live. Some other places to consider due to your location are Millis (not fully otr being that they don't seem to go out west), Swift, Werner, Schneider, Marten, and H.O.Wolding, just to name a few.

Thanks Gladhand!

I think because I live near a major metro area (Milwaukee) Dedicated would be much more local or regional at best. Millis looks good (based in WI, nice gear/pay/benefits) but they don't seem to run West much.

There is a local OTR (Laufer) which works with our school. Have met owner and spoken with his daughter/recruiter and HR/safety director (later came to hiring event). They do flat bed, dry vans and Conestogas which look cool.

I have also spoken with Schneider rep. at another hiring event and she actually approached me last night and addressed me by name. I think they are a good shot and will take me right out of school. Their cpm looks a bit low for newbies. Should I not worry about such things if given that opportunity?

Other cool gig for future is Bike Haul / HaulBikes.com. I could walk to their terminal. They require 2 years all-weather OTR experience and active MC rider (need to get a street bike!) but claim their drivers make $75K - $90K.

Just looking for something "different" than "just" "dock bumping". Please don't misinterpret that! Great thing I see about trucking is there are opportunities of all kinds. If you want to be home, haul fuel, move livestock, whatever... it's all available. I consider myself lucky that I know what I want to do with my CDL (when I have it).

Thanks for the inputs and guidance!

Marc Lee

("Roadshow")

Marc, Have you looked at Roehl? They have several divisions, flatbed, temp control, and dry van (and I think one other, but not sure - it's been a few years since I talked with them). They do run OTR and seem to cover quite a bit of the lower 48. I don't drive for them, but folks I've talked to that do have expressed satisfaction with the outfit.

Good luck!

Marc, Have you looked at Roehl? They have several divisions, flatbed, temp control, and dry van (and I think one other, but not sure - it's been a few years since I talked with them). They do run OTR and seem to cover quite a bit of the lower 48. I don't drive for them, but folks I've talked to that do have expressed satisfaction with the outfit.

Good luck!

Thanks Mr. Curmudgeon!

Kind of started there... almost went for their training before going tech college route. Much of what I read months ago said they are mostly Midwest, mostly flatbed (heavy equipment) and highly seasonal (slow in winter). Last could be a good thing, perhaps, as I test in December. Could allow me to get some experience before being tossed into the thick of it! May also have less tarping than other flat beds... Saw a lot about Chicago, bridges, rush periods, etc.. Good with the bad perhaps?

Also thinking could has more loading/unloading issues than dry, but I know cold tends to run further. Looking for the right fit!

If you want true OTR experience, then go OTR.

Being that you want to eventually run with touring bands it would be good to get with an OTR company or a dedicated account that covers more than just where you live. Some other places to consider due to your location are Millis (not fully otr being that they don't seem to go out west), Swift, Werner, Schneider, Marten, and H.O.Wolding, just to name a few.

Thanks Gladhand!

I think because I live near a major metro area (Milwaukee) Dedicated would be much more local or regional at best. Millis looks good (based in WI, nice gear/pay/benefits) but they don't seem to run West much.

There is a local OTR (Laufer) which works with our school. Have met owner and spoken with his daughter/recruiter and HR/safety director (later came to hiring event). They do flat bed, dry vans and Conestogas which look cool.

I have also spoken with Schneider rep. at another hiring event and she actually approached me last night and addressed me by name. I think they are a good shot and will take me right out of school. Their cpm looks a bit low for newbies. Should I not worry about such things if given that opportunity?

Other cool gig for future is Bike Haul / HaulBikes.com. I could walk to their terminal. They require 2 years all-weather OTR experience and active MC rider (need to get a street bike!) but claim their drivers make $75K - $90K.

Just looking for something "different" than "just" "dock bumping". Please don't misinterpret that! Great thing I see about trucking is there are opportunities of all kinds. If you want to be home, haul fuel, move livestock, whatever... it's all available. I consider myself lucky that I know what I want to do with my CDL (when I have it).

Thanks for the inputs and guidance!

Marc Lee

("Roadshow")

As for Schneider cpm seeming low; 1. They increase it during your first year. You may need to ask how much and at what intervals. Mine increased 6cpm in the first year. 2. Ask about bonus pay. When I was there, it was 2cpm paid out quarterly and I qualified right from the beginning. That could be an extra $500-$600 per quarter.

Also, you may want to ask companies if they take an “administration charge” for per diem. Some companies (I think Schneider is one) take 2cpm off if you’re on per diem. This is important to know because not all companies do this and it changes your cents per mile comparison.

Even with Schneider taking the 2cpm off for per diem , I still think they’re a great company to work for.

I hope this helps.

Thanks Steve L.

I understand the concept and application of per diem from IT, but have no understanding of how it works in trucking. Rarely see I referenced.

Is that another topic for another thread?

I think I can do much worse than Schneider. They do have a guaranty rate vs. cpm (seems different than "you will make this if you drive fleet average miles with average performance". May be lower risk for a newbie.

Thanks Steve L.

I understand the concept and application of per diem from IT, but have no understanding of how it works in trucking. Rarely see I referenced.

Is that another topic for another thread?

I think I can do much worse than Schneider. They do have a guaranty rate vs. cpm (seems different than "you will make this if you drive fleet average miles with average performance". May be lower risk for a newbie.

Per diem; company A pays $.38cpm, but takes $.02cpm admin fee if you’re on per diem. So, they’ll be paying you $.36cpm.

Company B pays $.37cpm, puts you on per diem, but doesn’t take any admin fee. They’re paying you $.37cpm.

There are other threads for per diem, just type it in the search bar. I’m just suggesting you make sure you’re comparing cpm accurately.

Guaranteed rate; it’s your call, but I suggest you make sure you can switch if you want. I’ve never been on a guaranteed rate as a driver. As an OTR Driver for Schneider, I was able to get to 10,000 miles per month in less than 90 days and kept that pace.

Good luck.

Why no company info on [JB Hunt] here.

Over the years I received a lot of information from JB Hunt's marketing folks and we used to have pages of information about the company. Believe it or not, one day a little over a year ago I got a warning letter from someone in their legal department that I was using their logo without permission and if I didn't take the information down there could be legal consequences. It was probably an intern in the legal department who just got out of school and was really pumped to dive in and make a splash. I mean, who would threaten someone with legal action for giving them free marketing???

So I took everything down that I had about the company and then forwarded all of the thank you letters from their marketing department that I had received over the years to the lady in the legal department that threatened me. I told her, "You can explain to your marketing folks why you had me take down all of the free advertising they had asked for and had been happy to receive all these years."

That's why there's no information on the company.

Marc Lee wrote:

I think I can do much worse than Schneider.

Statements like this never go unchecked or unchallenged. Please explain what you based this opinion on.