CPM Vs % Of Load

Just curious, all the jobs I have seen up until now are either CPM or hourly. I stumbled upon a local CDL A flatbed job on zip recruiter and it states that pay is percent of load. Does anyone here have any experience or information on this type of pay model?

It seems like you could do very well if its high $$$ freight but at same time you could get killed by low$$$ freight or major delays

Again just curious about this pay model!!

There's not enough information there to answer that question. TMC is a flatbed company that offers the same pay model and many people are happy to earn percentage pay there, but they're a huge company and they stay busy.

Nobody can say for sure if that local job is busy year round. What's the percentage? What does an average driver make? What does a top tier driver make? If it's local, how many loads can you run in a day? There's just a lot more questions that have to be asked because, like anything else, there are pros and cons.

Thanks For the heads up on TMC Banks. I will look them up and see if there’s any % of load info there. Most of the questions you asked were basically what I was wondering. The listing didn’t have much info, just Philly local flatbed, pay bi-weekly, % of load. I guess you would find out all the details after applying and getting called back. Being the 1st time seeing that pay model I was just curious. I didnt know if there was a general % window companies use kind of like all the big companies pay roughly the same CPM for experience and production levels

Dave I’ll attempt to answer in a different way...

Hourly pay is easy to reconcile.

CPM pay is also relatively easy to reconcile.

Both of those models are common; hourly for local and CPM for OTR. We have access to how it’s calculated.

% of load fee? Not as easy to reconcile. How can you really know what is right and what is not.

Considering you’ll be new at this; freight rates are down and without the benefit of seasoning and experience, I’d suggest passing on this.

Dave one of our members, "Solo" went to TMC and did the percentage pay. He did very well and was going to make between $90,000 and $100,000 his first year. HOWEVER, he started when the market was great. It has now dropped off. He referenced one account in his diary that if I'm not mistaken paid $4,000 to the truck that was getting nearly cut in half. Next year the rate will be cut again. We are all excited for him that hes done so well but in his diary you can tell by his writing that he's burned himself out. Personally I'd rather deal with hourly or CPM. As Gtown said it's easy to calculate compared to percentage. If you decide to go to TMC they also offer CPM. Similar to what we say about leasing.....if percentage will pay so much more why would they offer that instead of keeping a larger profit? From the company viewpoint percentage is more cost efficient because they're keeping the same % every load. There will be times percentage will pay more than CPM and vice versa but in the long run it will even out. My company pays hourly but gives us the option for mile/stop instead. I've done the calculations every couple of weeks and there are days I'd make $100 more if I was mile/stop. Other days I make $100 more by being hourly. Every company knows roughly what their labor costs will be. In the end it often doesnt matter If you're hourly, CPM, or percentage you will still make around the same over the course of several months to a year.

Have a read of Solos TMC diary

Thanks G. I am staying away from it. I don’t want to work in that model, seems like too many variables to maintain a budget. I’m definitely a CPM or hourly guy. Was just curious about it!

No Rob, I haven't seen his diary. I will check it out though. I’m just soaking up all the info I can and I hadn’t seen that pay model for a driver before. I thought that was just something for owner operators

Dave, you've got to keep something in focus concerning truck driving pay. Right now you're bouncing around ideas like leasing a truck, and percentage of the load. You're falling for the trap that lures so many newbies in. What trap am I referring to? It's this whole idea that says there's some special way to go about this career so that you can make top dollar. It insinuates that all these goons who are content to be company drivers are getting cheated. I find drivers with as much as fifteen to twenty years experience still searching for that mythical way to go about this. They're convinced it's out there, but they just can't seem to grab hold of it.

Here's the truth. People who master the intricacies of this career,and know how to operate in a highly productive manner, are the folks who are satisfied with their careers and earning great money. You've heard us talking about this career being performance based. It really is. There's no faking it in trucking. You put up or you shut up. Most people don't get it. That's why they are always touting some special way to make money at this. Anytime you hear folks pushing a peripheral idea outside of the driver's performance it should raise big red flags for you.

It takes time and diligence to develop yourself into a Top Tier Driver. Any short cut to earning top wages is going to disappoint you. Focus on developing yourself into being the best at this. That's how you earn respect, top pay, and satisfaction as a truck driver.

Old School. Leasing a truck has never even crossed my mind. I haven’t even sat in a rig yet let alone considered leasing one. I’m not trying to find some shortcut or magical ticket. I know working hard to understand all aspects of this business as well as being safe and on time is the only way to the top. I asked about % of load because I got an email from zip recruiter today and one of the jobs listed was paid by % of load. That pay model is new to me and I was just curious about it, nothing more.

After joining this site and learning so much from you guys, I am taking the advice I was given and will be applying for company training this winter. I plan on learning this trade the proper way and proving myself to be a top tier driver someday. I dont want to own a business again so leasing or owning a truck is definitely not in my future. I will hopefully retire as a company driver when the time comes

I’m sorry I brought up the % percent of load thing, never meant to cause any confusion on my intentions. I should have left it in the email where I found it

I’m sorry I brought up the % percent of load thing, never meant to cause any confusion on my intentions.

I'm glad you brought it up. It gives you a chance to keep learning. We answer questions all the time. That's what we do here. You may not realize it yet Dave, but every question you bring up is on the mind of a thousand other folks looking into this career. When we give you an honest answer, it helps all those other folks who are just as curious as you.

Forgive me if it seemed I was implying you had some poorly thought out intentions. I was merely trying to make clear the things we want newcomers to trucking to understand. Your curiosity is a good thing. It's the beginning of knowledge. Feel free to ask us as many questions as you like.