Is It Better To Work For Bigger Companies Or Smaller Companies

Topic 34006 | Page 1

Page 1 of 1
Jeremy G.'s Comment
member avatar

Hello, I'm new to Trucking and I keep hearing from older drivers that it's better to work for smaller mom-and-pop trucking companies over big box companies. I currently work for Melton and I like the company's training and the pay is great too. I hear that smaller companies have fewer rules to follow and the pay is even better. Any advice?

Zen Joker 's Comment
member avatar

Hello Jeremy and welcome!

Since you are new it is best to stay with your first carrier for a year. That should satisfy any training commitments (if Melton has any, i.e. contract) If the pay is good, your question doesn't make any sense. Smaller carriers are getting pinched even harder right now with freight rates being cut.

If Melton is keeping you moving your best move is to stay put. Many drivers new and experienced are struggling for miles/pay right now.

As far as "rules", what rules do you want to break? Breaking rules are usually predicated on a desire for more productivity or an immature driver or both. What rules exactly?

ID Mtn Gal's Comment
member avatar

Every small company I have worked for and there has been five of them, don't pay as well as the bigger companies with 250+ trucks. For me, being a widow, and making more money than I have ever made in my life, I can accept the lower cpm.

As for fewer rules to follow, I about blew tea through my nose! HAHAHA It doesn't matter the size of the company, everybody has the same FMCSA rules to follow. I have a friend that worked for Swift for 13 years until his division was closed down where he was at. So he went to the company I was at hauling fresh beef and fresh pork in containers to the Port of Oakland every week. Old School started out with Western Express and did very well there but then moved to flatbed with Knight. He's been there quite a long time and does very well. There are a number of other drivers here that have stayed with their company for many years. That's what you need to do with Melton.

Most old timers that I know want to go back to the old days...no ELDs and no HOS. Life progresses and as drivers we have to stay up with the changes. I used to build computers, I like having an ELD. After my one small company got shut down by DOT back in February 2017, I vowed I would never drive for a company that didn't have electronic logs. Actually I run better with electronic logs and make better money than I did running illegal.

It doesn't matter what the name of the company is on the door, it's how well you work with that company.

Laura

Electronic Logs:

Electronic Onboard Recorder

Electronic Logbook

A device which records the amount of time a vehicle has been driven. If the vehicle is not being driven, the operator will manually input whether or not he/she is on duty or not.

CSA:

Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA)

The CSA is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities that are related to commercial motor vehicle

FMCSA:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

The FMCSA was established within the Department of Transportation on January 1, 2000. Their primary mission is to prevent commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries.

What Does The FMCSA Do?

  • Commercial Drivers' Licenses
  • Data and Analysis
  • Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement
  • Research and Technology
  • Safety Assistance
  • Support and Information Sharing

DOT:

Department Of Transportation

A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.

State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.

Fm:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

CPM:

Cents Per Mile

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

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Errol V.'s Comment
member avatar

Every trucking company is built on its drivers. Trucking is a very competitive business, driving a truck has little to do with what company you drive for (A Swift truck works the same as a Big M truck), so the "greener grass" over there is not such a big deal - even 1¢ per mile more. Larger companies will have more resources to keep the drivers "happy ". You have training from Melton that you would not get at a 6 truck size company.

As Mtn Gal asks, why do you want to break rules? The FMCSA regs are non-negotiable. If it's rules about ride-alongs and pets, smoking, etc., that may be a deal breaker for some, but the truck operation is pretty much set.

So three votes (so far) recommend staying with Melton.

CSA:

Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA)

The CSA is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities that are related to commercial motor vehicle

FMCSA:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

The FMCSA was established within the Department of Transportation on January 1, 2000. Their primary mission is to prevent commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries.

What Does The FMCSA Do?

  • Commercial Drivers' Licenses
  • Data and Analysis
  • Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement
  • Research and Technology
  • Safety Assistance
  • Support and Information Sharing

Fm:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.
PJ's Comment
member avatar

Being new I understand you listening to older more experienced drivers for insight. We all have. Depends where your meeting them. Are they at your company, at truckstops, at customers, etc…

As with everything different folks have different opinions. This industry is very diverse as are the folks in it.

Sounds like your doing well at Melton. I have met several drivers over time driving for them and they were happy and doing well. The old saying “if it ain’t broke don’t try and fix it” comes to mind.

As for rules, we all work by the same ones as a foundation. FMCSA. The dreaded gov’t that thinks they have all the answers. Companies all have their own policies and are free to instill any policies they wish that meet and exceed the fmcsa minimums.

Bigger companies will normally have more restrictive policies than smaller ones. Reason is simple. More drivers and more chances something will go amiss. The bigger companies tend to do all they can to protect the drivers from themselves, which also protects the company.

Example is use of personal conveyance.

Big companies normally set restrictive limits well beyond what is legally permissible by fmcsa. It isn’t for any other reason than to prevent drivers from misusing it. Misuse gets the company in trouble with fmcsa.

Small companies usually just allow it as written by fmcsa. They can monitor and correct things much easier than the big ones.

Big companies have better benifits than small ones and is cheaper due to the numbers. Benifits such as health insurance is much cheaper per head when a company has 5k employees compared to 5 employees.

The economy has been very tough for along time now. Big companies are showing it in their earnings. Small carriers are either selling out or going out of business. Some of us are still hanging in, but it has been rough. Experts have been making predications when it will turn around for the last year. Guess what! They have all been wrong. Noone knows how much longer we are going to be depressed in this industry.

CSA:

Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA)

The CSA is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities that are related to commercial motor vehicle

FMCSA:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

The FMCSA was established within the Department of Transportation on January 1, 2000. Their primary mission is to prevent commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries.

What Does The FMCSA Do?

  • Commercial Drivers' Licenses
  • Data and Analysis
  • Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement
  • Research and Technology
  • Safety Assistance
  • Support and Information Sharing

Fm:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

OWI:

Operating While Intoxicated

BK's Comment
member avatar

My vote would go towards staying put. Everything I know and see about Melton is positive.

I’m a “tweener”. I started with a mega company and struggled with a lot of things.

Now I drive for a company that has about 300 drivers and it has been a good fit, I really like it. Small enough to act like human beings are in charge, but big enough to provide a huge safety net for drivers. Their support network is outstanding and I can walk into the owners office just about any time and tell him what a great driver I am. lol.

Davy A.'s Comment
member avatar

I work for the largest truckload carrier in North America. But each terminal is like its own business having full autonomy on most decisions. I prefer it for many reasons including resources, equipment, solvency, consistency in policy, and opportunity to rise above the bulk of drivers.

With corporate policy, if you're smart enough and diligent, you can find systemic opportunities and exploit them, that doesn't exist at smaller companies.

But it really comes down to your conduct, performance and relationship with your dispatch and team. Even in a large company, you're still interfacing with a small number of people. How well you perform unlocks higher levels of pay and perks.

The question I always ask is "Have I maximized my earnings potential?" If I haven't, I might not be ready to leave.

Terminal:

A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.

NaeNaeInNC's Comment
member avatar

I had a "gentleman" just today, try and talk me into thinking my Mega Carrier job pays exactly 💩 and how I would be sooooooo much better off as an o/o like him. Keep in mind, his truck looked beat to heck and back, and the trailer is from a company that I have seen some *stellar* examples of DOT violations from.

As stated, be VERY cautious about who you get information from. One of my female friends drove for Melton, and was mostly happy there. She left over I think it was glass?

DOT:

Department Of Transportation

A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.

State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.

Brett Aquila's Comment
member avatar

I wrote an article about this subject:

Choosing A Truck Driving Job Part V: Comparing Large Trucking Companies To Small Ones

Trucking is a commodity service, which means the lowest-cost provider wins. In that scenario, the scale of your business is critically important because it can give you an edge in many ways.

For one, a larger company has more resources available to develop greater efficiencies. A large corporation has teams using AI and advanced mathematical models to determine the most efficient freight lanes to run, the proper fleet size, hedge fuel prices, haul the most profitable products and develop efficient pricing.

They also have the resources to purchase things like trucks, fuel, and tires in bulk, which gives them a discount compared to their smaller competitors.

They also have the resources available to provide services to customers that smaller companies can not compete with, like allowing the use of their trailers as storage at a customer's facility, parking numerous empty trailers at a customer for on-demand loading, and scaling up operations or picking up freight with little notice.

So, large carriers have a long list of advantages over smaller carriers. These advantages pay dividends to the driver, who often gets better pay, more consistent miles, and more opportunities with a large customer base and many different types of freight to haul to different regions of the country.

The old myth is that a small carrier will treat you like family, where at a large carrier you're nothing but a number. That's garbage, and was in no way my experience over the years. I knew my support team at the large carriers I worked for just as well as I did the small carriers. In fact, it's the large carriers that give out awards, have big picnics and outings for their drivers, and provide better services at the terminals like a driver's lounge, game room, showers, sleeping quarters, and more.

The next time someone tells you that small companies are the better place to work, really pin them down for reasons why. Ask for specific examples of why the smaller carriers are better. I've worked for companies from 11 trucks up to 6,000 trucks and everything in between. My best experiences were at the large carriers, which is why I spent the final six years of my OTR career at a large carrier, US Xpress.

Terminal:

A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.

OTR:

Over The Road

OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.

OWI:

Operating While Intoxicated

OOS:

When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.

BK's Comment
member avatar

Since we focus on helping new drivers get started, one fact about company size is that in most cases a new driver has no choice but the bigger companies. Why? Because smaller companies have no training program and thus they require a certain amount of experience. Smaller companies typically will only hire a driver with 6 to 24 months of experience.

Conversely, the mega companies usually have a training program that lets new drivers get their foot in the door. Some of them will bring someone on with just a CDLP.

My point is that for new drivers the bigger vs smaller company question is moot.

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.
Page 1 of 1

New Reply:

New! Check out our help videos for a better understanding of our forum features

Bold
Italic
Underline
Quote
Photo
Link
Smiley
Links On TruckingTruth


example: TruckingTruth Homepage



example: https://www.truckingtruth.com
Submit
Cancel
Upload New Photo
Please enter a caption of one sentence or less:

Click on any of the buttons below to insert a link to that section of TruckingTruth:

Getting Started In Trucking High Road Training Program Company-Sponsored Training Programs Apply For Company-Sponsored Training Truck Driver's Career Guide Choosing A School Choosing A Company Truck Driving Schools Truck Driving Jobs Apply For Truck Driving Jobs DOT Physical Drug Testing Items To Pack Pre-Hire Letters CDL Practice Tests Trucking Company Reviews Brett's Book Leasing A Truck Pre-Trip Inspection Learn The Logbook Rules Sleep Apnea
Done
Done

0 characters so far - 5,500 maximum allowed.
Submit Preview

Preview:

Submit
Cancel

Why Join Trucking Truth?

We have an awesome set of tools that will help you understand the trucking industry and prepare for a great start to your trucking career. Not only that, but everything we offer here at TruckingTruth is 100% free - no strings attached! Sign up now and get instant access to our member's section:
High Road Training Program Logo
  • The High Road Training Program
  • The High Road Article Series
  • The Friendliest Trucker's Forum Ever!
  • Email Updates When New Articles Are Posted

Apply For Paid CDL Training Through TruckingTruth

Did you know you can fill out one quick form here on TruckingTruth and apply to several companies at once for paid CDL training? Seriously! The application only takes one minute. You will speak with recruiters today. There is no obligation whatsoever. Learn more and apply here:

Apply For Paid CDL Training