I am honestly so out of touch with OTR i have no idea what base pay is for them guy's anymore. But,again it all depends on what market you are in. I would not want anything to do in the truckload market right now. All of these big OTR carrier's Schneider(who i started with) Swift,JB,Werner,etc.etc...are really just a bunch of pimps.
They are preying on the noobs coming in to the industry,absolutley green,no knowledge of Transportation at all. I myself gave up after 6 mos with Schneider. they promised me all these miles and money...BS. They were sending me on these short-hops,basically regional,and at the end of the week i was lucky to make 500.
Then i got a call from the local Conway Freight in my old home town back in the Chicago burbs',and my life has been better since. I worked at that particular location from 03-06 then moved out here to Denver and been working for them ever since.
I don't know how UPS and Fed Ex are keeping up,but Conway is so busy right now it is insane. Out here at our Denver hub,we are about 40 drivers short for the amount of tonnage we are bringing in. Ever since arriving in Denver in 06' i have been averaging about 12.5 hours of OT per week. I talk to some of my old comrades back in Chicago,and it is the same story. Everybody thinks were going to go under with all that overhead,but it is all rumor. Conway keeps growing every year,business and profits.
Right now they are hiring rookies at 17.50 and 38 cpm if they do Line-Haul run's. I am at 22.65 and .52 cpm. 05-06 I did Line-Haul all that year and was taking home 1000 per week..no lie. One of the Old-Timer's here in Denver grossed 90k last year,all of these figure's are real,not fabricated.
I am not trying to brag about my employer and how they are better,blah,blah,blah...I am just trying to set the record straight. We need more hard working guy's in the industry,not these rent-a-bum's that my company want's to bring on because they aren't getting enough applicant's. Puerto-Rican immigrants and Somalian refugee's...? I hope they can read in english and understand mile-marker's and hopefully they know what that buzzing sound is that might go off in the cab.