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How to compare two trucking job offers

Cents per mile is only part of the story. Here is how to compare two CDL-A offers side by side.

Two offers can look similar on paper and pay very differently in real life. Before you choose, put both offers side by side and check the same things for each one.

1. How the pay is calculated

• Cents per mile (CPM): ask which miles are paid. Practical miles follow the real route; household goods (HHG) miles are shorter on paper, so the same CPM pays less. Ask whether empty miles are paid at the same rate.
• Hourly: ask when overtime starts, and whether time waiting at docks is paid.
• Per load or per stop: ask how many loads or stops a typical week has.
• Salary or weekly minimum: ask what happens in a slow week and whether it is written in your offer.

2. How many miles or hours you will really get

A high rate with few miles can pay less than a lower rate with steady miles. Ask for the average weekly miles or hours for drivers on that exact account, not the best week.

3. Extra pay

Detention (waiting time), layover, breakdown, stop pay, tarp pay, hazmat pay and per diem can add up. Ask how each one is paid and after how many hours it starts.

4. Home time, in plain words

"Home weekly" can mean a 34-hour reset or a full weekend. Ask which days you are usually home, how long, and whether the truck comes home with you.

5. Freight and physical work

No-touch, drop and hook, live unload and hand unload are very different jobs. Ask how many loads per week involve unloading and what equipment you use (pallet jack, roller, lift gate).

6. Benefits cost and start date

Ask when insurance starts and what you pay per week for yourself or your family. A higher-paying job can end up paying less after benefit costs.

7. Equipment

Ask about truck age, transmission, APU or inverter, governed speed and whether the truck is assigned to you.

A simple way to compare

Use our pay calculator to put both offers in weekly and yearly numbers, then add the things that matter to you: home time, freight and equipment. The best offer is the one that fits your life, not only the highest number.