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SAIA | Hard facts on linehaul at SAIA

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twinpups

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Hello drivers, thank you in advance for any replies

Read somewhere on your forum they are paying 5k or so to relocate to one of your new terminals in NJ and PA. Is this for current employees or a sign on bonus to new drivers? I might be interested in moving up north and running linehaul

How much cpm and is there a pay rate progression, how much to hook and break a set

Is it likely to start off with a scheduled run or almost certainly an extraboard position? Are the scheduled runs mostly meet and turns, laydowns, or terminal to terminal

Is linehaul and p&d separate board seniority? Do you lose seniority if you switch from one to the other?

Average miles?

What are your trucks governed at, pedal and cruise, I ask because I don't want to crawl up the road like YRC and ABF.

I also read they are moving the terminal in lancaster pa to harrisburg pa, how accurate is this? Want to know where to look for houses.

Are you guys heavier in some areas of the country? Most likely in the south being based out of LA, what about CO, NM, AZ, UT?
 
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Lots of good questions. First and foremost though...do you work for a union carrier? Saia tends to ignore union people regardless of safety history.

Trucks are governed, and geared differently based on the geography. The Colorado trucks are a great example. Have to have the power to handle the terrain.

Don't get paid to hook, only break. Policy is that LH needs to put their lead pup to a door unless otherwise instructed. Rate depends on locale.

That's the extent of my knowledge at this time. Good luck.
 
twinpups said:
Hello drivers, thank you in advance for any replies

Read somewhere on your forum they are paying 5k or so to relocate to one of your new terminals in NJ and PA. Is this for current employees or a sign on bonus to new drivers? I might be interested in moving up north and running linehaul

How much cpm and is there a pay rate progression, how much to hook and break a set

Is it likely to start off with a scheduled run or almost certainly an extraboard position? Are the scheduled runs mostly meet and turns, laydowns, or terminal to terminal

Is linehaul and p&d separate board seniority? Do you lose seniority if you switch from one to the other?

Average miles?

What are your trucks governed at, pedal and cruise, I ask because I don't want to crawl up the road like YRC and ABF.

I also read they are moving the terminal in lancaster pa to harrisburg pa, how accurate is this? Want to know where to look for houses.

Are you guys heavier in some areas of the country? Most likely in the south being based out of LA, what about CO, NM, AZ, UT?
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28.41 hourly for P&D and 64cpm to start for line-haul in the new Northeast terminals.
 
I work for a non union carrier. P&d pay is impressive. .64 cpm to start, what does it top out at? If there's no hook pay I'm assuming most sets are pre-hooked. Over at my company guys possibly get to hook 2-4+ a night. How much to break the set? These aren't dealbreakers I just want to have a very good idea before I apply. My only blemish is a speeding ticket about 1.5 years ago, would they make a big deal out of this?

All other feedback and answers to my other questions is appreciated
 
twinpups said:
I work for a non union carrier. P&d pay is impressive. .64 cpm to start, what does it top out at? If there's no hook pay I'm assuming most sets are pre-hooked. Over at my company guys possibly get to hook 2-4+ a night. How much to break the set? These aren't dealbreakers I just want to have a very good idea before I apply. My only blemish is a speeding ticket about 1.5 years ago, would they make a big deal out of this?

All other feedback and answers to my other questions is appreciated
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My understanding is they are starting you at top pay to give drivers incentive to join up, although we expect to get a raise this year that is top pay I believe in the Northeast. My advice is just apply and see if they call. If they do then think it over. If they don't then don't concern yourself and stay where you are at.
 
Your set will rarely be hooked. Only if you're running relay. It's like $11 to break a set. No compensation for fueling either. Or for pre and post trip. Only paid when unhooking and driving.
 
I run Linehaul but this expansion is probably coming with some same but other new routines. Some of the same, the trucks are governed to 65 mph and the equipment, tractors, trailers, and dollies are relatively new. You don't get paid to fuel. I think that it would be reasonable to expect 2500 to 2800+ miles per week plus drop n hooks. You hook and break your own sets unless you are meeting and exchanging trailers. You don't get paid for the first hook or the last drop but everything else is around $11-$13 dollars per drop. On my run, I get 3 drops a night. I think that Saia likes to schedule out and back runs. Also, I think that Saia wants to have just a five day work week. Having said that, some runs may start on a weekend rather than Monday-Friday. What you call an extra board is what Saia calls system drivers. You pack a bag and be prepared to be out for a week but home on the weekends. Generally the system guys, at my barn, will get back home some during the week.Who knows how the senority is going to work since most everyone is a new hire but some will be Saia transfers. I would imagine that their company senority transfers with them, which would put them ahead of new hires when it came to bidding on runs.
I hope this information helps ,but, with this expansion, everything is new territory. Good Luck.
 
I dont get paid to fuel at my current company, and the hook and break question was just to be informed. I hook my set in 10 minutes w dolly attached to lead, it's not a big deal.

As far as seniority, is it by company time or by category. Can a city guy with more time employed than you, take a run, and/or switch back and forth by the year, linehaul and city

Any more specific info on that terminal in lancaster pa? I'd like to start looking at houses but don't know if they are in fact moving to harrisburg pa after a while. Is it meant to be a major break bulk terminal or an end of line. How many linehaul drivers are they looking to hire? Was also looking at the new NJ terminals but it seems cost of living in that whole state is ridiculous
 
It doesn't appear to be an end-of-the-line location. Doubtful that it would meet the parameters of a break bulk either, but who knows at this point.

I do know that a lot of work at Saia goes by seniority. And that seniority does not transfer from department to department. So, if you have 10 years in the city and transfer to linehaul, your are at the bottom of linehaul. And if you switch and decide you don't like it and want to switch back...yep. You start at the bottom. The particular city route you run could be subject to your local TM as well. Lots of variables to consider. Good luck.
 
I believe that Big Buck is right about seniority. There are two types of seniority time that you accumulate, company and your barn's. Company time may come into play but your barn's has more to deal with your day to day work life. If you hire on as a city or linehaul driver, you accumulate seniority time for purposes such as scheduling vacations and establishing a seniority time pecking order. If, at your barn, a spot opens up and several guys want to bid on it, then your seniority time comes into play as the tiebreaker. Whoever has the most seniority time gets first choice. However, as Big Buck posted, if you get the bid to change, then you go to the bottom of your barn's city or linehaul seniority and start over.
If you want to make money go Linehaul or if you want to work during the day go city. Good luck.
 
Great feedback. I know you guys have cameras in trucks, are they outward or towards the driver? If so, is it recording at all times or only if triggered by speed, sudden stop, etc. They don't bother me but I want to know as much as possible before I go for it 100%. Also read somewhere no bluetooth headsets? Is this true?

How big are your runs? Is this a place where it's possible to make 6 figures like other ltl's? I am obviously not expecting this from the beginning, I will pay my dues anywhere I go like I have at my company. I only ask for future potential
 
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I suppose the potential is there to pull down $100K running linehaul, but I think it's really subjective as to geography. If you look at a map, service areas are frequent and close together in the South. Whether or not you could make that kind of money in those areas is anyone's guess. Plus the population is much denser which leads to more traffic. Remember you are only paid for miles driven not time. An 11 hour shift with drop and hooks or relay would probably make better use of that time on the open road of Utah rather than in Georgia. I will warn you: they will dangle the bait of "potential" but that doesn't necessarily translate to real cash.

Cameras at Saia face to the driver and in front of the driver.
 
It also depends on if you're in the system or have a bid run. The system drivers are forgotten about and hung out to dry quite a lot, and if you don't keep on dispatch they will abuse you. When I ran system I'm sure I annoyed the hell out of them at times, but I came here to work, not sit in a hotel for 16 hours.

As far as money, it varies greatly but I think $75,000 and above is a safe bet starting out in the system. We have guys with the longer bid runs that hit $100,000 pretty consistently. It all depends on the runs that your particular barn has.
 
PistonRing83 said:
It also depends on if you're in the system or have a bid run. The system drivers are forgotten about and hung out to dry quite a lot, and if you don't keep on dispatch they will abuse you. When I ran system I'm sure I annoyed the hell out of them at times, but I came here to work, not sit in a hotel for 16 hours.

As far as money, it varies greatly but I think $75,000 and above is a safe bet starting out in the system. We have guys with the longer bid runs that hit $100,000 pretty consistently. It all depends on the runs that your particular barn has.
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That's no problem. I'd call them half hour before my ten hr break and ready to run on it at the terminal if they have the freight.

Do the p&d drivers get OT after 8?

Have you guys been at 65mph since the beginning? Any talks of that going up a couple mph?
 
P&D is paid OT after 45 hours, so it's calculated according to payperiod no daily.

I highly doubt that they will increase the speed on any trucks. Fuel economy is the biggest factor. Even losing .2 MPG when figured across that many trucks is a significant amount of cash.

Fair warning: central dispatch does not like being contacted by any driver. When I was there, seemed like once a year the memo came down that central will call the driver, not the other way around. Good luck
 
Hard to say. Depends where you are and freight volume. Generally, systems takes precedence, but not over an established bid run
 
They don't generally make you wait that long. When you are at a foreign terminal, they have to start paying you delay pay after 14.5 hours.

They will definitely forget about you sometimes, though. There was a couple times when I was at home that central never set me up on a run, and I didn't want to run so I just never called them. Instant day off when you really need it...
 
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