As part of its ongoing efforts to find and keep the best owner-operators on the road today, truckload carrier Schneider National is offering a new percent-of-revenue pay option that gives independents another way to determine what loads best fit their bottom line.

“We’re looking to give them more flexibility in terms of the loads they choose, plus more pay as well,” Mike Bethea, Schneider’s director of operations for truckload contractors, told FleetOwner. “These kinds of contracts were pretty much standard before deregulation – they are not unique – but we’re adding in some additional benefits.”

First, the new option pays 65% of the linehaul revenue and 100% of the fuel surcharges with no trailer rental fees. Owner-operators leased to Schneider can also view all of the carrier’s freight opportunities in their market, regionally and nationally, before selecting a load online, said Bethea. The load availability technology also provides owner-operators the ability to view all loads for that day and also look ahead to select their next load, he added.

As no agents are involved, since owner-operators choose their own load from Schneider's pool of freight, no fees are charged and Schneider also pays select tolls and offers delay compensation, Bethea noted.

“This new percent-of-revenue-based option affords owner-operators the freedom to make trade-off decisions on load assignments and revenue options,” he said. “We think it will help us recruit and retain the real committed trucking professional, the ones we are after. Hauling freight is a very demanding business and the traffic congestion out there keeps getting worse. We think this plan will allow us to grow our owner-operator fleet.”

Bethea stressed that Schneider’s long-standing mileage-based option isn’t going away. That option pays 90 cents per mile on all company-dispatched miles, plus accessorial pay, meaning Schneider owner-operators usually average $1.20 per mile.

The new percent-of-revenue option is available to owner-operators that have at least one year of experience working in all states east of the Mississippi River, as well as in Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.