Atlas Van Lines has put in place what it says is "the largest and most extensive" pay increase in its history for owner-operators in its truckload freight and specialty commodities divisions. The company also announced supporting pay and cost-savings measures for drivers, compounding the effect of the pay raises.
Atlas Van Lines is a subsidiary of Evansville, IN-based Atlas World Group that specializes in moving services. The company said it put the raise and other measures in place after listening to feedback from owner-ops.
"The success and financial stability of our owner operators is essential to the success of our fleet operations," said Phil Wahl, senior vice president and general manager for Atlas Logistics.
The average mileage pay increases for Atlas drivers are $.06 per mile in the truckload freight division and $.10 per mile in the special commodities division. Atlas has also added stop pay, detention pay, and pay for in-van equipment counts and resets on truckload shipments to boost pay overall.
Meanwhile, Atlas announced additional mileage pay for all first-year miles to new drivers in its freight divisions amounting to "several more cents per mile" for drivers in the company's corporate fleet. Atlas said it "revisited owner-operator expenses and implemented numerous policy changes" to reduce drivers' expenses.
Those include accepting occupational accident coverage in addition to its previous requirement for worker's comp coverage. Atlas noted it expanded its corporate fuel discount program to cover seven fuel brands and more than 1,300 locations nationwide. All told, Atlas calculates the changes should save owner-operators nearly $10,000 a year.
