J&R Schugel raises driver pay by as much as 22 percent

Updated Mar 18, 2016
Employee-owned J&R Schugel raises driver pay

J&R Schugel Trucking, Inc. an employee-owned carrier, recently announced plans to release what it calls one of the most comprehensive pay packages in the trucking industry, raising driver compensation as much as 22 percent.

“As an employee-owned company, we asked our drivers what was important to them; we analyzed and reviewed our total compensation package,” said Clay Merches, vice president of Safety and Human Resources for J&R Schugel Trucking, which is based in New Ulm, Minn. “We listened to what our drivers wanted and we’ve delivered it.

“A first year driver can earn over $51,000 a year and our top veteran driver is expected to earn over
$78,000 a year.”

A statement from Schugel said the new pay increase raises the base pay to 38 cents per mile with the potential to add an additional 6 cents per mile in incentives. The incentives, which are primarily performance-based, are calculated according to utilization, miles per gallon and safety.

“J&R Schugel takes pride in its safety and wants to reward those who are safe and provide top-notch customer service.,” said Merches.

A retention incentive is also available to new incoming drivers.

As part of this pay package increase, the company also announced an increase in per diem to 11 cents per mile and added $100 of holiday pay for Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

Trucks in Schugel’s fleet are outfitted with APUs and Qualcomm that has Wi-Fi capability and navigation; EzPass, Pre-Pass and in-cab scanning.

Based in New Ulm, Minn., and with terminals in Columbus, Ohio and Tomah, Wisc., J&R Schugel is a truckload carrier of general commodities. The company services 48 continental U.S. states with regional and over-the-road operations in the Midwest, Northeast, Southeast and WestCoast.

J&R Schugel owns 600 power units and over 1,000 trailers.