Owner Operator vs Company Driver from Shippers perspective.

Most controversial topic, specifically for last year. This comparison is strictly for shippers information.

There are many debates out there in relation to this topic. However, most information is based on employment. Meaning, recruiters are trying to show new CDL owners, that now is the best time to be a company driver due to stability in pay. Some dispatchers or brokers are saying that you should be an independent owner operator due to unlimited freedom and choice. What I'm trying to show in my little article is : Where is the value to shippers?

What benefits would shippers get while working with owner operators or small fleets? And finally, what problems can shippers avoid by letting owner operators to haul their freight!

One of the most important values to shippers is TIME. TIME is crucial and very critical to shippers same as to owner operators. On the other hand, for a company driver, the value is miles.

When company driver goes on the road, he/she cares about the miles, so the the pressure of getting the most mileage on his/her trip can easily conflict with the timing of the whole process : rushing and speeding to make appointments time, specially in LTL operations. Damage to freight while pushing the shippers and receivers to load and unload asap, not enough rest due to the need to complete those miles and finally SAFETY!

Yes, SAFETY! The owner operator is really taking care of his/her equipment. They do maintain their own time and schedule. By working with direct shippers they have no need to run those miles like race horses, the trips are planned days ahead to avoid delays. Owner operators always take into account the time in case of breakdowns or even Border Crossing inspections or detentions. That's the reason of the owner operator being few hours earlier to their destination. And don't forget, we, the owner operators are the business owners, which means a lot more that many can think!

To finish on the positive note, the advantages for shippers by doing business with owner operators or small fleets , are : time, load securement, safe operations and continuous improvement on all types of communications, minimal to no damages to their product, the professional responsibility and the ability to find solutions to the issues which might arise during the logistical process! The owner operators and small fleets treat their clients as the partners in all aspects of the delivering their cargo to the final destination!