Commercial Carrier Journal: Charlie Deull, part of the family that owns and operates the Broadway show-related freight carrier Clark Transfer, experienced the COVID-19 pandemic as an existential business threat. He watched as, quite literally overnight, the entirety of the touring-theater business came an abrupt halt, sidelining a then around 100-unit fleet made up entirely of leased owner-operators.
2 comments:
This is a super interesting business model and I think because of this article I am realizing that I truly have no idea about the finances of the trucking industry even though I believe it’s the largest in the country. This compensation package sounds good on a weekly basis but you do have to keep in mind that the owner operators have all the overhead of owning a truck. The guaranteed minimum is nice and it’s great that they have that cash to pass around. They say that the compensation is above average but they also said that home time is below average so those facts cancel out to some extent. Being paid a ton of money to be on the road seems to be the business model that many different touring companies have attached themselves to. I also had never heard of trucking teams but it seems interesting that they don’t make double what a single owner-operator makes because they are twice as efficient.
It is interesting to see how Clark Transfer is trying to build their fleet back up after Covid ultimately cut it in half. The guaranteed minimum along with the fuel surcharge compensation are both really good incentives to work for Clark. Especially with the fact that they will pay the surcharge whether you are hauling something or not, some companies will only compensate you for loaded miles. However, their home time being below average could be something that keeps some drivers from working for them or staying on with them, notably drivers with families. This would be a great job for a single person or even a married couple though. Especially because they would have long term runs if they are hauling the same show for an extended period of time. Overall, I would be interested in seeing how long their drivers stay working for them over time.
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