truck driver

owner operator driver

Alabama Motor Express

If you are a cdl driver you will understand this review. Please do not take this as the norm for other positions within the company I cannot speak on what I do not know. AMX is a good company all in all. Their fleet is always taken care of, the benefits are great BCBS (employee paid), and the company pays for an additional policy that reduces your deductible to 1k, they will keep you moving (for all of the real drivers out there that like to keep that driver door shut), staff (for the most part) are very friendly, they reimburse for parking, driver appreciation lunches (this is mostly for office staff-the drivers are all over the road). Now to the bad part, the pay- you can choose cpm (it is very low for industry standards), or drive time only (as a cdl driver this does not work when you can spend hours at shipper/receivers with no way to recoup your loss). Every moment of a driver's clock is important to them; it is all of the time that we have to make money.  AMX needs to look at changing their pay structure back to hourly and/or increase their cpm. Overall, I have enjoyed my time at AMX and have made some lifelong friendships with some of the people that I have met here. 

Pros-Benefits (their health insurance is well above par for any I have seen), the office staff are very friendly, equipment is taken care of (you will not need to worry about being stuck in some old broken-down truck and trailers), they reimburse for parking.

Cons-Pay structure for drivers (drive time only /cpm), work/life balance (This is trucking and as an OTR driver there is not much of this no matter where you go in an OTR position).

At AMX, they know you by name and they work with you on your hometime and are very friendly.

BUT

their equipment breaks down all the time and costs me downtime....they offer to put me in loaner trucks when they are available but that means I have to transfer all my stuff from truck to truck which costs hours I could be driving plus the one time I did use a loaner I had roaches crawling on me and all over the truck! No more loaners for me! So I wait it out. I started in November 2012 and am now in the 4th, yes fourth truck and this one I am in now is in the shop and it has less than 12000 miles on it! It went in the shop on Wednesday and it's still there and it's Friday! I am consistently early to my pick ups and deliveries and sit a lot waiting to be dispatched on the next load after a delivery. This costs me miles. And the sliding pay scale here is for the birds because it puts you at the mercy of the Dispatcher, Load Planners, and Load Coordinators. I believe you should get paid the same for all miles you drive and if you're short on miles because of lack of dispatched miles, dock the dispatchers, Load Planners and Coordinators, not the drivers! In the past 6 weeks I have only went over 2500 miles ONCE

There are no financial benefits to working at AMX. There are no raises, no safety bonuses, no fuel incentives, no paid personal days, no way to earn more than 5 days vacation time despite many years as a driver and it is also a set amount for that week rather than an average of yearly miles driven, and no holiday pay. 

While the company does offer a personal connection it fails to help you succeed. It is stagnated by having the lowest paid drivers in the area. They also don't want drivers to move out of the driver's seat into an office position to advance themselves in their career. At best, AMX is a starter company but has no incentive to keep experienced drivers. 

The shop also has no organization. Write ups are done 3-4 weeks later or never completed despite drivers complaining to the office staff. There is no communication between the shop and the office. 

I have been off and on with AMX since 2011, I have worked there 5 times and every time I called they put me right to work, AMX is a great place to work as far as the people, my dispatcher is to this day the best I've ever had but keep in mind we had alot of time to get to know and understand each other, the safety manager is among the best people I've ever known..... AMX is a good place to work but the pay is not the best, they do a sliding pay scale and it can really hurt you when the loads are short......  If you take your 150$ advance on Monday and you run 3000 miles you will bring home around 600 bucks and trust me when I tell you that is the max you will make and you will only make the max twice a month... AMX will help you anyway they can and will support you with anything you go through on the road, only bad thing I can say about AMX is the pay scale... Other than that AMX is a great place to work

After 19 years of driving experience, and driving for several companies, I can assure you that AMX is a good company for experienced drivers who no longer want to follow the competitive movement of transportation. The salary, although not the highest, is quite acceptable.
The trucks are almost all of the year or no more than 3 years of use, in good condition, the company has its own workshop,
OTR, dedicated, regional lines and even containers. Family Company, where you are not one more.
You have all the types of benefits and even an extra health insurance that the company puts, and it does not cost the driver a penny.
A check every week, and a building (terminal) where you find showers, bathrooms, TV room, free internet, coffee, cocacola and many other things.
in two days I complete a year working for them and I really like it.

What is the best part of working at the company?
They don't bother you.  You have your assignments.   They let you do it.  If something needs fixing....done.  otr....regional decent to new trucks.   

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Local....dedicated local....what's left from wreckage.  Pay isn't the greatest but the semiautonomy they give the drivers make up for it.  

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
They really get to know you here.  Very friendly...every body! Very friendly! 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I get my assignments pick up ...my loads...I deliver my loads.....I take my breaks.

Ok, you're not gonna get rich money wise, but the welcoming atmosphere created by such a great group of people along with truly being able to go home quite often on your designated routes. The open door family feel, makes AMX a wonderful company to work for.  No pressure, well managed and staffed allowing the driver to earn a living for himself while meeting and working alongside a great group of people; drivers included.

Would be better off working flipping burges, working at Walmart,  or as a cashier.  The sliding pay scale and the old fashioned wages are from the nineties. Thirty cents per mile on the low end. Some ten year old spring ride trailers left. Lots of free unpaid work. Lots of turnover in drivers and starting also in management.  Use telematics to push drivers. Nightime help bullies employees. Pay only averages out to $10 - 12 per hour.

What is the best part of working at the company?
I like the fact I'm known by my name and not truck number. The pay can be great depends on how you run. All around a great atmosphere when at the terminal. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
There's really not a stressful part other than having to leave the family at home to get back on the road. Yeah home time could be a little longer but then no money is being made.

What is the best part of working at the company?
They do there best to address any issues that arise..I love all the staff.. especially Monica..much love Lady V

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
When I didn't have enough loads

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It pretty good  everyone friendly with one another.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
It was decent and pretty good.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Truck driver 659 salaries reported	$1,534 per week
Owner operator driver 18 salaries reported	$1,375 per week

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