Lumpers and Humpers – Who are they and what do they do?
The dictionary defines a lumper as a worker who handles freight or cargo. In the trucking industry, that’s exactly what a lumper does. He or she unloads trailers for others. They are independent of the warehouse where the driver is making his delivery. The term humper is most often used when talking about household items. Seems appropriate right? One person carries boxes or furniture on her back.
How much do Lumpers/Humpers cost?
How do you find one?
Why should you hire a lumper?
The lumpers being independent in most cases can charge what they want. They are usually reasonable. A normal range is probably between $60.00 and $150.00. The product and where you deliver it will make the final difference in how much it will cost you.
Let’s use a pallet full of frozen cheese sticks and the pallet is stacked 8 high and 12 wide. The warehouse you are delivering will only allow 6 high and 12 wide and you will need to split the pallet to fit your requirements. Multiply that by 22 or 24 popsicles and it becomes a lot of work.
The next load could be toilet paper loaded floor to ceiling and it has to go in 4X6 pallets. Believe me it does a hard job. It has to be done and this is a real live example of some of the work that goes on in warehouses every day. Lumpers are there for drivers for a variety of reasons.
Lumping provides a livelihood for their families.
Drivers are needed to drive not so much to unload their trucks
Warehouse convenience.
There are many warehouses across the country and not all of them are allowed to hire or should we say they will not hire the extra help and pay the Lumpers wages. Most jobs don’t require full-time employees and therefore it would be too costly to have to pay one person a full day’s wages.
If a driver spends several hours unloading his truck, that takes time away from driving for the week. If they are people who drive OTR every day, then they don’t have enough time in the log book to pull the dump truck. There is absolutely no rule that says you can’t earn extra money unloading your truck, but lump-sum fees are paid by the company and/or broker with the money they receive from customers. You could also let the Lumpers support their families and you get some rest.
Warehouses like Lumpers because it makes stockists’ jobs so much easier because they don’t have to spend time teaching drivers how to stack items the way that particular warehouse wants them stacked. They can continue to work and complete their work.
Many trucks work from truck stops, especially in metropolitan areas where many moves are made every day. Some can be found at local moving companies. Drivers will usually find someone in an area of the country they frequent and will try to use the same people over and over again. If you are new to the job, you may need to call your local company representative and they will help you find good workers. There are also always the work centers located in the cities.