The National Transportation Institute has released data which claims that driver pay is rising quickly. In fact, according to an NTI analyst, 2018 was the strongest year for driver pay increases ever.
A total of 519 private and for-hire fleets responded to a recent NTI survey. It’s not an enormous sample size, but still significant. Gordon Klemp, an analyst with NTI, spoke with Overdrive about the results. Klemp estimates that by the end of the year, driver pay will have increased by as much as 11.5% in 2018 alone. That would make it the single highest percentage increase in driver pay ever.
Average driver pay is increasing for both new and experienced drivers.
As the capacity crunch increases, fleets are paying more and more to keep their current drivers happy and attract other drivers from carriers whose pay is falling behind. Sign-on bonuses are up, as are benefits. Experienced company drivers at top fleets can expect to make between $70,000 to $80,000 a year.
Klemp does note however that pay rates for new drivers aren’t anywhere close to those numbers. Still, companies are raising mileage pay even for new drivers.
According to Klemp, driver pay will continue to rise until companies pay enough to attract people to the industry who wouldn’t consider trucking as a career otherwise. That will likely take years.
Source: overdrive, fleetowner, sdcexec
Ariel Castillo says
Yeah, ever since Electronic Logs kicked in.
Tony says
Companies been short changing drivers for the last 20 yrs. Penny raises a year, seriously. Theirs no reason drivers shouldn’t get .5 to .10 a year raises. A penny comparison to admin raises would be like offering office employees .15 a yr raise.
Jeremy says
A .01 cpm raise is over $1,000 a year. Most jobs would consider that a pretty good raise.
Holly M Rafford says
Where I drive, we just got a 5 cent raise.
JAC says
Nobody wants to deal with all the BS in trucking anymore.
Shar says
Yep, if it’s not one thing, it’s another. No respect. Not enough money to be OTR. Too much wait time. Benefits poor.
Maria says
Please tell me where, because I didn’t get anything!
Trolo says
When you find out where please let me know.
John C Kingsley says
At Crete….driver pay went up 17% last year alone. And that doesn’t include the new 2cpm productivity bonus paid quarterly if you run more than 30k total miles in a quarter. Crete has the miles available to make that a very easy bonus to attain. I’d be happy to give anyone all the details if they are interested.
Tiffany says
Do they do hair drug test.. or both
D says
Soooo out 2 months and home 2 days? Ya right.
Bill says
Exactly!
Cash says
Lol okay, 70-80k a year working 70 hours a week, fun.
Jonathan Delmont says
Truckers need to be paid by the hour like everyone else who goes to work.
Charles Bevell says
Exactly. Am a transit bus driver who, though paid hourly, doesn’t get paid for having to wait 1-3 hours between split shifts, or for the 20-minute ride from the garage to the transit center. A whole lotta cheatin’ goin’ on throughout the transportation industry, it seems. Truckers need to be appreciated more by everyone.- Charles
Christopher Robin says
I came off the road in 2014 after my dad’s stroke and parked my truck. Started driving local (dump trucks) started at 18.50 pre HR. But most of the work was jobs were prevailing wage which paid anywhere from 35 to $45 an hour. I was home every night and on weekends. Good insurance and holidays off. Now most of these driving jobs start at $25. To $28 per hour with one to two yrs experience. Now I have someone else driving my off rig making me even more $. So..you driver’s can have your cake and eat it too.
TruckerJay says
I work for a second chance company and have been here 2 years now. As a new driver I came in at $0.26 com and received an automatic raise at 15,000 miles driven of $0.04 com. Almost 2 years here and I a still making that same $0.30cpm base pay. Everything I have read indicates that 2018 has been good for freight moving companies, however I can’t tell this because none of this “great revenue” has reached my pocket or the other 2,800 drivers working for this company. The President and V.P.s of this company are getting richer and richer. We just had an executive buy a bran new off the lot high end Corvette and our President has a newer model Tesla. The fat cats are building a new office building and a new gym to work out in and taking our raises and putting it in their own pockets.
Marc says
2 years , jb,hunt will start u at .45 cent
Aby G says
Well,here its if trucking industry wanna be attractive to experienced and rocky drivers as well they need put attention and take real care about drivers ,how ?,increase pay, $ benefits, home time ,reliable equipment ,most that all learn to RESPECT TRUCK DRIVERS.🤔
Michael says
This is bs
Milton Johnston says
In my last year of trucking. I’ve had two pay raises in the last year, looks like I’ll get one more soon. Benefits are better now too. Put up with crap over 40 years, now my last year and they raise pay. Figures.
Andrew H says
You can also thank the tax reform for giving smaller companies like mine a little more breathing room to offer better driver services. My company annually gathers us on a per terminal basis and goes through the books to show us where the money is being spent and whatnot and we hardly profit at all the past 5 years. I’ve received 2 significant pay raises this year amounting to an extra $100/week, a new truck, beginning of the year bonuses, more paid time off, etc. No complaints here, hopefully things don’t get too messed up in the next 2 years.
Tommy Molnar says
Pick up one of those small sized ‘big-strapper’ job opportunity booklets that are stacked up in hallways of EVERY truck stop known to man. Then start thumbing through and look for the companies bragging about their high pay.
Wesley says
if you haven’t got a pay raise home every weekend job pulling dry van making 96k plus with at least a 10 grand sign on bonus then you must be happy making scraps off the floors.
Bill says
If they have to drag you in with a $10,000 bonus in front your eyes, maybe that trucking company is not really worth working for.
Angela says
I haven’t seen a cent. People can tell you anything on a survey, it doesn’t mean it’s TRUE. Hoping to have my own truck before year end.
D says
If u become an owner op expect a pay decrease not increase.
John White says
I never got anymore money.
Kris says
In Quebec as O/O i pay my insurance premium 10.500$ a year value of my truck 6.500$ load 30000$ and just like that this October I got increase to 23000$ my premium without any clames or exident. Have to go to another company which pay insurance. This job is no rewarding any more.
Derron Wilson says
Still not enough
Kevin Chevalier says
It doesn’t matter how much the pay has gone up you’ll never make enough
there’s no such thing as a 40 hour week in this industry, time and a half
what’s that? it’s not easy to find a gig like that if you do you got lucky don’t
lose it, a brand new truck does not pay the bills truck companies seem to
think it’s a benefit, sitting in a walmart parking lot for free isn’t my idea of making money, detention times a joke break down pays a joke they act like their doing you a favor giving you a small percentage of what you’d normally
make, trip inspections are part of the job your required to do the stress of meeting appointments staying in compliance and the obstacles in between
are all part of the job, traffic, weather, construction, accidents, lesson the
mileage and lengthens your time, where’s the compensation for that? 30 min
brakes 34 hour restarts what retart thought that up? I’m born and raised in
this business a paid driver for 35 years done many different lanes held many
different spots van, flats, tanks, refers, os’s, dumps started out old school on
old school equipment I embrace el’s it keeps abuse and fatigue down but it
also increases stress to beat the clock no amount of money is worth that
one of the most thankless ungrateful jobs you’ll ever have but it’s all I know
it’s in my blood no matter how bad I get beat.
Jeff says
You forgot to mention most people get “per diem” when they travel. That’s about $61.00 for meals and incidentals. Why don’t we ?????? And forget about sitting in the truck for days- every trucker should DEMAND a motel room paid for by the company.
Trucker bob says
Crumbs
C.J. Moore says
Trucking Industry… The Pay has been Horrible for the Last 25 Years!!! Industry is Over Ruled, Over Regulated, and Way Way Underpaid!
This industry has suffered from 1992 creating CDL… added with indorsements and HAZMAT Background Check with Finger Printing = Costs drivers move money from License Division to have! Corporate Greed Executives, High Prices of Equipment Purchases, and Repairs especially since CARB, DPF and DEF Engines – The Drivers we’re Forgotten About for Years!!! I’ve been trucking over 36 years and if ever in America Right Now… We need Unions to Negotiate Drivers Pay and Benefits for Blue Collar Honest Hard Working People… Corporate America has Lost Caring about its Working People!!!
Angelo Macaluso says
AMEN!
larry stocker says
Finally, after months of not being able to get shipments out – companies are seeing what the issue really is. Professional truck drivers do not want to continue working long hours – away from home – for lousy money.
Also, companies better wake up to the huge reason drivers leave – Dispatchers.
Remember – dispatchers get a bonus for getting more loads delivered in a week, so they push drivers hard. Stop that nonsense. And companies need to stop thinking truckers will continue to live 2 weeks away from home, and then be happy with 1 1/2 days at home. Those days are over. Route guys and gals through their home towns, think about giving them Friday at 3pm to Monday morning off – not Sunday night loads.
John Bennett says
Pay rates need to go up for truckers across the board. Reefers,flatbeds,stepdecks,hotshots.
Lord ALIVEnnnKICKING says
Troll
Kevin Chevalier says
At 30k your running @ 2500 mpw you should be able to run 2800-
3000 mpw sounds like they cut your miles back to make up the
pay increase gotta watch that math driver, that’s an easy week it also
depends on where you started at, your still not getting it for all you do
your still performing work your not being paid for, every job other than
trucking you get paid for every minute your on the job, bonuses are
only paid if you meet the operation target or goals, sign on bonuses are
the same they use them as a hook to bring you in make sure it’s on
paper, recruiters are just that some are better than others, out of all
the legs of transportation were the lowest paid for all the crap you
have to put up with just to make a living the money’s not there.
Angelo Macaluso says
LOL! Recruiter.
Barton Wayne Van Buskirk says
BS story 70 thousand is not the going rate yet for most company only a few select company’s paying that much . It looks that in the future that will break 60 grand a year this year maybe , next year again 60 grand
Look at it this way you have to be grossing 1500 hundred a week to make over 70 thousand not that many drivers making that every week … just another another fake story from the powers that bee not paying living wages for years now
Dj says
LTL companies is where the money is.
Joe says
Batesville casket otr is 75-95K, option to make over 100K if you run the open board all year long. Home every week.
The jobs are out there, just hard to come by
Marc says
I got a .7 cent pay increase this year at jbhunt intermodel
TheRealTrucker says
Yea right, all propaganda bs. All these companies offering 40-50 cpm, yet their drivers are only making 1100-1400 a week. Doesn’t even add up, this would mean all the heartland and swift drivers are making 100k year, but ask any of their drivers and you will get a completely different answer. And the only companies that can offer such high rates are because they are self insured and broker their own Freight. No owner operators can pay that much. So for some of you new driver looking for actual fair drivering jobs, you can only get running for owner ops. Mega carriers are a joke.
Dj says
The real money’s in the LTL business, i.e. Estes, Old Domion, FedEx, Ups and others. Starting pay where I work is like 61cpm. I’ll make over 90k this year. Pull them doubles, don’t be scared !
Dj says
Besides that, you’ll get more home time and get it more often with the LTL companies.
John m says
I got out when we started e logs I said 60 cpm or see ya.