It appears some large fleet operators thought increasing truck driver salaries to secure their services would also prompt them to work longer hours. In a freight hauling industry where truckers sit in the pay scale driver’s seat, the two appear mutually exclusive.
A recent survey indicates that upwards of 83 percent of fleet outfits increased driver salaries one or more times during 2021. Industry-wide sentiment exists that improved paychecks, bonuses, and other perks are a surefire way to attract new hires and improve workforce retention. Wide-reaching reports demonstrate that freight carriers offer bonuses topping $15,000 that trickle out over the first year or two. These enticements have become commonplace as companies compete for newly-minted CDL professionals and experienced truckers. Rising salaries have also followed suit.
“This year, the average compensation for the first time ever eclipsed $70,000. We have many fleets reporting that their drivers are making more than $100,000,” Carriers Edge vice president Chris Henry reportedly said. “The biggest issue is home time and consistency of pay.”
Data posted by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics shows that median truck driver salaries in 2020 hovered at $47,130 and $22.63 per hour. But a workforce that experienced uncertainty and took safety risks to keep America’s supply lines open during the height of the pandemic needed a well-deserved rest. Some fleet operators were surprised to discover that trucker availability decreased during the summer. Approximately 29 percent of freight operations saw CDL-holders take vacation time. Large fleets reportedly saw a 57 percent dip in driver availability.
“Our drivers are converting increased earnings to time off,” Prime president Robert Low reportedly said.
After increasing trucker salaries, Prime may have expected to build on its driver availability rate of 82 percent. But during the typical vacation stretch, that figure dropped to about 73 percent. Although backlogged orders and supply chain disruption has many freight carriers working to maximize transportation capacity, truckers opted for improved quality of life rather than take advantage of extended hours-of-service opportunities.
“I think there’s lots of truth in the fact that the more we pay our drivers doesn’t mean they are going to work harder. It means they are likely going to work less to make the same, so they can have more work-life balance,” Kriska Transportation CEO Mark Seymour reportedly said. “My advice is to make the best use of things you have to work with now. Don’t think you are going to get more of it. Just make the best use of it.”
Fleet operations would be well-served to recognize many truck drivers are unwilling to run themselves ragged, working excessively long hours and spending more time away from loved ones than necessary. Increasing salaries and working conditions rank among the best strategies to retain qualified truck drivers. Asking hard-working men and women to skip vacations and family time will likely result in job-hopping and burnout.
Sources: ccjdigital.com, trucker.com
My boss is so cheap, we haven’t seen a raise in years. He doesn’t understand big he doesn’t pay soon drivers are going to start moving on to better paying jobs.
Yes, it seems it is dawning on driver managers that not being worked to death (quality of life) of drivers is a priority they need to consider, if only for less tickets and fewer catastrophic accidents. Driver managers need to have the patience to build a fleet and have a JOB that recruiters can sell, rather than abusing the drivers they have (and losing them in the process). If there is a shortage of drivers, SENIOR management should not be pressing driver managers to push their drivers to do more than they can safely handle.
The advent of more and more Government regulation has caused the shortage of drivers.
No shortage of drivers, just a shortage of good drivers willing to put up with BS. These carriers and shippers/receivers seem to think it is still the late 90s when you could get a desperate “driver” to undercut everyone and anyone to stave off bankruptcy.
The Trucking Transportation Industry has struggled for the last 40 year’s with Government and Corporate America being Over Ruled, Over Regulated, and Under Paid.
Now the Diesel Engine in the Truck has been Ruined by The Government with Unreliable Undependable Service and Numerous Breakdowns with very long waiting at Shops. Shipper and Receivers waiting time without Pay is about Over…
Putting Plastic Port-A-Potty outside Facilities telling Drivers to only use outside in any Temperature and No Way Too Wash Hands… Feel Sorry for Women Driver’s…
Truck Stops changing to Mostly Pay for Parking and No Restaurant’s changing to Fast Food like Subway or Whichever…
How do we continue to be Attracted to The Industry…???
So so very true. I’ve been at it since 79 & am looking into gettin out of it just for those very reasons.
Agreed. Over the road is a demanding lifestyle, particularly for those with a family. You can offer a marginal increase in pay, but to the average company man making the wheels turn for your trucking company a marginal pay increase isn’t going to move the needle a lot in terms of what’s really important.
Best boss I ever had was while I was in the navy. One particular skipper understood what the average joe needed. If we were in port he would lay out goals for the week with the final objective of getting everyone off duty by noon on Friday. He dangled the carrot and then let us have our carrot cake. …..We jumped through hoops for that man.
Pay should be decreased so drivers can’t afford to take vacations.
I almost slipped on the sarcasm dripping from your post!
Your a genius!!!!!
Amen……
Decrease pay, freight will not get moved and people will find a better paying job.
Estes Express allowed drivers to carry-over up to 3 weeks of vacation time to 2022 (instead of the usual one week) to encourage them not to use it, under the pretense of “providing flexibility with your personal schedule”.
Buck Fiden
What does Biden have to do with this article? You are a moron.
We are not robots or aliens. Most of us have a life and families outside that commercial motor vehicle.
Wow! Maybe American CEOs will figure out their employees want more time to do the things that make life worth living. Or is it they are too busy on the golf course to care?
Been in this industry 20 years and I’ve learned one universal truth…
Trucking companies do NOT care about their drivers. Low pay, over priced benefits, and robbing us of every penny they possibly can, the whole time telling us how important we are, and why we need to work more. I’m personally in the process of hanging up my keys for good, simply because companies aren’t willing to compromise and let me work and have a life. Never understood why companies think just because I’m a driver I automatically want to work 70 hours a week.
Many fleets reporting that their drivers making over a 100k ya right……………if your going to write an article then verify that those numbers and stop writing fluff pieces without no facts to them…. i like some of your magazine articles TRUCKERS REPORT, but they stretch the limit of reality…do your homework!! All companies work in gross which means nothing!!!! it is what you net at the end of the year based on how many hours you are away from home!!! when you add up the numbers your making garbage money…flip burgers at MC CRAP..you will probably make more if you compare the hours..and you will be home everyday to see your loved ones!!!
Many fleets reporting that their drivers making over a 100k ya right……………if your going to write an article then verify that those numbers are true and stop writing fluff pieces without no facts to them…. i like some of your magazine articles TRUCKERS REPORT, but they stretch the limit of reality…do your homework!! All companies work in gross which means nothing!!!! it is what you net at the end of the year based on how many hours you are away from home!!! when you add up the numbers your making garbage money…flip burgers at MC CRAP..you will probably make more if you compare the hours..and you will be home everyday to see your loved ones!!!
That $100K earnings includes all the benefits offered, whether you take them or not, that doesn’t come into our pockets. This is what looks good on paper. Then what monies we do get goes out to pay the premiums.
If recruiters will speak the truth about the real take home earnings I doubt there will be as many people willing to drive.
Everyone should have a boss like mine and thanks me for my day. Had raise every year.
Management still doesn’t get it, or just doesn’t;t care. I haul fuel for a big carrier, and our CEO sent out an e-mail this summer, officially cancelling extra days off and short-term leaves of absence.
The more drivers they lose, the more pressure they put on the ones who are still here, until they leave…..and so on, and so on.
I’ll say it again: Drivers should be paid for EVERYTHING we do from pretrip to posttrip. I include the inspections, hooking, dropping, fueling, scaling, waiting to load/unload, brokedown time and DoT inspections. If dispatchers get paid for putting paper in a printer because “it’s part of their job”, why shouldn’t we get part for every part of our job? Adding true overtime pay after 40 hours like almost everybody else gets would be good, too.
👍 Right On!!!
Pay by mile actually takes that all into account, it is the best way to compensate a driver. Also, you have no boss looking over you time out on the road, so a 1 day trip would start to look like a 2 day trip as there would be no incentive to keep your wheels moving if you were in a pay by the hour pay schedule. Just saying…you may be honorable and honest, but there are many that are not.