The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics pegs the average truck driver salary at $47,680, but freight carriers and fleets are investing heavily to keep and attract CDL professionals.
Trucking firm KLLM Transport Services announced it would up OTR truck driver per-mile rates by a historic 33 percent in January. News of one of the most significant pay hikes in the freight hauling landscape attracted widespread attention.
“KLLM drivers have been nothing short of remarkable over the last few years through some challenging times in the transportation industry,” CEO Jim Richards reportedly stated. “They’ve stepped up to the plate every time they’ve been asked to keep food on the shelves and stores stocked.”
The outfit also indicated independent contractors will see their paychecks swell by upwards of 16 percent. Richards reportedly said new hires can expect salaries to rise from a BLS average of about $48,000 to $70,000 annually. And experienced professionals could see yearly earnings range from $120,000 to $150,000. Throwing money at truckers has become something of a trend in recent years. An estimated 81,000 driver shortage and rising freight rates created a landscape in which companies compete for qualified CDL holders.
CFI, a subsidiary of TFI International, recently announced it would purchase 770 Kenworth T680 and 250 trailers by year’s end. Hoping to retain its current workforce and independent contractor relationships, CFI indicates truckload and temp-control drivers will enjoy an increase of 2 cents per mile.
“We continue to invest in our people with modern, fuel-efficient equipment, including options and accessories most in demand by professional drivers supporting safe operations and driver comfort,” CFI president Greg Orr reportedly said. “With these new units, the average age of CFI’s tractor fleet will be less than two years.”
Given the competitive pay increases by other organizations, CFI may find it difficult to attract newly minted truckers. Midwest Carriers, out of Wisconsin, recently implemented a 9 percent pay raise for OTR truckers. That raises the average earnings from $86,395 to $92,250, with 50 percent of top earners averaging $97,550. Midwest Carriers has effectively positioned its most experienced people only inches from six-figure jobs without taking on the burden of college loans.
“As a driver-focused trucking company, we know that taking care of our drivers is job number one,” Midwest Carriers president Eric Van Handel reportedly said. “This increase is our way of showing how much we value their hard work and dedication.”
Doubling down on dedicated workforce appreciation, Midwest reportedly lowered employee contributions to healthcare premiums by 9 percent. According to recent data published by online jobs platform Indeed, the average truck driver salary in the U.S. stood at $77,527, based on the most recent information. Truckers deliver more than 70 percent of all goods and materials and experts indicate the occupation remains immune to factors that drive down salaries in other sectors — offshoring and automation.
Sources: foxbusiness.com, businessinsider.com
Higher gross pay doesn’t mean you will be making more, if you claim you will pay o/o 16 percent more, that may not cover the 25 per cent increase in repair cost, food etc
CFI a . 02 raise yay lmao. That should really fatten up your pay check.. a whopping $20 – $50 per week. Wow, greedy. Get with the program & come off with the extra duckets.
Glad I’ve never worked for ya.
Concerning the .02 cents, I got a buddy that works for CFI running team, they pay big bucks to both of the drivers in his rig, and he seems really pleased with them. Just wonder if CFI may not need to come up as much on wages as some of the other companies that may have been underpaying their help. Maybe the .02 was just a thank you spiff, not a keep our drivers raise.
Big deal!
I was pushing 6 figures 30 years ago running team for CF Motorfreight. Unfortunately CF couldn’t compete with all the low-paying gypos etc and their race to the bottom.
Trucking was a great job for most of my long career. Glad I’m retired.
U mean Conway, cornflakes teams were awsome runs go anywhere anytime stay out as long as u like and see america,big$$$$$$
All these big pay raises but it’s still hard to recruit and retain drivers. Huhhhh sounds like there are problems else where. You know maybe if you hadn’t been screwing drivers over the past 30-40 years you would have a really great employee base because your best recruiter is a existing driver. The best company I have been with is an O/O outfit been with these guys longer than any other in the last 30yrs. That’s because they didn’t feed me a line onboarding and everything I was told has come to pass as they told me I make good money and my time off is when I want it.