A persistent year-over-year workforce shortage and high freight demand pushed truck driver salaries up by 11 percent in 2021, according to the American Trucking Associations. Truckers also enjoyed an 18-percent average wage increase compared to 2019, making driving trucks one of the most resilient occupations on the American landscape.
“The data supports what industry sources have been saying for some time – the driver shortage has been great for drivers who saw their salaries rise last year,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello reportedly stated. “Pay increases were broad-based across the industry, for example between salary increases and bonuses, the average truckload driver saw a wage increase of 10.9 percent last year.”
Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that median pay for heavy-duty and tractor-trailer operators stands at $48,310, the ATA survey pegged driver pay at $69,700 in 2021.
The conditions that helped buoy the annual take-home pay of men and women who haul freight show no signs of waning. Diesel fuel recently began to decline, although it remains far above the per-gallon cost of previous years. And U.S. ports continue to experience bottlenecks as surging imports arrive and need to be moved to their final destination via semi-truck.
The 2022 ATA Driver Compensation Study polled 135,000 employee drivers, and almost 20,000 independent contractors regarding their compensation when including pay rates, bonuses, and benefits. These are among the top-line statistics supported by truck driver responses.
- The median truckload driver earned more than $69,000 in 2021 — an 18 percent increase from the previous survey.
- More than 90 percent of truckload fleets raised pay in 2021, with the average increase hitting 10.9 percent. Ninety-six percent of fleets offered referral bonuses for new drivers, and 54 percent offered sign-on bonuses.
- Every less-than-truckload fleet surveyed raised pay in 2021, with the median wage hitting 73,000.
- The median salary for a driver at a private fleet was $85,000.
- Non-drayage owner-operators that responded to the survey saw estimated median gross revenues of $235,000 in 2021, while owner-operators in the drayage sector saw median gross revenues of $164,000.
“These pay increases should put to lie the myths about the nature of this job — trucking is a path that can provide a well-paid career for Americans looking for one,” Costello reportedly said.
Big box retailers have been in fierce competition for experienced CDL holders in recent years. Walmart, in particular, garnered splashy headlines for its sizable salary increases and benefits packages. Operating one of the nation’s largest fleets, Walmart pays full-time truckers upwards of $100,000. The need to fill out fleets with qualified drivers also has companies offering referral bonuses that range from $150 to $1,150.
Outfits such as Old Dominion, based in North Carolina, have realigned their budgets with salaries and benefits now comprising 20 percent of annual spending. Reports also indicate that freight hauling operations hired upwards of 73,000 truckers over 12 months, ending in July, and companies remain open arms to new drivers.
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