WASHINGTON — According to the National Transportation Institute’s (NTI) National Driver Wage Index, which measures on a quarter-sequential and annual basis the momentum of driver pay changes and tracks wages (mileage and hourly base pay) across segments, fleet type, region and driver job type, the pay scale has seen year-over-year growth for the past 13 years.
“Wage momentum has never turned negative since the Great Recession,” the NTI report notes. “Starting in 2010, every year over the past 13 has seen growth in the wages fleets are paying professional drivers. That’s through the mini freight recession in 2016 and 2017, the economic upswing and capacity crunch in 2018, the correction cycle of 2019 and then the oscillating economic cycles of the COVID and post-COVID era.”
A 2022 survey conducted by the American Trucking Associations (ATA), which included 185 fleets, more than 135,000 employee drivers and nearly 20,000 independent contractors, with data broken down by for-hire truckload carriers, less-than-load carriers and private fleets, showed that truckload drivers were paid an estimated median annual amount of $69,687 in 2021, including salaries and bonuses but not benefits.
This figure reflects an 18% increase in annual compensation from ATA’s 2019 study and emphasizes the increase in demand for drivers in this sector.
Independent contractors at Truckload carriers performing non-drayage activities were paid an estimated median annual amount of $235,000 in 2021.
More than 90% of truckload respondents raised driver pay in 2021, offering an average increase of 10.9%. A total of 96% truckload carriers offered a referral bonus to employee drivers with a median value of $1,150 — which is $150 higher than the last ATA survey indicated.
This was in conjunction with a $750 increase in the median sign-on bonus offered by 54% of truckload carriers.
Less-than-truckload drivers who hauled fright over-the-road were paid an estimated median amount of $73,000 in 2021. Less-than-truckload employee drivers on local routes were paid an estimated median amount of $55,000 last year.
Private carriers paid their employee drivers an estimated median amount of $85,000 in 2021, the same value reported in our 2019 study. Seventy-six percent of private carriers offered a referral bonus to employee drivers with a median amount of $1,150 — which is $250 higher than the last survey indicated.
This was in conjunction with a $4,000 spike in the median sign-on bonus offered by 76% of private carriers.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Driving in California is the biggest challenge because of the traffic. The trucking companies needs to pay per mile plus the number of hours spent on the roads to haul the loads. I was driving 40 miles from Van Nuys Fontana for 6 hours few weeks back. Most of the east coast drives do not like to come to California because of the heavy traffic and less facilities in the state such as no truck stops no large fuel stations. The state needs to look in this and encourage the leading fuel vendors to invest here for better service for truck drivers.
I personally will not haul into California unless they pay me a premium that’s what California deserves they don’t deserve the lower cost when it cost the driver or more not fair to the driver never has been California restricts big trucks so California needs to pay a premium for their restrictions you have to stay in the right lane where the bulk of the traffic and merging is that shuts you down every couple of minutes ridiculous I encourage all drivers not to haul the California protest it and get the wages raised
I agree with M Martin
Ca should have to pay a truck driver fee, to recoup loss of wages for the driver. Their DOT tactics are beyond reasonable and unfair to the trucking industry all around. It does not pay to haul freight in, around or out of CA. They do not have enough trucking Co’s to haul their own freight. If all Co’s would stay out of that State they would become starved out. Remember it is the wealthy in that state that make the rules and push the laws forward to appease there own personal agendas and in most case pay back for being slowed down on the their public hyways. The facts are all the requirements are a nonrecoupable cost that is a denturent.
So the solution is do not take anything to CA period. Boycott.
When the shelves are empty they will make changes, cause they will loose millions of people.
Their are already 1000’s a year leaving now. That tells you alot about that state and it’s ruling class.