Driver pay

An announcement by one carrier could be a signal that competition for drivers is starting to get fierce.

When adjusted for inflation, truck driver wages have grown 1.1% in 15 years.

An announced pay increase at Averitt might signal some acceleration in driver pay levels.

This week in Borderlands: Truck driver salaries in Mexico averaging $423 a month in 2024; Horizon Auto Logistics opens office in Veracruz, Mexico; LG Electronics opens $60M plant in Central Mexico; and Texas bridge project receives $80 million in federal funding.

At the recent UBS Global Industrial and Transportation Conference, Heartland CEO Mike Gerdin and Vice President of Finance Josh Helmich highlighted freight market weakness and outlined the retention impact of their driver minimum pay program.

Alaskan trucking companies are betting that six-figure salaries could lure truck drivers to haul freight in the frigid Arctic.

Growing big and bulky delivery provider Bungii wants to pay its drivers more quickly and conveniently.

Customers can now tip Amazon drivers by saying “thank you,” but a lawsuit accuses the company of using tips for itself.

Report shows pay also increased 11% just last year — and looks like it’s still rising

ATRI: Costliest year ever in trucking On Wednesday, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) released its annual report on the operational costs of trucking. The report, which has been published annually since 2008, is based on motor carrier financial and operations data from 2021.  Below are some highlights from the report and press release:  Total […]

A survey on truck driver compensation by the American Trucking Associations showed the scope of the gains in driver pay over the last two years.

Port X aims to create an environment where drivers feel like part of the greater team, not sequestered from it.

The best way to keep your drivers satisfied is to know what they want.

Retention efforts across the industry tend to focus primarily on pay. While pay is certainly an important factor in retaining quality drivers, simply issuing raises is not the answer to the driver turnover issue that plagues the industry.

1st-year drivers can make up to $110K, veteran drivers even more

FreightWaves’ Mary O’Connell and Joe Antoshak sit down to talk about the top 500 for-hire carrier list and the 2022 driver pay guide just completed.

Truckload carriers continue to pay up for drivers. Dry van carrier Cargo Transporters announced another increase to its pay package.

Less-than-truckload carrier Yellow Corp. adds two driver academies as part of a plan to train 1,000 drivers in 2022.

Nearly a year and a half into a tight truck market and carriers continue to raise driver wages. Midwest Carriers and CFI are the latest to announce increases.

Truckload carriers have been raising pay for 18 months now to meet heightened demand. But when this trucking cycle cools, don’t expect wages to follow in lockstep.

KLLM Transport Services is the latest carrier to announce a historic pay increase for drivers.

Flatbed and over-the-road drivers to see 70 cents per mile

JK Moving Services and Kido are two very different businesses, but both SMBs can teach other companies about how to weather a global crisis.

Driver recruiting challenges, pay and demographics trends Driver recruiting remains a key challenge heading into 2022 due to pandemic, demographic and economic trends. Pay and wages remain a central theme in both driver recruitment and retention, with carriers raising base driver pay multiple times in 2021 to keep up with demand. These pay raises are […]

Lawrence Freight said its latest pay hike for company drivers will move annual wages to roughly $90,000 in 2022.

J.B. Hunt Transport announced that eligible drivers and maintenance techs received nearly $10 million in appreciation bonuses on Friday.

In its third pay hike of 2021, Forward Air rolls out its biggest pay package for independent contractors ever.

In this issue: AI Fleet raises $21 million; the American Transportation Research Institute ranks trucking concerns; and the Logistics Managers’ Index is expanded. Trucking in disruption: AI Fleet raises $21 million series A Trucking tech startup AI Fleet recently completed a series A round for $21 million led by Obvious Ventures with participation from Compound, […]

Rob Hatchett, president of Fleet Intel, discusses the importance of having real-time driver pay data at your fingertips.

“Our technology is picking loads for drivers based on what is best for the driver and what will generate the most revenue on the truck, which in turn, generates the highest potential salary for our drivers” said AI Fleet co-founder and CEO Marc El Khoury.

Even when everyone agrees, regulations take a year to get approved. And there are detractors to autonomous trucking rulemaking

Motor Carrier Act of 1980, OTR driver shortage, consumer confidence falls

Federal regulators have vastly improved the ability to keep unsafe drivers off the road but the trucking industry is scrambling to make up the shortfall.

Thanks to persistent industry headwinds, the debate surrounding how to pay drivers – by the mile or by the hour – is heating up, and Congress is taking notice.

How to Hire the Best Drivers

North Carolina-based carrier’s third pay raise in a year comes amid unprecedented freight volumes and demand for drivers.

Covenant Logistics Group’s managed freight segment revenue grew 89% year-over-year during the third quarter, to $90 million.

If you aren’t proactively taking measures to retain your people, someone else is trying to steal them. Here’s what to do about it.

Retaining drivers — not increasing the driver pool — is the way to address supply chain disruption, OOIDA asserts.

Dedicated carrier Cowan Systems is offering sign-on bonuses as high as $20,000 for newly hired drivers.

“Our logistics segment has been thriving and growing, including contract logistics and port services, with the largest contributor being brokerage,” says Schneider CEO.

Knight-Swift Transportation beat second-quarter estimates and raised its full-year guidance to include the favorable operating environment in addition to accretion from recent acquisitions. However, the improved outlook includes the expectation for continued cost headwinds around labor.

Getting shippers to pay for drivers’ wait time could boost driver retention and improve safety, according to a trucking economics expert.

Heartland Express records its best consolidated operating ratio since its last acquisition was fully integrated.

Leased owner-operators and company drivers could be looking to strike gold on their own in a strong trucking market, Vise says.

Signs of hope are seen in driver recruitment, according to Tenstreet, as “historic” pay increases continue.

Asset-light trucking and logistics provider Forward Air’s new pay plan incentivizes operators to haul into the country’s more challenging markets.

Carriers are hoping to attract drivers with more pay and improved benefits.

Another trucking company responds to the strong freight market by increasing truck driver pay.

On today’s episode, Jeremy Reymer, founder and CEO of DriverReach, speaks with Carter Express Director of Recruiting Dave Chesterman about the unique challenges the driver shortage brings.

With the pay boost, the company’s more experienced drivers will bring in 63 cents per mile.

Government Agency
Seeks Long-haul Truckers
for Nuclear Materials

Carriers continue to push driver pay higher amid a capacity-constrained market to keep their equipment seated and on the road.

Schneider National’s first quarter comes in ahead of analysts’ expectations and the company raises its full-year outlook by 8% at the midpoint of the range.

Driver surveys examining turnover rates have consistently shown that drivers value three things: pay, time and respect.

First-quarter earnings reports from truckload carriers highlight a booming freight market. A strong consumer, tight truck capacity and elevated rates appear the likely dynamics for the remainder of the year.

Roehl Transport announced its second driver pay increase of the year.

GP Transco is the latest carrier to raise driver pay. Base pay alone for company drivers moves 15% higher.

Heartland Express reported a slight miss on first-quarter earnings expectations Wednesday. The carrier pointed to relative strength in March as it exited the quarter, noting that driver pay will need to be raised again.

Switzerland had the highest average truck driver salary at more than $70,000 a year.

Trucking companies will need to become more strategic about recruitment in the future. Those not willing to change will have difficulty finding drivers.

Reliance Partners’ Thom Albrecht comments on the industry’s recovery efforts and job growth figures, as well as his thoughts on increasing driver pay.

The announced increases this month are a small sliver of the pay rises that companies are needing to hand down to stay competitive.

Driver pay continues to step higher as truck capacity remains very tight and consumer spending high.

Forward Air announces its “largest-ever” rate increase to capacity providers.

After raising pay earlier in the year, Cargo Transporters has implemented a flexible pay package, allowing company drivers to earn paid time off and bonus payments on a prorated basis.

West Coast carrier Cheema Freightlines announces a pay bump for drivers and plans to expand its fleet in 2021.

After a fresh round of pay increases at the beginning of the year, some carriers are continuing to raise rates further. Bay & Bay Transportation announced effective immediately it has raised pay for independent contractors by 20 cents per mile.

National Transportation Institute CEO Leah Shaver says drivers “will feel disrespected if they see that their time is not valued as it pertains to their paycheck.”

Fourth-quarter results for Heartland Express displayed a revenue dip on driver employment headwinds but operating income jumped 35%. The company mentions getting back into M&A.

Temperature-controlled carrier Nagle Toledo announced a 17% pay increase for its drivers. The company was one of the first to start paying drivers a straight salary.

A couple more truckload carriers have announced pay increases for drivers ahead of the new year. Beacon Transport and Bay and Bay Transportation are the latest.

Roehl Transport joins the list of truckload carriers increasing driver pay to keep trucks rolling during a high-demand environment.

Schneider National announces a per-mile pay increase of 4 cents for most drivers beginning in late January. Earlier this year, the company announced an increase in team driver pay.

Frozen Food Express is raising linehaul driver pay by 25% for new solo drivers and 20% for team drivers.

C.R. England is boosting driver pay an average of 15.5%, and when combined with a new bonus program, means some drivers could see a 25% pay increase.

Average rate for team drivers up by 9 cents per mile, company says

Temperature-controlled carrier KLLM Transport Services is rolling out “one of the largest” increases to driver pay in the company’s more than 55-year history.

Trucking executives were on hand at Stephens Annual Investment Conference this week, making it known that this cycle is different and that the current market dynamics are here for a while.

Dallas-based Stevens Transport announced a new pay package Monday to reward drivers for their hard work and dedication.

Heartland Express raises driver pay 6% across the board and as high as 12% for some.

Knight-Swift Transportation’s third-quarter report provides an earnings beat, a 2020 guidance raise and a better-than-consensus first take at 2021 earnings as the carrier sees “strong freight conditions” continuing.

Teamsters and YRC Worldwide agree to implement $7,500 hiring bonuses to new drivers. YRC will select the regions for the new bonus pay but the local unions have the autonomy to decline them.

Demand for drivers described as ‘insatiable’ as Schneider appears to be leading the way in hiking compensation

Driver wages are holding steady during the coronavirus pandemic, but care for safety is where priority should remain, says CEO of National Transportation Institute.

Driving experience — not age — had a greater impact on safety, according to study.

78% of truck drivers posted positive comments regarding their morale, with many thanking carriers for supporting them, in the latest sign that carriers are effectively supporting their drivers.

Truck drivers would be eligible for COVID-19 “pandemic premium pay” under the proposal.

New report highlights the industry’s efforts to recruit and retain drivers as it warns that vacancies will swell above 25,000 in Canada.

We gear up this week with a man charged on Thursday with shooting a truck driver on I-269 outside Memphis, Tennessee, after an in-cab video captured the suspected killer. Violence in Mexico from organized cartels has been surging in recent weeks, with the latest incident involving a 13-year-old American boy killed Jan. 3 near Nuevo […]

“Aggressive” management style has led to driver abuse, senators claim.

Report asserts industry needs to hire 1.1 million new drivers over the next decade.

Trucking could get hit “very hard” by an economic recession, ATA warns

Military members under the age of 21 can now apply for inclusion in an FMCSA pilot program for younger drivers.

The top-paying fleets continued to increase driver pay in the first quarter, with some now paying as much as 65 cents per mile in an effort to retain high-performing drivers.

Support for proposal split between large and small carriers.

FreightWaves Radio’s seventh national show was broadcast on Saturday, April 6 on SiriusXM’s Road Dog Channel 146.

Cross-border drivers like new wage structure, carrier executive says.

Authors controversial study miss key factors contributing to truck driver turnover and wages.

Sentiment could be growing for lowering the driver age, but questions linger over safety and wages.