Despite pressure on freight rates and tonnage, driver wages across the industry continue to increase post-pandemic, according to the results of the American Trucking Associations' latest Driver Compensation Study.
Those findings mirror CCJ's own research, as more than half of all respondents to CCJ's What Drivers Want survey, conducted earlier this year in partnership with Lytx, said they expect to make about the same amount of money this year that they did in 2023 (39%), or make more money this year versus last (22%).
“While our last study, conducted in 2021, illustrated how drivers benefitted from the strongest freight environment in a generation, this latest report shows professional drivers’ earnings are still rising — even in a weaker freight economy,” said American Trucking Associations Chief Economist Bob Costello.
Carriers offered smaller referral and fewer sign-on bonuses for new drivers in 2023 compared to 2021, the report showed, but more frequently offered tenure bonuses to their current drivers and with a greater median value.
“By offering greater tenure bonuses to their current driver force, many fleets appear to be shifting their workforce priorities from recruitment to retention," Costello noted.
According to ATA's survey, truckload drivers earned a median annual amount of $76,420 in 2023 – a 10% increase over the previous two years. Linehaul less-than-truckload drivers earned a median annual amount of $94,525 in 2023, while local LTL drivers earned a median of $80,680.
Median annual compensation for drivers at private carriers has risen 12% since 2021, reaching $95,114 in 2023, according to the data.
Leased-on independent contractors for truckload carriers were paid an annual median amount of $186,016 in 2023, according to ATA.
Among the drivers surveyed by CCJ who expect to make more money this year than 2023, 35% are driving more miles/hauling more loads, and 27% said their carrier instituted a pay raise (27% saw a per mile increase, and 22% a guarantee/bonus). The majority of drivers who claimed to be driving more miles or hauling more loads were leased owner operators (50% said they would make more money this year). Another 46% of leased drivers said they were hauling loads at better rates this year.
According to the National Transportation Institute, fleets last year gave the largest pay increases to drivers with the most experience, a change from years prior where financial incentives mostly went toward attracting new drivers.
