When the American Trucking Research Institute released the results of its annual Critical Issues in Trucking survey last year, driver compensation was chosen by truck drivers as their second most important concern, just one place behind parking.
When combined with the answers from carriers and other industry stakeholders, driver compensation was ranked fifth.
ATRI will release the results of this year’s Critical Issues survey at the American Trucking Association’s annual Management Conference and Exhibition in San Diego starting Sunday. If the results of Truckers News’ survey of drivers is any indication, driver pay may once again be near the top of ATRI’s list.
Related News: Survey: Drivers tell us who they are, how they got started and why they remain behind the wheel
Drivers had plenty to say about pay in our survey. Fully 27.3% said they earn between $75,000 and $100,000, while another 14.6% said they earned more than $100,000.
Still, 43.3%, the largest response, said they earn between $50,001 and $75,000.
Almost 15% made less. than %50,000. Some 9.5% said their annual pay is between $35,001 and $50,000, and another 5.2% earned $35,000 or less.
For perspective, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics says the median income in the U.S. at the end of 2024 was $61,984.
Of course, these are largely veteran drivers who have been in the industry for a while, Some 36.8% have been driving for more than 31 years, so presumably have worked their way up the pay scale.
So, here’s what we found out about what’s inside truckers’ pay envelopes.
When we asked about their current compensation:
- 50.6% said that based on their miles/loads so far this year, they would make about the same as they did in 2024
- 24.2% said they expected to make more than they did last year
- 24.1% said they expected to make less
Money also played a role in why these drivers keep driving. We asked what motivates them to stay on the road:
- 53% said they were driving to pay thir monthly bills
- 21.4% said they were saving for retirement
Because most of the respondents are company drivers, their pay is dependent on their employer’s compensation policies, unlike owner-operators who can often negotiate what they get paid, or search load boards for the most lucrative haul.
So we asked drivers, “In the last 24 months, how many times has your carrier raised pay, either flat rate, per mile or via bonuses (not a safety-related award bonus)?
The response:
- 48.4% said none
- 25.4% said once
- 21.3% said twice
- 3.7% said three times
- 1.3% said more than three times
Yet, another ATRI study — its annual Analysis of Operational Costs of Trucking — released earlier this year found driver wages were the primary contributor to cost increases in the three years following the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2024 driver wages rose rose by 2.4%, half a percentage point less than the rate of inflation, according to that ATRI study.
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