Survey: Trucking Wages Saw Hefty Increase in 2021

As the demand for truck drivers continued to rise in 2021, so did their wages. 

The average driver saw a wage increase of 10.9 percent last year, according to an industry survey published Aug. 10 by American Trucking Associations. 

The survey queried fleets with more than 135,000 employee drivers, as well as nearly 20,000 independent contractors, about their compensation. The results were compared to those of the last ATA compensation study, which was done in 2019. 

The data showed that the median truckload driver earned more than $69,000 in 2021, an increase of 18 percent from the prior study, with more than 90 percent of surveyed fleets raising their pay during the year. 

The study also found that the median salary for a driver at a private fleet was $85,000. 

“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,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. 

Besides the driver shortage, Costello also credited the rising salaries to “increased demand for goods in the post-pandemic economy.”