Driver retention is probably the number one issue in the trucking industry. There are many debates on how to remedy the problem, but there is one thing we all agree on; Truck drivers do not get paid enough for what they do. Don’t get me wrong, I have made a good living as a truck driver over the last 21 years. I have made choices that have led me down the road to a great job with a regional LTL (Less-Than-Truckload) carrier. I get great pay and I’m home every day. But, what I do every day is not the typical truck driving job and there are not enough LTL jobs to go around.
LTL has a much lower turnover rate than the TL (Truckload) side of trucking mainly because of pay and home time. It is very difficult to get home every day when you run 2500 miles one way from Orlando Florida to Los Angeles every week. If better home time is not an option, then equipment and pay become the biggest draw for new employees.
I am not one to say that pay is the number one issue but money does make the world go round. A great increase in pay can make a huge difference in someone’s life. If a driver’s pay goes up by 1 or 2 percent, most will not think much about it. But, let a driver’s pay go up by 294% and now we are talking. Here is an article in the Tampa Bay Business Journal that can really grind drivers to a halt.
Top executives at Quality Distribution Inc. got big bumps in pay in 2014, as the Tampa-based trucking firm moved closer to become a $1 billion company.
Chairman and CEO Gary Enzor saw his pay package top $3 million, with Joseph Troy, executive vice president and chief financial officer, pulling in just under $2 million in total compensation. For Enzor, it was a 237 percent increase from 2013, while Troy’s increase was 294 percent.
If you look at my post, “How much do truck drivers make?”, the median truck drivers pay is $47,000. An increase of 294% would give you an annual pay about $185,180.
I know that is a ridiculous idea! And anyone with the knowledge and experience to turn around a failing company deserves every dime they are paid. But, wouldn’t it be nice to have truck drivers pay keep up with the times and pay what WE are worth?
$185,000 dollars…..Sounds good to me.
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I have been in the trucking industry since 1973 and I have seen driver pay increase very slowly. When I first started out, I was making 19% of the load and most of the time the company would have me drop load in yard for another driver to deliver. I was lucky if I made 1,500 miles per week. At 19% and not delivering the load to benefit the full pay of the load, my weekly pay was very little causing me to take draws (cash advances) to get through the week. I left that company and went across the street and started driving for a company that hauled auto parts throughout the Midwest making .39 cmp (cents per mile). I was guaranteed 2,500 miles per week, my pay was good enough that I did not have to take any draws for the week. Through the years, drivers pay has not improved with the cost of living, having to fingerprint a load (hand load/unload), then expected to drive on to the delivery destination. A driver being tired after that is not taking into consideration. It seems that after deregulation, companies treated drivers like a dime a dozen, the less they had to pay would be better for them to earn more so the “fat cats” could have better salaries. Even the hired help in the office and the dock suffered terribly. Benefits in earlier years was not the best, didn’t have as many vacation days, no personal days, had to work if you were sick. But as the years passed and regulations changed, some things got better and some got worse. The trucking industry as evolved to what it is today and drivers have to be choosy who they work for and how long they want to be gone during the week, or if home time is more important to them. My opinion as a driver, watch out for the companies that offer one thing in advertising and say another after you are hired. Keep the greasy side down and keep trucking.