Truck drivers spend their time on the road primarily transporting food, furniture, clothing, and freight for businesses. They must follow all traffic laws and log in to all their activities or problems they encounter on the road.
A Truck Driver’s Earning Depends On:
How much a truck driver makes depends on his specific work and the type of vehicle he drives. A recent survey conducted by Indeed.com says that the average annual salary of a truck driver is $66,196 in the United States. So, if you’re thinking about starting a career as a truck driver, keep reading on.
Many determining factors decide how much a particular truck driver earns; these include:
- Years of experience
- The type of vehicle you drive
- Additional certificates
- Bonuses and incentives your company offers
- Niche or specialized hauling
A Truck Driver’s Base Pay:
The most common method adopted for a trucker’s base pay is the cents per mile criteria. In the trucking industry, this is the most used method, which ensures flexibility and efficiency and means good income for the driver. Generally, regional drivers operate in a specific part of the country, visiting home once a week or every two weeks.
Regional drivers generally get paid at the rate of $0.37 to $0.55 per mile, equating to $727- $1081 per week. This is around $37,840 to $56,249 per year. Whereas over the road (OTR) drivers have a wider work boundary, covering the whole US and sometimes Canada and Mexico. Their average pay is around $0.44 -$0.55, making between $865 – $1,081 per week. OTR drivers make about $44,999 – $56,212 per year.
What Heavy Truck Drivers Make In a Year:
Heavy truck drivers haul goods weighing around 26,000 pounds per gross vehicle weight. They’re away from home more and drive intercity or state. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, they make $19.15 per hour, which means an annual pay of $39,830 per year.
Still, there are variations within this lot. The lowest-paid drivers made roughly around $24,880 per year with a per hour earning of $11.96, whereas the top-paid drivers made around $58,440 per year, getting a per hour rate of $28.10.The trucking industry’s highest-paying jobs were courier and express delivery services, with a mean wage of $27.32 per hour and $56,830 per annum.
Delivery Truck Drivers’ Per Year Salaries:
Also known as light-truck drivers, they operate smaller vehicles carrying less than 26,000 pounds per gross vehicle weight. They make multiple deliveries in one day spanning different parts of the city. They have an average wage of $15.92 per hour or $33,120 per year, but the highest average salaries they get are around $56,830 per year.
How Much Driver/ Sales Workers Make In A Year:
They operate trucks on set routes to deliver cargo, sell new products to existing clients, or make new ones. They earn around $13.22 per hour, which means $27,490 per annum. Within this lot, the lowest-paid 10 percent earned $16,650, while the best-paid made around $45,720 per year.
Qualifications Of A Driver:
A truck driver usually has a high school diploma. However, some heavy truck drivers also have a two-year work experience. They only need a valid driver’s license from the state they work in. Heavy truck drivers also require an additional commercial driver’s license, where they pass another test. Light-truck drivers and sales drivers can work as soon as they receive in class and on the road training from a mentor. Drivers sometimes also get endorsements for driving specialized vehicles or transporting certain materials.
