Survey Says Truckload Drivers’ Wages Are Rising After Three Flat Years

ay for dry-van truckload company drivers jumped 2.8% from spring to summer and was projected to rise further by the end of the year as pay scales have made their biggest gains in 10 years, according to the National Survey of Driver Wages.

However, wages for long-haul drivers are still not high enough to permit much of an increase in truckload capacity, which has been held back by motor carriers’ inability to recruit enough new drivers, the survey said.

“My opinion is wages have to rise substantially” in order to secure enough drivers, said Gordon Klemp, who conducted the NSDW research for SignPost Inc. of Hudson, Wis.