After years of stagnant pay, truck drivers are finally seeing bigger paychecks, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal.
“Many freight haulers have in the past year pushed through their biggest raises in decades,” the article states. “Truck-stop job boards and satellite radio airwaves are saturated with want ads, some offering sign-on bonuses topping $5,000 and free bus tickets to drivers willing to switch employers. Companies are equipping their fleets with satellite televisions and other amenities to make life on the road more comfortable.”
According to the article, the economy is expanding and the strong dollar is increasing demand for imported goods that must be moved from ports to municipalities across the country.
Average pay for long-haul truckers jumped 17% since the end of 2013 to a record $57,000 this year, according to the National Transportation Institute, a research group. U.S. wages rose by less than 4% over the same period.
Higher driver pay, the article stated, is being passed along to retailers and other shippers as well.
“Everyone is fighting over the same drivers,” said Dan Pallme, director of the Intermodal Freight Transportation Institute at the University of Memphis. “Eventually, what has to happen is salary has to rise, and the only way motor carriers can do that is by increasing the costs to their customers.”
Featured image from Google.com; story image from wsj.com
