Truck driver pay kept rising in 2025 despite freight slump

Truck driver pay kept climbing through 2025 even as motor carriers navigated the tail end of a prolonged freight slump marked by soft demand, falling rates and rising costs. The American Trucking Associations' 2026 Driver Compensation Study found sustained wage growth across truckload, less-than-truckload and private fleets — and most surveyed carriers say they plan to raise pay again in 2026.

The headline number: for-hire truckload carriers paid dry van irregular-route employee drivers median annual compensation of $73,639 in 2025, up 8.3% from the 2023 median for the same category. Dedicated-route driver pay rose 4.2% over the same period, and dedicated drivers continued to out-earn their irregular-route counterparts. The study drew on data from more than 130 fleets representing over 140,000 employee drivers and 9,000 independent contractors.

LTL drivers held strong earnings. Linehaul less-than-truckload drivers earned median annual compensation of $85,000, while local LTL drivers earned $72,942. At private fleets, dry van dedicated-route employee drivers earned median compensation of more than $75,000, with tank and refrigerated drivers earning even more. Leased-on independent contractors at truckload carriers grossed more than $170,000, and their counterparts at private fleets grossed more than $200,000.

"Driver pay continued to move higher even as carriers faced one of the longest and most difficult freight downturns in recent memory," said Bob Costello, ATA chief economist. ATA says the pattern shows how much value fleets place on retaining safe, qualified drivers, and that compensation data will matter even more as enforcement removes noncompliant capacity from the market.

Regional differences were stark. Dry van drivers in the Northeast earned median annual compensation of just over $78,000 excluding benefits, the highest among the seven regions examined. The study also found that 74% of surveyed for-hire truckload carriers paid drivers for excessive waiting at shippers and receivers, while the median signing bonus slipped by $500 to $2,000 as the driver market became less competitive.

Rising wages are reshaping rates, too. DAT Freight and Analytics principal analyst Dean Croke said driver wages are likely the largest factor in rising contract carrier costs, since fuel surcharges have largely offset higher diesel prices. He added that carriers are negotiating higher per-mile rates as costs climb, with reefer and flatbed carriers holding the strongest pricing power heading into fall.

There are early signs capacity is turning. According to RigDig data, the U.S. commercial trucking sector rebounded in the third quarter, adding close to 10,000 new prospective fleets and more than 229,000 units of verified equipment after three straight quarters of contraction. For drivers, the message from the data is consistent: qualified seats are still hard to fill, and fleets are paying up to keep them filled.

One caveat worth knowing: the carriers participating in ATA's survey changed between reporting periods, so the percentage increases reflect comparisons between survey samples rather than verified raises for the same group of drivers. Actual earnings vary with experience, mileage, equipment type and location — but the direction of the market is unmistakable.