Great article, with lots of discussion. Personally I'm a free marketer: Supply vs Demand, oth sides of a sale (or paycheck) get the value they want out of the transaction. That sort of thing.
This is through a link in that article: Driver Annual Pay USA national average
The top line in the graph: Inflation-adjusted mean U.S. household income. Includes double income families so it's higher.
The middle line: Inflation-adjusted owner-operator income
The bottom line: Inflation-adjusted company driver pay.
Interesting there Errol.
Keep in mind, the article and comments are likely mainly from O/O's (since it's OOIDA), since they talk about "rates" - which most company drivers are clueless about (not an insult, just that rates don't matter when you're getting CPM).
For the difference in roughly $7K a year (by the chart above), doesn't look like it's really worth the overhead of having your own equipment.
I know O/O's that take home that much, and some that take home even more.
It would seem the "hard running, conscientious" company driver, has the potential to do very well, with none of the overhead or responsibility.
Rick
Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.
OOIDA is an international trade association representing the interests of independent owner-operators and professional drivers on all issues that affect truckers. The over 150,000 members of OOIDA are men and women in all 50 states and Canada who collectively own and/or operate more than 240,000 individual heavy-duty trucks and small truck fleets.
The mission of OOIDA is to serve owner-operators, small fleets and professional truckers; to work for a business climate where truckers are treated equally and fairly; to promote highway safety and responsibility among all highway users; and to promote a better business climate and efficiency for all truck operators.
It would seem the "hard running, conscientious" company driver, has the potential to do very well, with none of the overhead or responsibility.
We have more than one regular member here with only two or three years experience that are making over $70,000 a year and love their jobs. We have another guy with less than two years at this point I think and he's been hauling equipment for gigantic national shows and music tours and the like since he came out of school. He loves it, which pretty much goes without saying.
You can make great money and have an awesome job, sometimes straight out of school, without taking any financial risk or running your own company. You won't have to do piles of paperwork, hire an attorney, hire an accountant, or make $100,000+ investments in equipment and maintenance that have to be recouped over many years of tireless work.
For the difference in roughly $7K a year (by the chart above),
That's being really generous. If you look at the past three years where it stabilized it's more like $4,000 in a good year. That's petty change in my book when you weight it against the monumental investment in time and money it takes and the risks you incur.
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Hi all,
It's been awhile since I've posted here. I hope everyone doing well. I saw this article in Overdrive Magazine and wanted to share it.
Overdrive Magazine article
Stay safe, Dave