Website Ranks Carriers By Driver Pay - Sysco At The Top

A recent article at TruckDriversSalary.com with salary statistics from 2020 shows that Walmart has been displaced from its coveted number one spot by the major food distributor Sysco – though the difference of only a little over $1,000 is nearly negligible for that level of annual pay range.

Website ranks carriers by driver pay - Sysco at the top

I was received a job offer from Sysco during my job search. It was a drop yard, so nothing but pups. The targeted salary for first year was 75K or more.

In the end it was between Sysco and Pepsi. The only reason I went with Pepsi was the 4 day work week with the option to work extra days if I wanted to.

Sad to see Swift near the end of that list. Guessing a lot of that low average is coming from so many trainees and being such a big company. Those study numbers don’t reflect what the Swifties on here have stated.

On the flip side, so many people wreck Western Express saying they dont pay well and are horrible to work for and they are in the top 10.

That study just goes to show and prove that the individual person determines their financial fate by building a good relationship with dispatch, not slacking off and mastering clock management and trip planning

That study just goes to show and prove that the individual person determines their financial fate by building a good relationship with dispatch, not slacking off and mastering clock management and trip planning

this plays a huge role of it. I'm also interested to see how they calculated driver pay into an hourly rate. Are they basing that off how many hours the driver actually worked? Sysco is much more physical than the other jobs and the speed you unload directly affects your pay. Unloading 300 cases into 1 stop you're able to earn a higher wage because you're not wasting time touching other stops cases trying to find cases coming off right now. I never pay much attention to these type of things because so much is directly affected by each individuals performance. Although Swift and C.R.E. were listed towards the bottom I can guarantee they have many drivers making closer to what Sysco or Walmart are paying.

Regardless, Thank you for the great article Dave! There are so many options in trucking and many times pay is just a small part of why someone chooses a certain company.

I’m guessing they got the companies end of year payroll numbers, divided that by number of drivers = X, divide X by 52 = Y, divide Y by 70 = average per hr

I’m guessing they got the companies end of year payroll numbers, divided that by number of drivers = X, divide X by 52 = Y, divide Y by 70 = average per hr

Swift’s bonus? Unless you are there beyond 3 months; it’s basically nothing.

I’m at Diamond level now so the bonus accounts for about 8% of my annual compensation. I also got a .02 cents per mile bump on my anniversary date this month.

Unless you are there beyond 3 months; it’s basically nothing.

Congrats on the raise!!!

This is why I figured the number was so low. All the people who aren't cut out for the job and are gone within 6 months are probably lumped into the equation as well driving the averages way down.

Sysco is much more physical than the other jobs and the speed you unload directly affects your pay. Unloading 300 cases into 1 stop you're able to earn a higher wage because you're not wasting time touching other stops cases trying to find cases coming off right now

I thought Sysco was hourly, in which case the speed you unload affects your pay, but in the opposite direction you're thinking of. I'm hourly, and make more on a three stop run than a single drop, simply because it takes me longer. It's honestly my biggest gripe working an hourly job, the guys milking it make more than the hustlers.

I could be wrong about their pay structure though, where's our Sysco guy?

I thought Sysco was hourly, in which case the speed you unload affects your pay, but in the opposite direction you're thinking of. I'm hourly, and make more on a three stop run than a single drop, simply because it takes me longer. It's honestly my biggest gripe working an hourly job, the guys milking it make more than the hustlers.

I could be wrong about their pay structure though, where's our Sysco guy?

I spent a couple years throwing cases in their warehouse so I understand the basics of it but not the exact formula for drivers. The faster you work the higher your hourly rate. For instance, in their warehouse in FL my hourly rate starting out was $17 an hr. If I worked 3% faster than their standard it went up to $23. It continued to go up until you topped out around $36 an hour if you worked 60% faster than the engineered standard. At my other food gig I worked with a guy who came from Sysco that claimed he was earning 105k there. The 300 case example meant he'd be able to unload more cases per minute (higher pay) than he'd likely unload at a stop with only 30 cases. Less time digging and handling other stops cases. I haven't seen Yuuyo around for a while so I don't know if he'll chime in or not. The pay also varies by what DC you're out of. While in the warehouse I broke it down comparing what pay would be if I worked just 3% faster compared to 60% faster and would earn more working 3% faster than the standard. However, I'd also work many more hours. Sysco offers incentive pay to get guys to bust their ass more than they already do and keep more customers satisfied while also saving money on wages. Most companies base their decisions on what will keep the most money in their pockets.

I can relate to what you said about guys milking the clock. That is indeed one negative to hourly. We have guys that intentionally take longer to unload or sit in the parking lot an extra 20 minutes after every unload. We have some guys that miraculously always get 12 hours a day whether they have 2 stops and 300 miles or 2 stops and 500 miles.

One thing I forgot to touch on is many of the food companies (sysco included) rely on drivers that get done early to go out and help other drivers finish that are new or running behind. In certain areas during the busiest times of the year they'll also send you out for a 6th day riding with another driver or driving a company car. As long as you aren't driving a CMV it doesn't matter if you have time on your 70 or not.