ATA: driver pay kept climbing in 2025 — irregular-route truckload up 8.3%

Professional truck driver pay continued to climb in 2025, even as motor carriers navigated the final stages of a prolonged period of soft freight, falling rates, and rising costs, according to The Trucker on Oct. 7, citing new data from the American Trucking Associations. "Driver pay continued to move higher even as carriers faced one of the longest and most difficult freight downturns in recent memory," ATA chief economist Bob Costello said — a sign, he argued, of the value fleets place on retaining safe, qualified professional drivers.

The 2026 ATA Driver Compensation Study, drawing on more than 130 fleets representing over 140,000 employee drivers and 9,000 independent contractors, found sustained growth across segments. Irregular-route dry van truckload drivers earned median annual compensation of $73,639, up 8.3% from the 2023 median; dedicated-route pay rose 4.2%. Linehaul less-than-truckload drivers earned a median $85,000 a year, local LTL drivers $72,942, and dry van dedicated-route drivers at private fleets more than $75,000. Leased-on independent contractors at truckload carriers grossed more than $170,000; their private-fleet counterparts cleared more than $200,000.

Most truckload fleets paid for waiting: 74% of surveyed for-hire truckload carriers compensated drivers for excessive detention time. One soft spot: a less competitive driver market pushed the median signing bonus down $500 to $2,000. Northeastern dry van drivers led the regions at just over $78,000, excluding benefits. A majority of surveyed carriers also reported plans to raise driver pay in 2026.