Major US fleets hiking driver pay

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Several high-profile US carriers have in recent days announced notable increases to driver pay packages.

Transport America announced it is bringing in better pay packages for solo, team, regional and O/O divisions beginning Sept. 1.

“Not only have we increased entry-level pay, but we also enhanced the earnings experienced drivers can achieve within our organization,” said Scott Arves, CEO of Transport America, which earlier this year was purchased by TransForce. “The new pay structure keeps Transport America as a leader among industry pay and one of the first to increase pay among the larger fleets.”

At Transport America, O/Os will see their pay increase two cents per mile, while team drivers will get a cent per mile raise and HazMat pay will increase four cents a mile. Solo drivers’ pay was bumped one cent per mile, allowing a driver with four years’ experience to start at 43 cents per mile.

U.S. Xpress, meanwhile, announced its pay for over-the-road drivers would increase an average of 13% effective Aug. 25.

“The trucking industry has and will always remain the lifeblood of the US economy. More important, our industry needs to celebrate professional, career drivers and better reward them for the hard work they do day in and day out to safely deliver freight on time and without incident,” said Max Fuller, chief executive officer for U.S. Xpress. “Drivers are the ones who ensure that our store shelves are not empty, manufacturing does not grind to a halt and our economy does not stall.”

U.S. Xpress has also eliminated its sliding pay scale for OTR drivers, so drivers have a better understanding of what their pay will be from week to week. This change was made in response to driver requests.

Con-Way Truckload also improved its pay package, effective Sept. 7. Among the changes are higher per-mile pay and increased layover pay and a new incentive that rewards loyalty and productivity.

“Our drivers are the company’s most important asset. After listening to their feedback and evaluating current market trends, this is the right time to increase our mileage rate and add new compensation programs which reward driver loyalty, productivity and safe driving performance,” said Joseph M. Dagnese, president, Con-way Truckload. “We take pride in providing a competitive compensation package that reflects driver input and incents them to operate our equipment as safely and efficiently as possible.”

 

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  • Wow!! So this is big news!These company’s should be ashamed to report this as a pay increase.A whopping penny a mile and probably the first increase in years.Geez…what will these drivers do with all that extra money!