If you’re thinking about a job as a driver for a truck, one of the main questions you’ll have to answer is likely “How much money do truck drivers make a week, month, and year?” A quick answer to this question is, “It depends.” Although truck driving is a chance to earn competitive wages and benefits, it is essential to note that there are a variety of aspects that can affect the amount you earn as a truck driver.
How do truck drivers get paid in a week?
As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual earnings of truckers for 2021 is forty thousand US dollars. Hence in a week, truck drivers made around eight hundred US dollars. The lowest ten percent of truckers earned a median salary of twenty-eight thousand US dollars. The top ten percent made the median amount of sixty-one thousand and one hundred US dollars.
However, it is essential to remember that truck drivers typically are not paid a payor hourly rate like other occupations. Drivers of companies are paid cents per mile.
- The average pay for truck drivers per mile is twenty-eight to forty cents for each mile.
- The majority of drivers cover between 2 and 3000 miles per week.
- This translates to a weekly average pay that ranges from fifty-six hundred to twelve hundred US dollars.
- If you drove for all fifty-two weeks of the year, you could earn between $30,120 and $62,400.
How much do truck drivers at prime earn?
- At Prime, the pay for truck drivers is more than the industry standard and is contingent on the type of driver you choose to become and the kind of truck you use.
- Solo drivers receive different pay than company team drivers and independent contractors. Driving divisions for refrigerated (reefer) flatbeds, refrigerated (reefer), or tankers represent the type of truck you operate. Company drivers who are refrigerated earn between 44 and 49 cents per mile. A refrigerated employee of a company typically travels between 2400 and 2800 miles per week and will earn between $1,128 to $1,316. If the driver completed the same route throughout the 52 weeks and earned a total of $58,656, the earnings will range between $58,656 to $68,432.
- Flatbed solo drivers for companies earn 46 cents for every mile. Like the one above, an average flatbed driver travels between 2200 and 2,600 miles during a week, earning $968-$1,144. In 52 weeks, the earnings could reach $50,336 or $59,488.
- Tanker company drivers earn 51 cents for every mile. If the driver could run a typical 1,800 to 2200 miles per week, their earnings could range between $882 and $1,078 per week and between $45,864 and $56,056 in 52 weeks.
- Tuition reimbursement up to $1500 in the case of CDL School graduates, if they are eligible. The Driver Referral Program: Get paid by sending prospective drivers Prime.
- CDL Training You can become a CDL Trainer or Instructor and earn money.
- An alternative is to team together with a partner, spouse, or friend and act in a group driving. Team drivers who are the best earn cents-per-mile split, dependent according to the model of the truck used
- Drivers of the team who are not reconditioned for the group: 52 cents per mile divided
- Flatbed team drivers 50 cents for each mile divided.
- Drivers of the Tanker team: 53 cents for every mile divided.
- Additionally, team drivers receive an additional 22 cents for every mile over 3,000.
Factors affecting the earnings of drivers
Drivers who earn a mile salary only make money when their truck is in motion. Also that the truck driver’s earnings do not contain the following elements which consume your time on the road:
- At border crossings, or waiting for customs.
- In traffic jams, sitting in traffic.
- The process of weighing and scaling an item.
- Doing a circle check on your truck and trailer.
- We are waiting for scales for the DOT and inspections.
- In the waiting room for delays in loading or unloading.
- Still waiting for repairs to the trailer or truck.
In addition, federal safety regulations limit your driving time to 11 hours per day within a 14-hour drive period. When you begin your journey into driving, it is crucial to establish routes that increase the distance you can travel safely within the legally set driving limits and minimize the amount of time the truck isn’t moving.
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As an independent contractor
The most effective way to increase earnings as a truck driver is to be an individual contractor, often known as an owner-operator. There are more options for independent contractors regarding routes, times, and earnings.
- Independent contractors who operate refrigerated trucks earn 72 percent of the freight bill.
- Flatbed contractors also make 72 percent.
- Tanker operators get 71 percent of the freight bill.
Drivers who have at minimum six months of experience in driving will receive a guaranteed income of $1,000 per week for the first three days as an owner-operator. Prime provides drivers with the option of leasing trucks via Success Leasing. This gives the potential entrepreneur the chance to launch your own company without a deposit and no credit checks. Prime gives you a selection of top-of-the-line trucks with the latest technologies to improve security, such as sensor tracer and lane deviance warning systems.
FAQs
- Beginner truckers: how much do they make?
With less than a year’s experience, the average brand new truck driver makes about $18 an hour. Most drivers go through a truck driving school to acquire their training and license, so this lower salary can actually be considered training pay.
- Does driving an 18-wheeler require a lot of effort?
It isn’t challenging to learn to drive a truck. It would help if you had a lot of space to make simple driving maneuvers since you are one of the most significant cars on the road. Turning, backing up, and crossing intersections require a considerable amount of skill and time. Driving such a large vehicle requires a significant amount of practice.
