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Pay Rate & Earnings of Professional Truck Drivers
Average earnings in the trucking and warehousing industry are higher than the average for all private industry, as shown in the first table. The average wage in the trucking sector of the industry was higher than the average wage in warehousing.
| Average Earnings of Nonsupervisory Workers in Trucking and Warehousing, 2000 | ||
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| Industry segment | Weekly | Hourly |
| Total, private industry | $474 | $13.74 |
| Trucking and warehousing | $579 | $14.29 |
| Trucking and courier services, except air | $588 | $14.51 |
| Public warehousing and storage | $490 | $12.25 |
Most employers compensate truck drivers with an hourly rate or a rate-per-mile system. Truck drivers who operate heavy tractor-trailers generally have higher earnings than those who drive light delivery trucks. Benefits such as performance related bonuses, health insurance, and sick and vacation leave are common in the trucking industry.
The major union in the trucking and warehousing industry is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. About 19.0 percent of trucking and warehousing workers are union members or are covered by union contracts, compared to 14.9 percent of workers in all industries combined. Some trucking companies use "double breasting" in an attempt to lower labor costs. This involves employing union as well as nonunion operating divisions. Other companies use multi-tier wage scales and pay lower wages for new hires. Pay increases after predetermined periods and safe driving records.
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Median Hourly Earnings of the Largest Occupations in Trucking and Warehousing, 2000 |
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Occupation |
Trucking and Warehousing |
All Industries |
| General and operations managers | $27.11 | $29.41 |
| Transportation, storage, and distribution managers | $23.61 | $26.07 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators | $20.18 | $19.37 |
| Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer | $16.32 | $15.25 |
| Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance | $15.33 | $13.66 |
| Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists | $14.66 | $15.55 |
| Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand | $10.37 | $9.04 |
| Truck drivers, light or delivery services | $12.57 | $10.74 |
| Industrial truck and tractor operators | $11.72 | $11.74 |
| Couriers and Messengers | $ 9.01 | $ 8.96 |