Trucking – Know About Paid By The Mile

What’s better, getting paid salary, hourly, or by the mile?

In this post, we’ll be focusing on being paid by the mile and it’s many pros and cons.

According to the ATA, 70% of all freight transported in the US are delivered via trucks. As you can imagine, this results in a great demand for truck drivers, especially since the industry has struggled with a driver shortage for the past 15 years. Nevertheless, trucking is an ever-growing industry, with approximately 3.5 million drivers, currently.

The wages of these drivers vary depending on a variety of different factors, such as experience, company and region, as well as the method of pay. Being paid by the mile is quite popular, with a majority of drivers earning about $0.28 – $0.40 per mile, some even up to $0.45 per mile. According to All Trucking, the average mileage a truck driver is expected to travel is about 2,000-3,000 miles per week, with a restricted maximum of 70 hours over 8 days.

So what are the pros for being paid by the mile?

• Easier to track.
  Often times, drivers forget to log in their hours. When getting paid by the mile, drivers can easily verify mileage via odometer or map functions such as Google Maps or MapQuest. There is also technology that can automatically log the number of miles driven, therefore allowing for complete transparency between both the driver and manager.
• Averages out to a decent salary.
  If you’re driving 3,000 miles a week at a $0.40 per mile wage, you’re making $64,400 yearly
• Advantage: Road Knowledge
  Knowing the roads well will give drivers an advantage, as they are able to avoid costly traffic delays since miles are being counted, not time.