How Much Does a Truck Driver Make Per Mile

If you took the decision to be one of the truck drivers, your first thought may direct to know how much does a truck driver makes per mile?

Money comes as prior to everything else, so we may think of what will get from our future job.

I never think whether it’s the proper job for me or not, is it suitable for me mentally and physically or not?.

I keep all aside, and think only of the money made, so let’s take a look and explore.

How Much Does a Truck Driver Make Per Mile?

Now we come to the urgent question, how much does a truck driver make per mile?

The average truck driver pay per mile is from $0.28 to $0.40 for the truck drivers who get some experience.

Some companies may pay more this average, the payment goes around $0.40 and $0.45 per mile.

But this average is surely given to truck drivers who spent many years of experience, they have many more exceptional driving skills.

How Many Miles Does a Truck Driver Cover Per Week?

According to the estimates done, the majority of truck drivers get round 2,000 and 3,000 miles per week.

So if I count the average based on the distance covered, pay per week may range from $800 to $1,350 per week.

Again, bear in mind that compensation per mile and the total miles you get will vary greatly from one place to another.

It depends on the company you’re working for, and the experience level you have.

You should also take care that drivers who haul sensitive and dangerous materials or those who have a lot of experience may earn $1,350.

New truckers and rookies can’t ever reach this rate, they have to wait for some time until they can improve their rate.

How Much Does a Truck Driver Make?

Even if you’re already a truck driver and still working in the field, you may want to make sure if your rate of payment is fair, or not.

Whatever your case is, it’s one of the important things to find out,  if you know the average rate of payment, you may change your decision.

You may look for another company or demand to get a higher rate. This information pushes you to the next step.

At first, as you know, most average salaries are defined according to the following:

• Experience and certification.
• Location.
• Employer.

How Much is an Average Truck Driver Per Mile?

You can get an idea of how much truck drivers pay per mile by looking at recent salaries from employers who work in that industry.

Unlike many other industries, truck drivers are paid on a mileage basis, not on the basis of hourly, or salary plans.

Different companies may use other compensation models such as hourly or profit percentages.

On the other hand, the vast majority of truck companies still pay by mileage basis.

Under this plan, truck drivers are paid on the basis of a fixed rate for the unit produced, regardless of how long does it take.

The unit produced is miles, how long is not important, truckers are concerned more with how far.

This plan can work well for the whole trucking industry including companies and truckers.

At least it is still good since it was used many decades ago, drivers are sure that if the wheels don’t turn, drivers can’t make good payment.

What Are the Pros And Cons of The Truck Driver’s Mileage Basis?

On the other hand, as the world becomes full of inspections, traffic jams, and delays, drivers face many problems.

Truck drivers may donate a great some of their income in such emergency situations, which becomes something more often.

• They wait at borders to cross customs.
• Spend a lot of time in traffic jams.
• They wait for scaling and weighing loads.
• Perform a circular check and maintenance on trucks.
• They wait for inspections.
• They wait on delays with loading and unloading.
• Unloading for repairs.

Although drivers may complain about this to be clear, your payment per mile doesn’t account for time spent.

As you see, truck drivers spend much time of delay, yet they aren’t usually compensated for all this.

Some truckers tell me that in about a 70-hour work cycle, more than 10 hours of this time may be unpaid because the truck is just waiting.

For these reasons, it’s very important to know, as a trucker who works for an employer, he should offer much more than the normal average.

Fair pay per mile should compensate for the delayed time, so this can be for the extra time you spend “ out off the clock,”.

Do You Make Good Money as a Truck Driver?

Rookie wages are always lower, they range from $0.27 to $0.29 per mile.

If you are a rookie, and you cover about 2,500 miles per week, so you may earn between $675 and $725.

The total for annual payment may goes round ($35,100/year) and ($37,700/year).

Compensation has also a low rate for rookie drivers, they have to wait for at least  6 months to 1 year to increase.

How Much Does the Average Truck Driver Make Per Year?

Now we can come to the conclusion that we can decide How much does the average truck driver make per year?

Although it can be difficult to determine how much does a truck driver makes per year? because they’re paid by the mile.

But according to the Median annual wages in 2017, it was as the following:

• Wholesale trade: about $38,950
• General freight trucking: about $41,690
• Specialized freight trucking: about $40,100
• Heavy and tractor-trailer drivers’ salary was about $59,683 in 2019.
• The top 10% earned over $81,150
• The bottom 10% earned under $29,740

Is Truck Drivers Average Promising?

From the above figures, trucker drivers earn a higher salary than most of the other average occupation in the USA.

The is average occupation in the USA normally goes around $35,540 for all occupations.

According to the average salary data I get, I got the following conclusions:

• The average payment for truckers: $0.40 per mile.

• Below the average payment: $0.28 per mile.

• Above the average payment: $0.45-$0.50 per mile.

There are some truckers who don’t accept the payment basis that’s less than $0.40 per mile.

That’s equal to about $40,000 per year, they see it is a very low rate for most drivers.

On the other hand, many trucking companies will refuse to pay more than this rate, so drivers have to make a decision.

What About Owner-Operators? How Much Do They Earn on Average?

Owner-operators may get overpayment than truck drivers, they may get over $260,000 per year.

But you should notice that when you deduct expenses, maintenance, and all other costs,  many don’t earn much.

Remember that it costs around $180,000 per year to operate a commercial truck.

Operating costs in the trucking industry are about $1.38 per mile.

Other things like maintenance, gas, fuel taxes, tolls, permits, tires insurance,  can account greatly for your total earnings.

The highest payment for owner-operators is for those who work on a long-distance basis.

Being an owner-operator can be very profitable, but you should know what you’re going into, it will be about 60,000 to $80,000 per year or more.

How much is a truck driver’s salary per mile? Again, the numbers, mentioned above are only estimated figures, you should remember that payment in the trucking industry heavily depends on your experience, the location, and the company you work for.