As carriers continue navigating a prolonged freight downturn, access to accurate pay data is becoming more critical across the trucking industry. To help fleets and decision makers better understand compensation trends, the American Trucking Associations has opened participation for its 2026 Driver Compensation Study.
The nationwide survey gathers detailed information on wages, benefits, bonuses, and incentive structures from trucking companies operating in different regions and business segments. The goal is to provide carriers with reliable benchmarks they can use to evaluate their own driver pay programs and remain competitive in a challenging market.
“In this difficult and prolonged freight recession, the companies with the greatest edge are the ones that have the best data,” said Bob Costello, ATA chief economist. “As a one-of-a-kind benchmarking tool, the Driver Compensation Study provides the crucial, actionable intelligence motor carriers need to recruit and retain their most valuable resource: professional truck drivers. To get as accurate a picture of industry trends as possible, we rely on input from a large cross-section of motor carriers to provide detailed information about their total compensation packages and supply a clear view of how – and how much – trucking companies pay their drivers.”
First Update Since 2024
The compensation study was last conducted in 2024 and remains one of the most comprehensive sources of driver pay data in the industry. Previous surveys included hundreds of fleets, representing for-hire truckload carriers, less-than-truckload carriers, private fleets, and other commercial trucking operations.
“The 2026 Driver Compensation Study will include detailed pay estimates broken down by carrier types, trailer types, and routes,” ATA said. “It will also explore the wide variety of driver pay structures (hourly, per-mile, annual salary, percent of revenue) as well as various incentives. All proprietary information from individual carriers is kept confidential; only aggregate data is included in the final report.”
Why Participation Matters
Survey participants are eligible to purchase the 2026 ATA Driver Compensation Study for $100, representing more than 90 percent off the full price. Additional benefits include a free executive summary ahead of the full report’s release and an invitation to a no-cost webinar with ATA’s chief economist to review the findings and answer questions.
To participate in the 2026 ATA Driver Compensation Study survey, click here. The survey deadline is March 30.
To review participation benefits and see sample pages from previous reports, click here or email lbur@trucking.org.
Source: The Trucker
