Trucker Pay Levels Reach New Heights as Shippers Scramble to Make Deliveries

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Jan. 31, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Ecommerce continues to boom: in the United States, the total revenue from retail e-commerce for 2021 was estimated at approximately $768 billion—and it is expected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2025.(1) In the U.S., approximately 72.5% of the nation's freight weight is moved by truck,(2) the resultant increased demand for shipping, along with an overall national shortage of long-haul drivers, is sparking a significant increase in trucker compensation. According to employment agency ZipRecruiter, in Georgia, the average truck driver salary is $46,988, which ranks the Peach State as 11th in the nation in truck driver salary. Georgia's average salary is just $1,407 lower than the national average.(3) "Better pay for drivers," says Brad Ball, President, Roadmaster Drivers School, "stems from increased awareness of the motor freight industry, and of trucking as a vital profession."

A new training center in Conley, GA, will help bring new workers to a shorthanded industry, and new opportunity to people who need good jobs. Conley, located about 20 minutes south of Atlanta, is a major hub for the trucking industry; dozens of trucking companies large and small have terminals or other facilities in or near Conley.(4) This, says Ball, is due not only to Conley's proximity to Atlanta, the number-one freight market in the country, but to its presence in what is known as "Freight Alley," a network of highways that roughly defines freight traffic moving throughout the southeastern U.S.(5)

Like the rest of the country, Ball notes, Georgia needs truck drivers. Georgians also need gainful employment with a future, and trucking, says Ball, is one of the increasingly better-paid professions open to non-college graduates. It is also, he points out, despite its somewhat stereotyped image, welcoming to a broad and increasingly diverse range of applicants. According to a recent American Trucking Associations survey, more than 40% of truck drivers are now minorities, and a rapidly increasing number are women.(6) Most importantly, adds Ball, there is no wage gap tied to race or gender in trucking. "Everyone is paid by the mile," he says.

The training involved in learning to handle a truck and qualify for a commercial driver's license is relatively brief, four to five weeks from beginning to end. While the training is not inexpensive, Ball notes that the demand for new drivers is such that many trucking firms will pay for a new employee to be trained, and in some cases will also pay a salary during the training period.

On March 3, 2022, between the hours of 10 AM – 5 PM, members of the press, prospective students, and the general public are warmly invited to the grand opening of the new Roadmaster Drivers School facility at 4272 Transport City Drive, Conley, GA 30288. "Trucking," says Ball, "is an essential and increasingly well-paid, respected profession. Truck drivers today enjoy safer working conditions, higher salaries along with better benefits, and no longer suffer the stereotypes of the past."

About Roadmaster Drivers School:
Roadmaster, headquartered in St. Petersburg, FL, is a nationwide training organization for truckers. They have 30 years of experience training more than 150,000 graduates with 20 training locations nationwide. By focusing on giving students the best education and maintaining high job placement standards, Roadmaster has gained a national reputation in the trucking industry for quality training of entry-level commercial truck drivers—noted for their training practices to be the most hands-on and safety-focused training in the country. For more information, visit http://www.roadmaster.com.

1.    Statista Research Department; "United States: retail e-commerce revenue 2017-2025"; 3 Jan 2022; Statista; statista.com/statistics/272391/us-retail-e-commerce-sales-forecast/
2.    American Trucking Association data; "Economics and Industry Data"; Accessed 27 Jan 2022; trucking.org/economics-and-industry-data#:
3.    ZipRecruiter; "Local Truck Driver Salary in Georgia"; Accessed 31 Jan 2022; ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Local-Truck-Driver-Salary--in-Georgia
4.    "Find the Best Carriers to Move Your Freight." CarrierSource, carriersource.io/trucking-companies/us/georgia/conley.
5.    Prevost, Chad. "Freight Alley: A Region Where Logistics Contributes to More than 40% of the Economy." FreightWaves, 13 May 2019, freightwaves.com/news/freight-alley-where-its-at.
6.    Murphy, Byron. "How Diverse Is the Trucking Industry?" Convoy, 21 Apr. 2021, convoy.com/blog/diversity-in-trucking/.

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SOURCE Roadmaster Drivers School