Truckers have their say about how fleets can attract, retain drivers

Nov 28, 2025

Updated Dec 9, 2025

When the American Transportation Research Institute last month revealed the results of its latest survey of critical issues in the trucking industry, it found the number one concern of drivers was compensation. However, what drivers get paid did not even make the list of motor carriers responding to the survey.

Furthermore, ATRI's survey of carriers's operational costs earlier this year found that driver pay amounted to $32.10 per hour, by far the leading expense for fleets.

But, that was not enough according to the results of a Truckers News survey. In short, truckers believe their employers need to increase pay if they want to find and retain drivers.

Here's what our survey of drivers found.

When we asked, "Why do you think fleets are having a hard time finding drivers today?" the results showed:

37% said they don't pay enough
20.6% said they don't respect drivers and the job they do to treat them as part of a team
15.4% said they don't support drivers ane help them with shippers, law enforcement, etc.
12.2% said they don't get people home often enough
8.4% said there's no career path
6.7% said they don't offer enough miles/loads
1% said they don't provide good trucks/equipment for drivers

Then we asked, "Why do you think fleets are having a hard time retaining drivers today?" Truckers' responses showed:

30.2% said they don't pay enough
29.2% said they don't respect drivers and the job they do to treat them as part of a team
14.6% said they don't get people home often enough
10% said they don't offer enough miles/loads
8.1% said they don't support drivers and help them with shippers, law enforcement, etc.
5.9% said there's no career path
2.1% said they don't provide good trucks/equipment for drivers

As the old saying goes, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." So we asked truckers, "If you were in charge of a fleet and could do one thing to attract and retain drivers, you would ..."

27.1% said raise pay
20.5% said change to more regional method to get people home more often
13.3% said guarantee a minimum pay or miles/loads
9.4% said guarantee a certain amount of home time for drivers each month
6.5% said offer excellent health benefits and 401Ks
6% said offer fuel economy, safety and other bonuses to boost driver pay
5.1% said update to new trucks and equipment to make drivers more comfortable when they drive or are at rest
3% said offer more miles/loads

Have carriers heard the complaints of truckers? We asked, "In the last 24 months, how many times has your carrier raised pay either flat rate, per mile or via bonuses (not a safety-related award bonus)? And, the results showed:

18.4% said none
25.4% said once
31.3% said twice
3.7% said three
1.3% said more than three times

We also wanted to find out what drivers think about a common comment about their loyalty. So we asked, "What do you think when you hear someone say, "Drivers will change jobs/fleets at the drop of a hat." The responses included:

59.4% said if fleets paid drivers what they're worth, they wouldn't have that problem
17.6% said I don't think drivers change fleets as often as they claim
17% said the fleets don't care about me, why should I care about them?
6% said why not? It's every person for themselves

So, if drivers were of a mind to make a move, why would they do it? We asked, "What is the main reason you would consider changing jobs for another fleet?" We learned:

35.6% said they offered me more money
17.1% said they offered me my choice of routes and hauls
14.9% said they showed their appreciation for the work I do and have a team atmosphere
9.7% said they offered me more home time
6.8% said they offered me a big sign-on bonus
5.7% said they offered me a cler career path
5.7% said they offered me more miles/loads
4.4% said they offered me a new/newer truck

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To put things in context, these are the answers of 800 drivers, most of who are veterans of the road and live the lives of professional truckers. They are:

Older, the majority of them over 55 years old
Experienced, over the road company drivers who have been driving for more than 30 years
Covering at least 100,000 miles a year
Drawn to the profession because hey enjoy the open road
Motivated to drive as they do in order to pay their bills