There are a wide range of different reasons why being a truck driver is often a more enjoyable professional than people realize.

If you’re the type of person who likes to drive and spend time out on the open road, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better option. Truck driving also offers a high earning potential in many situations, flexible schedules, and the type of job security that few can match.

But it is that “high earning potential” that often gives people pause, especially if they don’t understand what a quote for an entry-level truck driving position is really saying. In reality, there are a wide range of different ways in which truck drivers get paid, and the more you understand them, the more you can begin to see that the sky really is the limit in terms of what you can make and how.

Common Ways Truck Drivers Are Paid

How you are paid as a truck driver will ultimately come down to who you work for and what types of jobs you take. Just a few of the various pay structures include but are not limited to the following.

Pay per Mile

As the term implies, here, you get paid based on the total number of miles you drive. Rates will vary depending on the company, the type of freight you’re hauling, and even the distance you’re being asked to travel.

Hourly Pay

Hourly pay is particularly common when it comes to truck drivers who make local deliveries, as they’re over shorter distances. The pay structure is intentionally very straightforward.

Fixed Salary

With a fixed salary, you’re getting a set amount of money for your services regardless of how long you drive or how far you travel.

Stop & Detention Pay

This type of pay is essentially compensation that you’re given for any stop you make during the trip that isn’t at the final destination. You would get this if you had to first go somewhere and pick up the cargo, for example.

Load Percentage

Under this type of pay structure, you’ll be getting a percentage of the revenue that each load generates. This is a common type of pay structure among truck driver owners/operators who are responsible for securing their own loads.

Team Driver Pay

As the term implies, this is the type of pay structure you enjoy when you’re on a truck-driving team working in pairs. This allows the truck itself to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, as you’ll essentially be working in shifts. This means faster delivery times, but it also means that you’ll have to split one amount of money between two people.

Per Diem Pay

This is a set amount of money that you’ll receive every day to cover things like meals, room and board, and other incidental expenses. If the trip that you’re on will take multiple days, and you know that you’ll have to purchase three meals a day over this period, your per diem pay would be used to cover that expense, so you don’t have to go out of pocket, for example.

Accessorial Pay

This is an additional type of pay that truck drivers enjoy when they go above and beyond the traditional call of duty. If you’re tasked with securing a particularly heavy load, for example, or if you’ll be working with hazardous materials, you’ll likely get accessorial pay.

Guaranteed Pay

As the term implies, this is a pay structure where a truck driver will earn a specific amount of money within a specific time frame, regardless of how many miles they actually drive or how much time they spend on the clock. This offers a level of stability and predictability to the world of truck driving that not everyone gets to enjoy.

Sliding Scale Pay

Here, the amount of money that a truck driver is paid per mile will likely vary depending on the exact number of miles that they drive. If they hit a certain number of miles in a week or even a month, their per-mile rate may increase. It’s a way to tie performance metrics more closely into the pay structure someone receives, essentially.

Incentives Pay

This is often employed when a company wants to encourage a truck driver to meet or exceed expectations. If a company has an issue with trucker safety, for example, they might use incentives and pay as a way to entice more people to maintain the best safety record that they can. They could also use incentive spaying to encourage truck drivers to deliver a load ahead of schedule – safely, of course.

Bonuses

Finally, we arrive at bonuses – something of a “catch-all” term in this context. Sometimes, a truck driver might get a signing bonus for coming on with a new company. Other times, they might get a bonus for hitting mileage goals. Regardless, it’s a way to earn extra income that is typically appreciated.

How Often Are Truckers Paid?

How truckers get paid will largely depend on exactly what type of company they’re working for. If you receive hourly or per-mile pay, you typically get paid out on a weekly basis. Some trucking companies, particularly the ones that employ a lot of owners/operators, will pay every two weeks. It’s rare to get paid out once a month – usually, it’s only those truck drivers who are on fixed salaries.

Owner Operators vs Company Drivers

The biggest difference between owner/operators and company drivers is that the former usually gets paid based on either a percentage of the revenue generated by the load or on a per-mile basis. A company driver will typically receive either a fixed salary or an hourly wage.

This is largely because an owner/operator is an independent contractor, whereas a company driver would be considered an employee. One comes with a higher earning potential, but it comes with a lot more risk for the driver as well.

Key Takeaways

One of the most common ways to answer the question “How do truck drivers get paid?” is on a per-mile basis.

Hourly pay and even a fixed salary are also common, particularly among company drivers.

Some types of payment are a way for truck drivers to earn extra income. Examples of this would include incentive pay or stop & detention pay.

If you’d like to find out more information about the many common ways in which truck drivers get paid, or if you have any additional questions that you’d like to go over with someone in a bit more detail, please don’t hesitate to contact the Advanced Commercial Capital team today.

What is Interstate Trucking?

When a truck driver is tasked with taking a load of freight from one state to another, this is referred to as interstate trucking. The term applies anytime you must cross state lines in the course of duty.

This is a very common type of trucking, and you’ll see it a lot with large providers in particular. It’s a regular part of long-haul travel, which is where truckers know that they’ll be gone for days or even weeks at a time while traveling very long distances.

What is Intrastate Trucking?

Intrastate trucking, however, involves a trucker transporting freight within the boundaries of a single state. If you’re a truck driver in Ohio, you never have to take anything into Michigan or another state that borders your own – you stay strictly in Ohio while on the job.

Interstate vs Intrastate: Types of Vehicles Used

First and foremost, the type of vehicle used in any type of trucking will always come down to the requirements of the job. If you’re talking about transporting consumer goods, you’ll have different considerations to account for than if you were transporting heavy machinery. That is to say, the demands of the job and safety requirements will always dictate the type of vehicle used, regardless of whether you’re talking about interstate vs intrastate jobs.

Having said that, interstate trucking vehicles are typically designed for long-haul trips because they travel over great distances. This can include tractor-trailers, semi-trucks, and more.

Intrastate trucking vehicles tend to be on the smaller side because they’re not expected to be used for the same distances. These can include smaller box trucks, local delivery trucks, and others.

Interstate vs Intrastate: Pay Differences

In terms of pay, interstate truck drivers tend to make more money than intrastate drivers – or at least, the potential for a higher earning is there.

This is because interstate trucking companies need to pay for long distances and extended hours. Depending on the complexity of the job, they may also have to pay more per mile. Drivers may also get additional bonuses and other types of compensation for completing a job quickly or for finishing a particularly dangerous job as safely as possible.

That is not to say that it is a guarantee that interstate drivers will always make more money than their intrastate counterparts. It’s just that, given the myriad of factors that impact the pay structure, it is likely.

Interstate vs Intrastate: Rules & Regulations

As you would expect, any truck driver who is working across state lines will need to comply with federal laws. These cover everything from the safety standards that the vehicle itself must adhere to, as well as how long that driver can be on the road at all. Intrastate truck drivers, on the other hand, are only subject to the rules and regulations of that particular state. If you work in Ohio, you don’t have to worry about trucking laws in Florida.

Interstate vs Intrastate: Insurance

Similar to the differences dictated by rules and regulations, there are also several factors to consider when it comes to insurance coverage and interstate vs intrastate trucking. Because interstate trucking involves traveling across state lines, the insurance requirements are usually higher. Federal law mandates that interstate carriers carry at least $750,000 in liability insurance, though this amount can vary depending on the type of cargo being transported.

When it comes to interstate trucking insurance, the exact coverage depends on the state, but many states have lower minimum insurance requirements for local operations. However, insurance providers still often require certain levels of liability and cargo insurance to protect both the driver and the public.

Similarities Between Interstate & Intrastate

Even though interstate and intrastate truck drivers are different in a lot of ways, they’re also very similar in others. Whether it’s interstate or intrastate, trucking is crucial for moving goods across the country or within a state. Businesses of all types depend on their services. Truck drivers, in general, are a core part of the economic backbone of the United States. Without them, entire sectors would cease to function. Whether you’re driving a truck from one corner of the state to the other or from coast to coast doesn’t change that.

Both interstate and intrastate truck drivers also need to have commercial driver’s licenses. This is because they’ll be operating large vehicles during the course of a day, though some vehicles are obviously larger than others. Depending on the type of job they’ve been tasked with, they may also have to possess a license for a specific type of vehicle.

Truck drivers also need to put in a lot of work before they ever get out on the open road – something that people who are just coming into the profession tend to overlook. Essential tasks that would fall under this description include but are not limited to planning routes, managing logistics, maintaining records, and coordinating with customers for the timely delivery of goods. Naturally, the extent to which these are requirements will vary depending on whether you’re an owner/operator or you work for a trucking company.

Which Path is Right for You?

With all that in mind, the answer to the question of whether you should become an interstate vs an intrastate truck driver will always be a resounding “It depends.”

If pay is your top concern and you’re trying to enter the industry to make as much money as possible, interstate trucking will certainly allow you to do that. The potential earnings are higher faster.

But interstate trucking also requires longer hours and for you to drive much further distances – both things that you might not necessarily be comfortable with. If you’re someone who wants to sleep in your own bed at the end of every night, interstate trucking is likely not for you. If you don’t mind being away for long periods, it might be.

Because of that, you need to carefully weigh your options in terms of what you’re looking to get out of a career and what level of risk you’re comfortable with. Don’t start with a career and hope that it meets your needs. Make a list of your top priorities and work your way back to a type of trucking that meets them. Whether that is interstate vs intrastate trucking will come down to the individual, exactly as it should be.

If you’d like to find out more information about the intricacies of interstate vs. intrastate trucking, or if you’d just like to discuss your own needs with someone in a bit more detail, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Advanced Commercial Capital today.