Updated
Updated · FreightWaves · Jun 16
GP Transco Raises Driver Pay 5 Cents a Mile as Truckload Capacity Tightens
Updated
Updated · FreightWaves · Jun 16

GP Transco Raises Driver Pay 5 Cents a Mile as Truckload Capacity Tightens

1 articles · Updated · FreightWaves · Jun 16

Summary

  • GP Transco lifted pay for all company drivers by 5 cents per mile, taking the top end of its scale to 72 cents and giving first-year drivers a path to nearly $100,000.
  • The Joliet, Illinois-based carrier tied the increase to improving freight conditions and a supply-led recovery that is making it harder to keep trucks seated.
  • Regulatory crackdowns since last fall have thinned driver capacity through tighter CDL and English-proficiency enforcement, scrutiny of driver schools and ELD providers, and stricter cabotage and visa actions.
  • That shrinking supply is already pushing pricing higher, with public carriers warning that earlier contract rates no longer hold and some signaling double-digit rate increases this year and next.
  • Hirschbach is moving the same way, announcing a 10-cent-per-mile increase for over-the-road company and lease drivers, suggesting pay pressure is spreading across trucking.

Insights

With new rules sidelining thousands of drivers, can higher pay alone solve the trucking crisis or is a radical transformation inevitable?
How will the driver shortage and soaring freight rates ultimately impact the prices of everyday consumer goods?
As regulations create a driver vacuum, is the industry on a fast track to widespread adoption of autonomous trucks?