About NTI

Our Background

The National Transportation Institute was founded in 1995 with a goal of providing accurate and authoritative mission-critical benchmarks to truckload carriers. We started our company in Hudson, Wisconsin, just outside of Minneapolis/St.Paul, under the name SignPost, Inc. As our customer base grew, we also elected to rebrand as The National Transportation Institute, a more descriptive name for what we provide the industry.

Company Description

We have been quoted by many industry publications on driver pay related subjects, as well as national news and business journals, such as USA Today, Forbes, Businessweek, and The Wall Street Journal. We are also a fixture in university transportation and logistics libraries including, Northwestern University, University of Michigan, University of Southern California and the University of Arkansas just to name a few.

The National Transportation Institute’s publications are used by insurers, consultants, carriers, shippers and nearly every equity analyst who follow transportation sector stocks. We are the truckload industry experts on company driver and owner operator compensation history, changes and benchmarks. Our largest subscriber base remains in the transportation sectors for-hire and truckload fleets where we are widely used as a tool for fleet executives to understand the direction and velocity of the Class A CDL market wages and emerging pay strategies.

Our client base, a Who’s Who of national fleets includes firms such as Werner Enterprises, Covenant Transport, U.S. Xpress, J.B. Hunt, Marten Transport, Barr-Nunn Transportation, Heartland Express, CFI, Ruan Transportation, Ford, Walmart, Ryder, Ace Hardware, and DHL.

Our Mission

We aim to deliver opportunities for fleets to grow, to attract additional workers, and then expand in their marketplace with that appropriately compensated, engaged and retained workforce.

Our Roster of Satisfied Clients

Our Products

Now in our 25th year of original proprietary research, The National Transportation Institute’s benchmark reports have long been considered the gold standard of statistical research relevant to heavy duty truck driver compensation.

Our comprehensive documents utilize over 70 unique attributes to measure and concisely explain a wide variety of driver compensation, accessorial pay, bonuses, benefits and corporate policies from private fleets, public and privately held carriers. We cover everything from pay per-mile and hour to 401(k) plans, rider policies and driver down time.

As a key information resource to the trucking industry, our in-house research analysts and fleet executives collaborate to design, develop and deliver driver pay studies that transportation executives can have at their fingertips to support critical corporate decision making.

Our Leadership Team

The National Transportation Institute’s Executive Committee is comprised of individuals with profound experience in the transportation industry specializing in Information Technology, Sales, Marketing, Operations, Human Resources, Recruiting and Retention. Our combined skills and expertise have previously contributed to executive boards at organizations like yours in the truckload market.

Along with this dynamic leadership team, The National Transportation Institute’s gold standard of research and reporting amplifies your authority within the industry and among your competition.

Leah Shaver

President & Chief Executive Officer

Leah Shaver is the President & Chief Executive Officer for The National Transportation Institute. Prior to joining NTI, Leah spent 14 years with a Midwest based multi-platform truckload carrier. During her tenure there, Leah served on the Executive Committee and held numerous positions in Driver Recruiting, Retention and Human Resources. Leah specialized in driver hiring, development, wellness and retention, and implemented and managed a driver mentoring program for new drivers. Leah is described by colleagues and customers as bringing key questions and strategy to the conversation, and forever passionate about making an impact on the success of the people and businesses she works with. Leah oversees development of all business operations within the company, the NTI Executive Committee and is also fully dedicated to the trucking industry. Along with her responsibilities at NTI, she continues to expand her industry exposure through speaking engagements, serving as an officer on the Board of Directors of the Women In Trucking Association and carry on in her new role as a host on SiriusXM 146 Road Dog Trucking Radio.

Mark Shaver

Chief Operating Officer

Mark is the Chief Operating Officer of The National Transportation Institute and also serves on the NTI Executive Committee. Prior to joining NTI, he spent 20 years in Operations and Sales with companies that operated TL and LTL fleets nationwide. Having coined phrases such as “fill the bucket” to increase customer volume and “load them where they land” to increase loaded miles and to reduce deadhead, Mark is described by colleagues as someone whose expertise for transportation and logistics augments a culture that inspires creative and strategic freedom, profitability, employee growth, public safety, management of expenses and job satisfaction. Mark leads oversight of NTI’s coveted National Driver Wage Index and National City-Centric Driver Pay data, development of NTI’s private fleet research and economic studies. He functions with both NTI in-house research analysts and Private Fleet’s executives to design, develop and deliver driver pay studies that recipients can call “spot on” and support critical corporate decision making.

What Our Clients Say

American Central Transport

American Central Transport has been a long-time subscriber to NTI’s Wage Surveys. We have used this information as a tool in helping us design driver pay strategies through the years. More importantly we have found insights shared by Leah Shaver to be invaluable. Leah understands drivers and the trucking industry. She brings a fresh approach to our industry and has been a great partner in solving problems. Our conversations are thought provoking that challenge us to make sure our fleet has best in class fleet strategies. We value our partnership with NTI.

Marten Transportation

“Being acknowledged as a Certified Top Pay Carrier in NTI’s coveted program has been a tremendous benefit in our driver recruiting and retention strategy. We have a reputation for being the leader in driver satisfaction and as part of this elite group offering the best to drivers in financial stability, compensation and health and retirement benefits. We market to potential and current drivers so that they are able to recognize our Top Pay Carrier status as well.”

Barr-Nunn Transportation

“We have relied on the National Transportation Institute for more than 15 years as our go-to source on driver pay and benefits data. The National Survey of Driver Wages allows us to make accurate and informed decisions about where our driver pay, benefits, bonuses and accessorials rank compared to other carriers. We know what we have to do to continue to hire the best drivers that meet our tough standards.”

J.B. Hunt Transport

“From students to experienced drivers, The National Transportation Institute reports the most timely, complete and insightful information on driver compensation available.”