2025 marks a significant milestone for The National Transportation Institute: Founded in 1995, NTI this year is celebrating 30 years of growth, innovation, dedication, and service to the greatest industry in America and the hard-working professionals across trucking who keep our society moving and thriving.

While driver compensation at for-hire motor carriers has mostly been in a holding pattern since the beginning of 2023, driver compensation data for private fleets tells a different story: they have been highly active in benchmarking and adjusting their pay packages. Here are the trends to be aware of.

Per-mile wages across experience levels — 1 year, 3 years, max experience, and cap earners — rose a percentage point from the same time in 2023. Those gains build on the late summer momentum NTI reported in September.

The per diem rate the IRS allows trucking companies to provide to drivers as tax-free earnings — and lets companies use to lower their own tax liabilities — jumped on Oct. 1, to $80 per day after holding steady at $69 per day the past two years. How should your

Despite the freight market malaise and 2024’s overall sluggish pay movement, the summer months did bring the most movement to driver wages so far this year, according to the latest data from NTI’s National Survey of Driver Wages. Here’s what the latest data shows around per-mile pay, pay be experience