Truck drivers help keep the flow of goods moving around the world and can make good money doing it.
However, pay rates fluctuate on a regular basis, making it difficult to nail down the exact range of income a driver might earn in a given year.
In the United States, specialized truck drivers at major companies can make upward of $70,000 to $100,000 a year, depending on their load type, mileage, licensing and experience.
The median annual wage for U.S. truck drivers in 2020 was just over $47,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In Canada, the average salary for truckers is around $43,000. Ice road truckers in Canada are some of the highest-paid drivers in the world, averaging around $100,000.
Mexico had the lowest average salary for truck drivers in North America, earning about $13,800 a year, according to the Mexican Social Security Institute.
Brazil, which has the largest economy in South America, pays truck drivers on average between $6,000 and $10,000 a year.
China, which has one of the largest economies in the world, pays truck drivers on average around $15,000 to $17,000 a year.
Russia, one of the largest countries geographically in the world, pays truck drivers on average about $6,800 to $11,000 a year.
These 10 countries have the highest-paid general cargo truck drivers (U.S. dollars).
- Switzerland: $70,452
- Australia: $53,951
- Belgium: $50,462
- Norway: $47,572
- United States: $47,130
- Germany: $46,871
- Netherlands: $46,865
- Austria: $46,217
- Canada: $43,445
- Sweden: $42,751
Click for more FreightWaves articles by Noi Mahoney.
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