There is a shortage of truck drivers in the United States! Walmart raises annual salary to $110,000 to recruit high-paying drivers!

It is learned that due to the serious shortage of truck drivers in the United States, which may prolong the chaos of supply chain and the shortage of goods, Walmart announced on April 7 that it would increase the average annual salary of its 12,000 long-distance truck drivers from about US$88,000 to between US$95,000 and US$110,000. Walmart is one of the few retail giants that owns its own freight fleet, and Walmart drivers have already ranked among the highest paid in the United States. In the past, the average annual salary of Walmart long-distance drivers was US$56,491. The annual salary increase means that the income of truck drivers will almost double.

Walmart needs drivers to deliver goods to stores and e-commerce warehouses and meet the growing transportation needs of online orders. Walmart added more than 4,500 truck drivers last year, and the announcement of the wage increase will lead to a record hiring spree for Walmart to meet its high demand for transportation.

The American Trucking Association said in October 2021 that there is a huge shortage of 80,000 truck drivers in the United States. In order to ensure the transportation chain, retailers have to retain truck drivers through various forms of salary increases. To this end, Biden also announced a plan to recruit more veterans and women into the freight industry. Walmart's salary increase temptation is comparable to that of supply chain giant food distributor Sysco, which recently announced that it would increase truck drivers' annual salary to $110,000.

In the post-epidemic era, American consumers' demand for everything from food to furniture has soared. About 70% of US freight is transported by trucks. Therefore, everything from truck availability and seaport capacity to warehouse and distribution space is overwhelmed, and the cargo transportation chain has been in a state of tension for a long time, pushing up transportation costs. Walmart's fourth-quarter financial report as of January 28 showed that supply chain costs were $400 million higher than expected, especially during the holiday sales peak season. Transportation costs are the highest.

“We’ve witnessed unprecedented pay increases across the industry, with drivers’ weekly earnings up five times their historical average and rising,” the Trucking Associations said. “Long-haul truck driver earnings have increased by more than 25% since the beginning of 2019, with bonuses and benefits also increasing.”

Walmart continues to invest heavily in Walmart.com and follows Amazon's lead in encouraging employees in other positions to retrain for transportation jobs needed to ease supply chain bottlenecks and support its online operations, opening up transportation positions for employees to support e-commerce logistics. Following Amazon, Walmart also announced the launch of a truck driver development program. The 12-week course supports existing Walmart supply chain workers in Texas and Delaware to obtain a commercial driver's license and become truck drivers for Walmart's private fleet. At a time when safe and experienced 18-wheel drivers are in short supply and Amazon is building its own freight network, Walmart's move to increase wages may enhance its competitive advantage.

Editor ✎Estella/

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