Truck Driver Pay
Industry-Leading trucking Company pay
Melton has top-notch equipment, excellent base pay, great bonus programs, and great freight. Melton Truck Lines invests in their drivers by supporting good health and nurturing and mentoring new to the industry drivers with hands-on training. Flatbedding is hard work and Melton not only recognizes that, but rewards it with money like the $100 tarp pay.
How Much Do Truck Drivers Make?
How much do our truck drivers make? At Melton, our trucking pay per mile is based on verifiable over-the-road (OTR) experience.
Once you become a part of the Melton Truck Lines team, you will receive raises to your base trucking pay based on your accumulated months of OTR experience until you drive 120,000 miles with Melton. At that point, a truck driver’s income will increase depending on miles driven. Take a look at our pay scale for our CDL drivers!
Qualified Driving Experience |
Pay Rate Per Mile |
| 0-5 months | 52 CPM |
| 6-11 months | 53 CPM |
| 1-3 years | 58 CPM |
| 3+ years | 60 CPM |
| After 120,000 Melton miles | 60 CPM |
| After 240,000 Melton miles | 61 CPM |
| After 360,000 Melton miles | 62 CPM |
| After 600,000 Melton miles | 63 CPM |
| After 900,000 Melton miles | 64 CPM |
| After 1,200,000 Melton miles | 65 CPM |
How Much Do Truck Drivers Make Per Mile?
The average truck driver’s pay per mile ranges from $0.40 to $0.50 depending on experience and type of freight. Truck drivers are typically compensated through cents per mile driven as opposed to traditional hourly pay rates. With an average of 2,500 miles per week, a truck driver’s income will average $4,875 a month or $58,500 per year.
We’re proud our truck driver per mile pay falls above the average truck driver pay, along with our many bonus opportunities and chances to earn extra every year. Unlike the industry average CPM, our trucking company pays up to 65 cents per mile.
What is the Average Pay Per Mile for Truck Drivers at Melton?
Our average truck driver salary is $65,000 – $75,000 based on OTR experience and tenure with Melton. With additional compensation like tarp pay and career paths, our drivers can earn significantly more.
What is Considered a Good Salary for a Truck Driver?
The average rate per mile for new truck drivers is $0.43 CPM across all types of driving. Our truck driver’s starting pay is at $0.52 CPM – one of the highest truck driver starting pay rates in the industry.
Additional Trucking Pay Opportunities
Driver’s bonus pay, profit sharing, tarp pay, per diem pay, and additional bonus opportunities could lead to huge increases to our truck drivers’ compensation, on top of our CDL driver’s average weekly pay-per-mile salary of $1,300-$1,500! This means our OTR driver pay is an average of $5,200-$6,000 a month.
Melton offers additional compensation on top of our truck driver’s pay-per-mile salary. These bonus pay opportunities place Melton’s pay and benefits package in the top 10% among North American for-hire trucking companies, meaning our drivers can feel assured and taken care of while on the road.
Driver Referral Bonus
If you refer a driver and they are hired with Melton, you will receive the payouts below as long as you are still an active driver.
Experienced Drivers
$1,000
Total
$500
30 Days After Hire
$500
6 Months After Hire
Recent Grads/No Experience
$750
Total
$375
30 Days After Hire
$375
6 Months After Hire
Tuition Reimbursement for CDL Graduates
Recent CDL school graduates with four or less months of OTR can qualify for Melton’s tuition reimbursement program. Our plan will pay $150 every month up to $10,000! Payments will begin once you are off the Road Training truck at your hire date each month and will continue until fully paid.
If the driver paid less than $10,000 pursuing their CDL the payout will stop at the amount they paid.
Additional truck driving Pay
Melton Truck Lines has doubled tarp pay to $100 per load, adding over $10,000 to annual driver pay. This is in addition to our base over the road truck driver pay, layover and breakdown pay for our truck drivers, among other additional opportunities for hazmat load rates, drivers who complete clean DOT inspections, and more! The extra trucking pay opportunities listed below are paid in addition to our base pay per mile, so our drivers can receive the best compensation package Melton can offer them. Please call 866-715-8653 for details.
| Extra Pay Opportunities | Pay |
| Tarp Pay Rate | $100/load |
| Over-Dimensional Loads Rate | 16 cpm |
| Hazmat Load Rate | 6 cpm |
| Canada Load Rate | 6 cpm |
| Extra pick-up/Drop/Repower | $25 |
| Clean DOT Inspections | $25 |
Holiday Pay
Drivers receive an additional $30 per day for paid holidays, including New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
Layover Pay
Drivers receive $75 after 24-hours and $75 each additional 24-hours of waiting after your last an “Empty Call” request.
Breakdown Pay
Melton does our best to keep our trucks rolling with top-of-the-line maintenance and 24/7 outside repair, but sometimes things happen that are out of our control or take longer than normal to repair.
The amount of breakdown pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Vacation Pay
Drivers receive one week of paid vacation after one year of employment, two weeks after two years, and three weeks after ten years.
Vacation pay is based on average weekly wages and is paid on a regular paycheck.
NYC Borough Pay
Drivers receive an additional $75 for traveling into the NYC boroughs. Traveling in NYC is less than 1% of our freight.
Per Diem Program
Ask about our Per Diem Program that can increase your take-home pay by $2,500-$6,000 annually. Our Per Diem Program FAQs can help drivers decide if the program is beneficial for them.
Our truck driver Per Diem Calculator can assist in quickly determining additional take-home amounts.
Fuel Bonus
Drivers have the opportunity to earn an additional $1,500/quarter (up to $6,000 / year) extra for achieving our fuel bonus criteria.
We have fuel bonus experts here to advise you on best practices and adjustments you can make to achieve the bonus and maintain consistent MPG.
Career Paths
Melton offers numerous career paths and opportunities for drivers to get involved, have fun, and earn extra cash on top of our base over the road trucking pay.
If you’d like to explore the opportunities we offer our drivers, you can visit our Career Paths page here!
Road Warrior Program
Melton has added an extra layer of flexibility by providing our OTR drivers the option to choose an additional day of home time or extra cash based on the amount of time they are out on the road.
In 2022, participating OTR drivers cashed in an average of $1,200 in Road Warrior program payouts!
Want to know how much YOU could be paid as a truck driver at Melton?
More About Truck Driver Compensation
Layover vs Detention Pay
Learn what layover pay and detention pay are, the difference between them, and how you can make sure you’re taking advantage of both programs Melton offers.
Learn About Tarp Pay
If you’re new to flatbed, one of the biggest things you’ll need to learn about is tarping and securing. Read more about how tarp pay works in our blog.
How to Earn a Fuel Bonus
Melton offers a quarterly fuel bonus for drivers who surpass a miles per gallon threshold. Learn how to limit fuel consumption and earn some extra cash!