Do Most Commercial Truck Drivers Own Their Trucks?

You may find your pickup truck fast enough on the road, but others make a living driving far bigger vehicles for days on end. To be a commercial truck driver means being skilled at handling large machines and enduring lengthy hours behind the wheel. These drivers are split between those who use their own trucks and those who use ones provided to them by a company. But which route is more common today? 

According to the American Trucking Associations, the overall commercial trucking industry saw a slight employment increase with 3.55 million drivers reported in 2023. Yet owner-operators only account for a small portion of these workers, with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics finding that only 7.5% of surveyed truck drivers in 2022 fell under this category. More widespread data collected from truck registrations in 2023 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found that 11% of drivers were owner-operators.  

There are a number of potential reasons for this low percentage, mostly relating to rising operating costs and a decrease in business. A study conducted by freight reporting agency FreightWaves found that owner-operators spent 22.9% more on operation costs in 2022 over 2021. Over 35% of those surveyed added that they would likely exit the industry if the costs of insurance, equipment, and diesel fuel, which most semi-trucks run on, didn't improve by the end of 2023, while 21% shared that they were having difficulty finding work.

When taking into account the hefty costs associated with buying, insuring, fueling, and maintaining a truck, especially with prices around ever corner skyrocketing nowadays, the barrier to entry for owner-operators is ever-increasing. And that isn't taking into account any unexpected costs that come with damages or repairs, which also fall in the lap of the truck owner. 

For those who can take on the demands, there are plenty of benefits to this line of work. Like other entrepreneurial ventures, the most obvious plus is the level of control you have over your career. Not only do you get to choose the truck that best suits your needs, but your hours, routes, and types of jobs you take on are also up to you. 

While there are expenses that come with initially setting up the business, owner-operators can benefit from tax deductions, with the ability to write off expenses that come from repairs, fuel, supplies, and other things. Owner-operators also tend to make far more than corporate-employed drivers on average. Indeed reports $320,734 as the current average owner-operator salary in the United States, while regular truck drivers make $98,171 on average according to the career aggregator.