Walmart Inc. is increasing starting pay for in-house truck drivers from an average starting salary of $87,000 to a range of $95,000 to $110,000.  In addition, Walmart offers liberal fringe benefits including health insurance and education support and for drivers a sign-on bonus of up to $8,000 in some locations with quarterly safety bonuses.

The action was taken to support the need to maintain a complement of at least 12,000 truck drivers to support a supply chain heavily committed to internal operation.  The decision by Walmart approximately seven years ago to phase out third-party contractors contributed to the success of the company during the period of COVID shut-down and the subsequent supply chain disruptions that affected competitors.  Trucking is critical to maintaining a flow of goods from ports of entry to regional distribution centers and then on to stores.

The Company has also initiated a program to train existing warehouse and other employees as drivers.  The program obviates the need for aspirant drivers to spend as much as $5,000 to obtain a commercial license.  Walmart has "graduated" twenty workers from the existing workforce and anticipates a few hundred will be trained through 2022.

It is evident that the reset by Walmart will have a ripple effect through the trucking industry.  Amazon has experienced labor problems including recruitment and retention in warehouses and is rapidly expanded its trucking fleet.  The company has the resources to match Walmart.  Both UPS and FedEx will be forced to follow the two major retailers and their competitors in raising prices to cover truckers' salaries, diesel fuel and maintenance. Users can expect both surcharges and raised rates.  Egg producers and meat packers are probably not far behind and inevitably will be forced to raise the wage rates extended to truck drivers and other skilled employees.