The pay is a more than that, but it’s also regional. Drivers in one area of the country can make more or less than others doing the same jobs.
One thing that is effecting the industry is the refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants that are able to get a CDL. They can undercut everyone. They live in a hovel with their entire family and don’t have the same amount of overhead(truck payment, mortgage, etc) that the regular guy has, so they can do trips for much less.
Of course, the brokers aren’t getting paid less, they’re just sharing less.
Interesting thing to think about is, self driving Tesla’s crash. Seems like it’s more common, maybe, maybe not. But a semi-autonomous Tesla sedan getting into an accident is a tad bit different than an 80,000lb tractor trailer going 55mph.
Do they actually drive well enough to earn the CDL or is it "given" to them because of a driver shortage / they'll work cheap?