Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/599895
8 // OWNER OPERATOR // DECEMBER 2015 News & Notes CA owner-operator income exceeds company driver pay, says state's trucking association By Todd Dills Among California truckers, average owner- operator net income exceeds that of company drivers by more than $17,000, according to a study released today. The report, released by the California Trucking Association and the Southern Cal- ifornia-based Inland Empire Economic Part- nership nonprofit, uses 2013 owner-operator data and 2014 government data on company drivers. The report comes at a time when allega- tions of the misclassification of independent contractors, particularly in port drayage op- erations, are on the rise as a result of union or- ganizing efforts. CTA intermodal conference director Alex Cherin declined to comment on any import the study held for union/non-union issues. Data were collected from 2,648 leased and fully independent owner-operators in port drayage, over-the-road and refrigerated seg- ments. The respondents were domiciled in California. Their reported $59,478 median net income is fairly close to average national net income figures from ATBS, the nation's largest truck- ing owner-operator financial services pro- vider. California company drivers earned $42,078 in 2014, according to the California Em- ployment Development Department. That's $17,400 lower than the owner- operator average. The national company driver average last year was $39,520, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Digging further into the study, supply chain econo- mist John Husing noted 2013 median net earnings of the highest 25 percent of owner- operators was $102,087. The next 25 percent earned a me- dian $68,936, the third 25 percent $47,005. At the bot- tom, the last 25 percent earned $28,297. Those numbers illustrate a surprising range in earnings that affords an strong "entrepreneurial op- portunity," noted CTA Policy Director Chris Shimoda. Husing said he believes the "study is a strong indication that independent owner-op- Port truckers within recent years have gone one strike several times claiming their states as contractors and not employees causes them to lose wages and benefits.