Updated September 2026
How Fast Carriers Respond to Curtain Van Drivers (September 2026)
In curtain van hiring, a driver who applied this morning is often hired by whoever calls first. This September 2026 benchmark shows how the market actually responds to curtain van applications. Right now 41% of 440 applications got a genuine carrier response, the median response took 1 hour, and 74% of responses landed within 24 hours.
What happens after a curtain van driver hits apply
Get a response
41%
of 440 applications, last 12 months
Median response time
1h
from application to first carrier action
Within 24 hours
74%
of responses land in the first day
| Hiring type | Responded | Median hours | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner Operator | 32% | 23 | 31 |
| Independent Contractor (1099) | 45% | 1 | 220 |
| Company Driver (W2) | 38% | 0 | 189 |
Source: Lanefinder applications, trailing 12 months · September 2026
The cost of a slow reply
Curtainside applicants usually overlap the van and flatbed pools, which means they are comparing a curtain offer against two whole segments of alternatives. Carriers that respond inside the first day keep the conversation before a van or flatbed recruiter starts one.
Benchmark your offer
If applications are slow, pay is the first thing to rule out. Tell us what you're offering and we'll show you where it sits in the September 2026 distribution, and how the fastest-hiring carriers on Lanefinder structure their offers.
Carrier response times by segment
- What companies pay curtain van drivers, the pay half of the offer
- Home time & miles for curtain van drivers, the work half of the offer
- All segments: CDL driver pay benchmarks
- Flatbed response times
- Reefer response times
- Dry van response times
- Tanker response times
- Car carrier response times
- Container response times
- Dump response times
- Hopper bottom response times
- Livestock response times
- Log response times
- Hazmat tanker response times
- Pneumatic tanker response times
- Double drop response times
- Step deck response times
- Removable gooseneck (RGN) response times
- Walking floor response times
How this benchmark is computed
The benchmark counts real carrier behaviour: for each application in the last 12 months, we look for the first carrier-initiated action (call, note, document or profile request, ATS export) and measure the hours from application to that action. Automated and system-generated events don't count as responses. Slices under 30 applications are withheld. Read the full methodology. Updated September 2026.