What is the median weekly pay for container drivers in the United States?

As of July 2026, the median weekly pay across 267 active container job postings is $1,400. The middle half of postings pay between $1,150 and $2,000 per week.

What do the top-paying carriers offer container drivers?

The 90th percentile of active container postings is $2,600 per week (July 2026). Offers above that beat 9 in 10 competing postings in the United States.

How is the container driver pay benchmark computed?

Each active job posting counts as the midpoint of its advertised weekly-pay range. Outliers are removed with an interquartile filter, percentiles are computed by nearest rank, and segments with fewer than 30 active postings are not published.

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Updated July 2026

What Companies Pay Container Drivers in the United States (July 2026)

Written by Lanefinder Editorial Team

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the United States container pay, July 2026: not a single average but the whole distribution (25th, median, 75th, and 90th percentile), so you can benchmark your own number against the market. Right now the median is $1,400/week, the middle half of postings pay $1,150–$2,000, and the 90th percentile sits at $2,600, across 267 active postings.

What carriers are paying container drivers in the United States

Median weekly pay

$1,400/wk

267 active postings · July 2026

25th: $1,15075th: $2,00090th: $2,600

Half of the United States postings pay between $1,150 and $2,000 a week; the top carriers (90th percentile) post $2,600. Find where your offer sits on the scale above.

Weekly pay distribution by hiring type in the United States

Hiring type	25th	Median	75th	Active postings
Company Driver (W2)	$1,075	$1,287	$1,450	130
Independent Contractor (1099)	$1,150	$1,450	$1,850	81
Owner Operator	$2,850	$3,450	$4,750	56

Source: Lanefinder index, July 2026

Why container pay sits where it does

Drayage and container work is lane- and port-driven: short-haul intermodal moves, port/rail-yard turn times, and chassis logistics shape the pay structure more than long-haul mileage. Distribution tends to be tighter and regionally concentrated.

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 July 2026 distribution, and how the fastest-hiring carriers on Lanefinder structure their offers.

Get your pay benchmark

CDL driver pay by segment

How this benchmark is computed

Each posting contributes the midpoint of its posted weekly-pay range. The set is cleaned with an IQR outlier filter, and the percentile bands (25th / median / 75th / 90th) are computed by nearest rank over what remains. Only currently-active postings count, and only segments clearing a 30-posting minimum are published. Read the full methodology. Updated July 2026.