West Coast truckies best paid – data

In News•2 Minutes•By NZ Trucking magazine•May 9, 2025

Truck drivers on the West Coast of the South Island are the best-paid in the country, new data shows.

The results are part of a new snapshot report of the road transport sector being put together by Transporting New Zealand and Teletrac Navman.

The report will be released at Transporting New Zealand’s South Island Road Freight Seminar in Christchurch on 28 June.

Drivers in Southland and the Waikato are the next best-paid, early findings revealed.

While pay varies according to the different regional freight tasks and demands, Transporting New Zealand’s policy and advocacy lead, Billy Clemens, said the analysis will dig further into the topic.

The upcoming report will analyse shifts in age, gender, income trends, and even home ownership across the 33,000-strong truck-driving workforce.

It is the latest element of the Driving Change Diversity Programme, sponsored by fleet management solutions provider Teletrac Navman as part of that company’s commitment to supporting workforce development in the transport sector.

Clemens said having an evidence-based report of workforce trends will help road freight businesses with planning and building resilience.

“We know that over 30,000 New Zealanders work as truck drivers – as at 2023, this figure was up to 33,744. However, we’ve been missing evidence-based insights into the number of women working in the industry, the age of the workforce, average hours worked, income, and other demographic trends,” he said.

“Our Road Transport Workforce Snapshot will look at data from the past three censuses, along with other authoritative data sources, to paint a comprehensive picture.

“This information will help ensure Transporting New Zealand and our members are prepared for changes in the workforce, help guide our policy and project priorities and will demonstrate the progress the road freight sector is making in workforce development.”

Regional Rankings – Mean Truck Driver Income Across New Zealand (according to 2023 Census data):