What They Do: Delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers pick up, transport, and drop off packages and small shipments within a local region or urban area.
Work Environment: Delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers have a physically demanding job. Driving a truck for long periods can be tiring. When loading and unloading cargo, drivers do a lot of lifting, carrying, and walking.
How to Become One: Delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers typically enter their occupations with a high school diploma or equivalent. However, some opportunities exist for those without a high school diploma. Workers undergo 1 month or less of on-the-job training. They must have a driver's license from the state in which they work and have a clean driving record.
Salary: The median annual wage for driver/sales workers is $29,280. The median annual wage for light truck or delivery services drivers is $38,280.
Job Outlook: Overall employment of delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers is projected to grow 11 percent over the next ten years, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Related Careers: Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers with similar occupations.
Delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers pick up, transport, and drop off packages and small shipments within a local region or urban area. They drive trucks with a 26,000-pound gross vehicle weight (GVW) capacity or less. Most of the time, they transport merchandise from a distribution center to businesses and households.
Delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers typically do the following:
Most drivers generally receive instructions to go to a delivery location at a particular time, and it is up to them to determine the best route. Other drivers have a regular daily or weekly delivery schedule. All drivers must have a thorough understanding of an area's street grid and know which roads allow trucks and which do not.
The following examples are types of delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers:
Light truck drivers, often called pickup and delivery or P&D drivers, are the most common type of delivery driver. They drive small trucks or vans from distribution centers to delivery locations. Drivers make deliveries based on a set schedule. Some drivers stop at the distribution center once only, in the morning, and make many stops throughout the day. Others make multiple trips between the distribution center and delivery locations. Some drivers make deliveries from a retail location to customers.
Driver/sales workers are delivery drivers who have additional sales responsibilities. They recommend new products to businesses and solicit new customers. These drivers may have a regular delivery route and be responsible for adding new clients located along their route. For example, they may make regular deliveries to a hardware store and encourage the store's manager to offer a new type of product.
Some driver/sales workers use their own vehicles to deliver goods to customers, such as takeout food, and accept payment for those goods. Freelance or independent driver/sales workers may use smartphone apps to find specific delivery jobs.
Driver/sales workers hold about 531,000 jobs. The largest employers of driver/sales workers are as follows:
| Restaurants and other eating places | 47% |
| Wholesale trade | 20% |
| Retail trade | 10% |
| Self-employed workers | 7% |
Light truck or delivery services drivers hold about 1.1 million jobs. The largest employers of light truck drivers are as follows:
| Couriers and messengers | 36% |
| Retail trade | 17% |
| Wholesale trade | 14% |
| Self-employed workers | 7% |
Delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers have physically demanding jobs. When loading and unloading cargo, drivers do a lot of lifting, carrying, and walking. Driving in congested traffic or adhering to strict delivery timelines can also be stressful.
Light truck or delivery service drivers have one of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses of all occupations. Injuries can result from workers lifting and moving heavy objects, as well as from automobile accidents.
Most drivers work full time, and some work more than 40 hours per week. Those who have regular routes sometimes must begin work very early in the morning or work late at night. For example, a driver who delivers bread to a deli every day must arrive before the deli opens. Drivers often work weekends and holidays, and their schedules may vary.
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Delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers typically enter their occupations with a high school diploma or equivalent. However, some opportunities exist for those without a high school diploma. Workers undergo 1 month or less of on-the-job training. They must have a driver's license from the state in which they work and possess a clean driving record.
Delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers typically enter their occupations with a high school diploma or equivalent.
Companies train new delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers on the job. This may include training from a driver-mentor who rides along with a new employee to ensure that a new driver is able to operate a truck safely on crowded streets.
New drivers also get training to learn company policies about package dropoffs and returns, taking payment, and what to do with damaged goods.
Driver/sales workers must learn detailed information about the products they offer. Their company also may teach them proper sales techniques, such as how to approach potential new customers.
All delivery drivers need a driver's license.
Some delivery drivers begin as package loaders at warehouse facilities, especially if the driver works for a large company. For more information, see the profile on hand laborers and material movers.
Customer-service skills. When completing deliveries, drivers often interact with customers and should make a good impression to ensure repeat business.
Hand-eye coordination. When driving, delivery drivers need to observe their surroundings while simultaneously operating a complex machine.
Math skills. Because delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers sometimes take payment, they must be able to count cash and make change quickly and accurately.
Patience. When driving through heavy traffic congestion, delivery drivers must remain calm and composed.
Sales skills. Driver/sales workers are expected to persuade customers to purchase new or different products from them.
Visual ability. To have a driver's license, delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers must be able to pass a state vision test.
The median annual wage for driver/sales workers is $29,280. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $18,360, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $47,850.
The median annual wage for light truck or delivery services drivers is $38,280. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $24,380, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $65,500.
The median annual wages for driver/sales workers in the top industries in which they work are as follows:
| Wholesale trade | $38,640 |
| Retail trade | $29,940 |
| Restaurants and other eating places | $23,400 |
The median annual wages for light truck drivers in the top industries in which they work are as follows:
| Couriers and messengers | $47,670 |
| Wholesale trade | $37,390 |
| Retail trade | $29,520 |
Some drivers/sales workers, such as pizza delivery workers, receive tips in addition to hourly wages. Sales workers can also receive commissions from the products they sell.
Most drivers work full time, and some work more than 40 hours per week. Those who have regular routes sometimes must begin work very early in the morning or work late at night. For example, a driver who delivers bread to a deli every day must arrive before the deli opens. Drivers often work weekends and holidays, and their schedules may vary.
Overall employment of delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers is projected to grow 11 percent over the next ten years, much faster than the average for all occupations.
About 219,900 openings for delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Projected employment of delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers varies by occupation.
Continued growth of e-commerce should increase demand for package delivery services, especially for large and regional shipping companies. More light truck drivers will be needed to fulfill the growing number of e-commerce transactions. Drone delivery services also may be used for some deliveries over the projections decade. However, this technology is expected to complement rather than fully replace these workers, so the downward employment effect is expected to be modest.
The general demand for in-house and food delivery options is expected to increase. These workers may be needed to deliver food from grocery stores and from restaurants that previously provided only takeout services.
| Occupational Title | Employment, 2021 | Projected Employment, 2031 | Change, 2021-31 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent | Numeric | |||
| Delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers | 1,640,600 | 1,814,800 | 11 | 174,200 |
| Driver/sales workers | 531,000 | 594,500 | 12 | 63,500 |
| Light truck drivers | 1,109,700 | 1,220,400 | 10 | 110,700 |
For more information about truck drivers, including delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers, visit
A portion of the information on this page is used by permission of the U.S. Department of Labor.