CFI, an international truckload carrier based in Joplin, MO, announced an increase of more than 6 cents per mile in top driver pay Dec. 1. The increase will be implemented over a four-month time frame beginning Dec. 1, 2003.

Under the increase, a solo driver will be able to earn up to 45 cents per mile; a team will be able to earn up to 53 cents per mile; and owner-operators will be able to earn up to 98 cents per mile. (See today’s special report for more on carriers that are increasing pay.)

Elements of the increase include a 3-cent per mile across the board increase for all CFI drivers with one year’s experience and owner-operators. Up to 4 cents per mile can be earned through the new safety bonus program. The new pay plan also incorporates increases in additional driver pay items, including stop offs, hourly, loading and unloading and a special Canadian border crossing payment.

“This unprecedented pay increase is one way CFI intends to (ensure) that our drivers are financially protected from the impact of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s new hours-of-service regulations that become effective Jan. 4, 2004,” the company said. “This is the most aggressive driver pay increase in CFI’s 52-year history, and we believe it will ensure that CFI will continue to retain and attract the safest and most professional drivers in the trucking industry,” Glenn F. Brown, chairman and CEO, said.

CFI, founded in 1951, operates 2,500 tractors and more than 6,500 trailers. It transports a variety of goods throughout the contiguous United States and Canada.