Top Carriers on uShip Make Nearly $60,000 a Year
One of the most common questions we get asked is “How much do carriers make on uShip?” It’s a great question and one we’ll answer for you here.
Like any sort of compensation question, the answer usually involves some variation of “it depends,” as in, it depends on:
Looking across the uShip marketplace, the average revenue earned by the top 5% of carriers is right around $59,000. The top 10% make over $41,500.
Average Revenue By Category among Top 5% of uShip Carriers:
Household Goods: $80,083
Motorcycles: $71,550
Boats: $56,324
Heavy Equipment: $56,223
Vehicles: $35,111
Compared to the trucking industry*, uShip carriers continue to hold their own. A study shows the 2019 median salary for truck drivers is just over $47,000
SMALLER VEHICLE. LOWER EXPENSES. BIGGER PROFIT.
Many transporters on uShip have years, even decades, of transport experience. Often this experience was gained behind the wheel of an 18-wheel big rig, which also brought big operating expenses.
Those same drivers now haul goods in sprinter vans, box trucks, and pickups with trailers. With a smaller vehicle, comes far less operating expense, yet profit can still remain high by tapping into uShip’s constant flow of shipments from consumers and businesses.
Household Goods
Household Goods is uShip’s top-earning category. The top 5% of Household Goods carriers make over $80,000, while the top 10% make an average of $56,000. There’s a drop off to the next level down — the top 25% make an average of nearly $30,000, but when you consider the ability to dabble in other categories or combine with other freight sources, it can add up to a nice annual income.
Household Goods is a volume game. Like in other categories, you need to have the right equipment, know-how, strength, and endurance to get the job done, but of all the categories on uShip, Household Goods is the place may transporters start because it includes furniture, antiques, appliances, and more.
This category also includes uShip In-Home Delivery, a specialty service for online furniture sellers who use uShip for delivery.
Motorcycles
The top Motorcycles carriers make an average of over $71,500 while the top 10% average $53,000 and the top 25% average $32,500 per year. Behind Household Goods, it’s the second highest-earning category on uShip.
uShip is one of the most popular places to ship motorcycles, mopeds, ATVs, trikes, and more. If you plan to ship in this category, it does take the right equipment, and like Household Goods, it’s a volume game.
uShip has some great partners in the motorcycle space, including RumbleOn, so there’s plenty of opportunities to ship Hogs to Crotch Rockets to dirt bikes on uShip.
BOATS
The top 5% of boat haulers on uShip make an average of $56,000 per year, while the top 10% make an average of over $43,000 per year.
uShip’s Boats category, which includes watercraft of all shapes and sizes, ranging from pleasure craft to ski boats to jet skis to sailboats, is highly lucrative but requires special skill and expertise.
Simply put, you MUST know what you’re doing to operate in this category because you’re dealing with a shipping customer’s prized possession that they’ve most likely named on the stern. There is very little margin for error when shipping a watercraft named Frisky Business, Seaduction, or Yada Yachta.
HEAVY EQUIPMENT
Revenue from hauling industrial equipment can really tip the scales, literally. On uShip, the top 5% of equipment haulers make over $56,000 while the top 10% of heavy equipment carriers make an average of about $40,000 a year, be it from exclusive partner Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers or another source in the uShip marketplace.
While heavy equipment hauling is the most lucrative given the sheer size and weight of the items, it’s also the most complicated. It takes know-how, the right equipment, permits, and grit. Hauling a skid steer, dozer, or articulated truck is not for the faint of heart. And to be a transporter of Ritchie Bros. items, you must meet certain criteria that demonstrate experience and strong service history.
VEHICLES
One of uShip’s most popular categories is Cars and Light Trucks. The top vehicle haulers on uShip make an average of $35,000 to $26,000 a year. The top 25% make nearly $15,000 a year.
The most active carriers are closely tied into brokers and dealerships so they are constantly moving vehicles from auto auction-to-dealer, dealer-to-dealer, and dealer-to-door.
Cars are most commonly shipped, along with a lot of pickup trucks. But the category also includes Classic Cars, Antique Cars, and more. On eBay Motors, uShip’s rates are offered on every vehicle listing, driving a lot of additional shipping opportunities.