The title of this story says it all: any consumer or industrial product pretty much always ends up on a truck before it gets where it needs to be.
Let’s take a data snapshot of truck transportation, a mode critical to keeping goods moving through the supply chain.
More job vacancies than a year earlier
In the first quarter of 2026, there were 13,310 job vacancies nationwide (mostly full-time) for transport truck drivers. That’s less than half (47.1%) of the record 28,250 openings in the second quarter of 2022, during a time when economy-wide vacancies reached nearly 1 million.
However, in the first quarter of 2026, vacancies were up from 11,780 in the first quarter of 2025 and from 7,290 in the same quarter of 2016, the lowest level on record since we started tracking these data in 2015.
Transport truck drivers may be employed by a company or service agency or be self-employed, and they drive straight trucks or tractor-trailers for local or long-distance hauls, transporting all types of loads. This category also includes tow truck drivers and heavy truck drivers.
Almost 3 in 10 vacancies advertised for 90 days or more
In the first quarter of 2026, almost 3 in 10 vacancies (29.8%) were advertised for 90 days or more, representing the largest share of vacancies, followed by those advertised for 30 to 59 days (23.6%), less than 15 days (21.2%), 15 to 29 days (16.7%) and 60 to 89 days (8.6%).
The proportion of vacancies advertised for 90 days or more has been on a downward trend since its peak in the fourth quarter of 2022 (56.6% of vacancies).
Offered wages are up for full-time drivers
The average offered hourly wage for full-time drivers reached a record $30.20 in the first quarter of 2026, marking the fourth straight quarterly increase.
Conversely, part-time drivers were being offered an average of $24.65 per hour in the first quarter of 2026. This is down slightly from $25.20 a year earlier and from the series high of $27.15 in the second quarter of 2023.
Prices for trucking increase at the highest rate in four years
As of June 2026, there were 155,326 business locations across Canada in the truck transportation subsector, offering both general and specialized (such as bulk liquids, automobiles or hazardous goods) freight trucking for local and long-haul routes.
In the second quarter of 2026, prices for truck transportation increased by 9.5% from a year earlier and 5.3% from the first quarter of 2026, amid a sharp increase in global energy prices as the conflict in the Middle East began at the end of February. Prices increased across the board for all types of trucking, both local and long-distance.
The second quarter marked the largest quarterly increase since the second quarter of 2022 (+11.7%), soon after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The resulting spike in energy prices added another challenge to a subsector already facing record job vacancies and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fuel costs remain high
Prices paid to producers for diesel posted an increase ranging from 40.3% to 58.8%, depending on the region, from July 2025 to July 2026, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index. Meanwhile, price increases for gasoline ranged from 39.6% to 49.9%.
The bulk of those increases occurred from February to March—coinciding with the effects of the conflict in the Middle East on energy markets—while there were modest increases across the board from June to July.
More than one in five transportation and warehousing businesses expect to raise prices
In the third quarter of 2026, more than one in five businesses (22.4%) in the transportation and warehousing sector expected to raise prices for their services in the next three months, a proportion close to that of all businesses (20.6%).
Approximately 3 in 10 businesses (30.8%) in the transportation and warehousing sector expected the cost of inputs to be an obstacle over the next three months. Among input costs, the cost of energy (68.1%) was most commonly cited by these businesses, followed by labour (37.5%), raw materials (28.9%) and capital (27.0%).
On the road ahead
Statistics Canada will be surveying trucking companies until December 31, 2026, for the new Trucking Statistics Program (TSP).
The purpose of the TSP is to measure, quantify and qualify the movements of goods by truck in Canada, to allow comparisons with other modes of transport and to analyze the impact on the economy.
Thank a truck driver
September 6 to 12, 2026, is National Trucking Week in Canada, an opportunity to thank every driver that keeps the supply chain moving!
Contact information
For more information, contact the Statistical Information Service (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).