Trucking News · Nationwide · October 28, 2026

Werner Says Truck Driver Recruiting Costs Hit Its Third Quarter Before the Revenue From New Trucks Arrived

By Big Rig Daily Staff

Update, 4:53 a.m. PT Oct. 28, 2026: Added a table of the third-quarter figures.

Werner Enterprises says it paid to bring on truck drivers before the freight they would haul started bringing in money. The carrier reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of 16 cents per share after the market closed Tuesday, Oct. 27, in line with a profit warning it issued earlier in the month, FreightWaves reported.

The numbers

Revenue was $951 million, up 23% from a year earlier, at the top end of Werner's revised outlook of $946 million to $951 million. FreightWaves attributed the increase largely to higher fuel surcharges and the January acquisition of dedicated carrier FirstFleet.

What weighed on the quarter

Sequential cost increases from high diesel prices, higher driver procurement expenses and a reserve adjustment for prior claims dragged earnings by 18 cents a share, FreightWaves reported. About a third of that was tied to driver recruiting and sign-on bonuses, and management said it does not represent "structural labor inflation." The other 12 cents came from fuel and insurance claims, which Werner expects to largely fade in the fourth quarter.

Werner said some of the costs were front-loaded. It added 130 dedicated trucks and drivers during the quarter, but the revenue from them did not begin until the end of it.

"We made the deliberate decision to accelerate investments in driver recruiting and onboarding to capture rising customer demand and support fleet expansion as industry capacity tightens," said Chairman and CEO Derek Leathers. "We remain confident in our trajectory and our ability to capitalize on the early stages of this freight upcycle."

What Werner expects next

Werner guided to "modest sequential" earnings improvement in the fourth quarter from 16 cents, which FreightWaves said would probably be materially below the 38-cent consensus estimate. Some cost headwinds will linger into the first quarter, the company said.

In its dedicated segment, which is 81% of Werner's truck fleet, revenue excluding fuel rose 52% and the average truck count rose 44% to nearly 7,000 units. In one-way truckload, Werner guided to a 10% to 13% increase in revenue per total mile in the fourth quarter. About 60% of its one-way revenue book renews in the first half of 2027, with management eyeing double-digit increases on many renewals.

Fuel surcharges

Truckload fuel surcharges operate on a one-week lag, FreightWaves noted, so the near-term headwind becomes an earnings tailwind when diesel prices revert.

Quick facts

• Third-quarter adjusted earnings: 16 cents per share; revenue: $951 million, up 23%.
• Cost drag: 18 cents per share, about a third from recruiting and sign-on bonuses.
• Outlook: Some cost headwinds into the first quarter of 2027.

Big Rig Daily has also covered Marten's view that enforcement is pulling unqualified drivers off the market and what a DAT analyst expects for truck driver pay. Looking for work? Browse the trucking companies hiring directory and compare truck driver pay by state.

A question for readers

Have carriers near you raised pay or sign-on bonuses this quarter to bring in truck drivers?

Save this story for later

Save this to Pinterest