Western Express
Company-sponsoredNationwide
Nashville-based carrier with its own bridge academy and a lease-purchase path to owner-operator.
Pay ladder
Estimated annual pay by career stage — read the note under each bar, not just the number.
Reported (third-party) starting pay of 38 CPM out of training; $0.40/mile for 'practical miles' regardless of experience per one source.
No distinct published mid-career figure; estimated here as a transitional midpoint between starting and experienced CPM.
Reported up to 63 CPM (third-party). Official site markets 'up to $90,000/year' for dry van and 'up to $100,000/year' for flatbed, plus safety bonuses of 10-14 CPM — upper-bound marketing figures.
Lease-purchase program reported (third-party) at $1.25-$2.00/mile, up to $200,000/year, weekly lease payments as low as $525/week. This is gross lease revenue, not guaranteed take-home pay, and wasn't confirmed on an official page.
Operations & benefits
- Fleet size
- ~3,600 trucks
- ~3,600 tractors and 10,259 trailers, ranked #38 on Transport Topics' 2025 Top 100 For-Hire Carriers list.
- Route types
- RegionalOTRDedicated
- Offers Regional, OTR, Dedicated, and Team dry van and flatbed freight, plus a lease-to-own path to owner-operator; Regional gets weekly home time vs ~12-16 days out for OTR.
- Pay structure & benefits
- CPM-based, starting ~$0.38-$0.48/mile rising to ~$0.53/mile within the first year. Monthly safety bonus up to $1,000, uncapped $1,000-per-referral bonus, 401(k) offered but not company-matched.
CDL program cost
$70
Operates its own academy in Nashville (140 hours training); reported cost is $70/day for 1-2 weeks for those needing a permit-to-CDL bridge program, with transportation, hotel, and meals covered. Separately offers tuition reimbursement up to $6,000 for grads of accredited CDL schools. Note: one official job posting stated 'CDL-A assistance not provided' for certain roles — terms may vary by position.
Not detailed with a specific contract length or payback figure on the official page fetched.