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WASHINGTON — The wages earned by truck drivers are too low, forcing them to work long hours, according to a report presented to trucking industry researchers at the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board here.

Fleet drivers have issues with their carrier’s staff, the company’s approach to equipment and maintenance, technology in their cabs and feel that they have little control over their work, according to WorkHound, the Chattanooga, Tenn.-based provider of a smartphone-based system that allows truck drivers to anonymously discuss concerns they have with their employers.

Driver pay and other incentives are on the rise, spurred by a growing economy, tight capacity, driver turnover and a persistent shortage of drivers, leaders from the National Transportation Institute recently told investors from Stifel, Nicholas & Co.

Longhaul truck driver pay rose in the third quarter as the truckload market tightened over the summer, setting the stage for a lift in salaries in 2018, according to the National Transportation Institute.

Increased demand for freight hauling is putting more pressure on motor carriers to raise compensation for drivers.

The National Driver Wage Index, which measures over-the-road driver pay, rose 0.9% year-over-year in the second quarter, but the index is likely to grow at a faster pace as truckload carriers experience the positive effects of economic growth and the electronic logging mandate on freight rates, according to the National Transportation Institute.

Averitt Express Inc. has increased pay in an effort to recruit and retain drivers, a sign that the less-than-truckload sector of trucking is doing slightly better than the truckload side.

Bay & Bay Transportation, an Eagan, Minn., truckload carrier, increased pay for its refrigerated van owner-operators on April 1, company President Sam Anderson told Transport Topics.