Case study · Meta Ads management
16 owner-operators hired at about $720 each: 444 owner-operator and CDL-A driver leads with Meta Ads for Aral Cargo
Aral Cargo, a dry van OTR carrier, hires owner-operators, solo and team company drivers. Pixelco runs its Meta Ads end to end: the offer, a funnel per role, forms that screen, 400+ creatives and weekly optimization. Since August 2026 that has brought 444 leads at about $26 each and 16 owner-operators hired, at roughly $720 in advertising per hire. A staffing agency would bill at least $10,500 for one of them.
Real numbers in every ad, every fee shown up front, a separate funnel for each role and a form that screens for drug tests, violations and truck year. The result is a steady flow of about 130 applicants a month.
What a hired driver cost
Leads, cost per lead and spend come from Aral Cargo’s own Meta Ads account, which Pixelco manages. Hires are reported by the carrier.
Advertising per hired owner-operator: 444 leads at about $26 each, roughly $11,540 of Meta Ads spend, 16 owner-operators hired.
owner-operators hired by Aral Cargo
owner-operator and company driver leads
average cost per lead
new applicants every month
- A flow, not a spike: 124 leads in August, 137 in September, 128 in October.
- Company drivers: $17.40, $18.30 and $18.80 per lead on the three best campaigns, click-through rate up to 5.9%.
- Owner-operators: 42 applicants at $26.80 per lead on the best campaign.
What the same 16 hires cost through other channels
Cost per hire only means something next to what the carrier would pay otherwise.
| Channel | Per hire | 16 hires |
|---|---|---|
| Staffing agency, 15 to 25% of first-year pay | $10,500–$17,500 | $168,000–$280,000 |
| Flat-fee CDL-A recruiter | $1,250–$3,500 | $20,000–$56,000 |
| Aral Cargo, Meta Ads | ≈$720 | ≈$11,540 |
Agency and recruiter figures: published industry pricing, collected in what it costs to hire a truck driver. Advertising figures measured in this account.
Sixteen hires through a staffing agency would start at $168,000, and even a flat-fee recruiter would bill at least $20,000. Through Meta Ads they cost about $11,540, and the 444 leads stay in the carrier’s own database to call again.
Aral Cargo and its three hiring directions
Aral Cargo is a US carrier running dry van OTR freight. It hires owner-operators, solo company drivers and team company drivers, and each of them reads an ad differently.
Owner-operators
- Keep 88% of the gross
- Average gross up to $10,000 a week, net up to $8,000 per paycheck
- Dry van trailer available
- Transparent fees: $250 trailer, $100 device, $50 IFTA
- Professional dispatch support
- 1+ year of experience and a 2018 or newer truck
CDL-A company drivers, solo and team
- Dry van OTR with consistent freight
- Solo: $0.65 CPM, up to 2,500 miles a week
- Team: $0.80 CPM, up to 4,500 miles a week
- Inspection bonuses and dispatch support
- 1+ year of CDL-A experience
Owner-operators answer numbers, not slogans
Owner-operators are business owners and hear from carriers every day. Aral Cargo needed them, and experienced company drivers, every month, with the recruiter knowing who qualifies before the first call.
Business owners
Owner-operators compare the split, the gross and the fees. The offer had to show all three.
2018 or newer trucks
Owner-operators with equipment ready for dry van OTR.
Solo and team
Two kinds of company driver with different pay and miles, each with its own ad.
Clean drug test and record
Answered in the form, so the recruiter sees it before calling.
Ready for OTR
Drivers who are fine with 2 to 3 weeks on the road.
Every month
A steady, predictable flow of applicants instead of one good week.
What Meta Ads management included
Pixelco ran the account end to end. Aral Cargo filled in the brief once and received leads; everything between those two points was on our side.
1. Brief and offer
Pay, miles, fees and requirements for each role, turned into a driver profile: what this driver compares and what makes him apply.
2. A funnel per role
Owner-operators, solo and team company drivers each got their own campaigns, creatives, copy and form.
3. Real numbers in the ad
Owner-operator ads lead with the 88% split and weekly income, company driver ads with CPM and miles.
4. Every fee shown
The $250 trailer, $100 device and $50 IFTA fees stated up front. Serious owner-operators apply; the rest filter themselves out.
5. Forms that screen
Meta instant forms with qualifying questions, rebuilt several times as the data came in.
6. Weekly optimization
Weak ads cut, budget moved to the winners every week.
- Have you ever failed a drug test?
- Have you had any major violations or accidents?
- What is your CDL-A experience?
- Are you willing to run OTR, 2 to 3 weeks on the road?
- Owner-operators: do you own a 2018 or newer truck?
- Solo or team? Dry van or reefer?
400+ ad variations
Meta now uses the creative itself to find the audience, so an account needs many genuinely different ads. Every Aral Cargo creative leads with numbers a driver can check.
New creatives go live in batches. Every week the weak ones are switched off and the budget moves to the ads that bring qualified drivers, not just the cheapest clicks.
Drivers worth calling
The screening questions did their job: the recruiter knew who fits before picking up the phone.
217
confirmed they never failed a drug test
136
confirmed no major violations or accidents
70
owner-operators with a 2018 or newer truck
2–3 weeks
dozens ready for OTR runs this long
What you get when Pixelco runs your Meta Ads
The same setup Aral Cargo got, built for your offer and your hiring requirements.
Before launch
- A brief and driver profile for every role you hire
- Ad account setup under the employment special ad category
- Separate funnels for owner-operators, solo and team drivers
- Instant forms with your screening questions
After launch
- New creatives every month, with the numbers from your offer
- Weekly optimization and budget moves
- Forms and offers updated as the data comes in
- Reporting on leads, cost per lead and lead quality by campaign
The full process, step by step, is on our Meta Ads driver recruiting page. For another carrier we ran the same way, see the Deload Logistics LLC case.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to hire a driver with Meta Ads?
For Aral Cargo, about $720 in advertising per hire: 444 leads at about $26 each and 16 owner-operators hired. A staffing agency charges $10,500 to $17,500 per placement, a flat-fee recruiter $1,250 to $3,500.
How much does an owner-operator lead cost with Meta Ads?
For Aral Cargo, the best owner-operator campaign brought 42 applicants at $26.80 per lead.
How much does a CDL-A company driver lead cost?
The best company driver campaigns ran at $17.40 to $18.80 per lead.
Can Meta Ads find owner-operators with newer trucks?
Yes. The form asks about the truck year directly. For Aral Cargo, 70 owner-operators confirmed a 2018 or newer truck.
How do you filter out drivers who would fail a drug test?
The lead form asks it directly. 217 Aral Cargo applicants confirmed they never failed one.
What does Pixelco do in Meta Ads management?
The brief and offer, ad account setup, separate funnels and forms for each role, creatives, weekly optimization and reporting. The carrier fills in the brief and its recruiters call the leads.
Need owner-operators?
Tell us who you hire and what you offer. We will show you how we would run your Meta Ads and what a lead would cost.
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