Driver Retention

If someone asked you point blank: “what is the biggest issue in freight transportation today?” there is a better than good chance that the truck driver shortage would be at the top of the list. Why wouldn’t it be either? It is a topic of daily discussion at every industry trade show and conference, while also getting a ton of attention in the form of commentary or data being issued fairly frequently. If it has not been for you,...

Driver turnover rates in the third quarter followed the second quarter’s lead, with things heading up again, according to data issued this week by the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

For the past decade and a half, those who predicted the driver shortage have offered their advice on curbing the shortage.

A recent stretch of low motor carrier driver turnover rates appears to have come to an end, according to data issued this week by the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

For the first quarter, ATA reported that the annualized turnover rate for large truckload carriers with more than $30 million in revenue headed up by 3% to 74%, which the ATA said is at a “near-historic” low point and down 15% annually.

The topic of driver turnover is always prevalent in trucking, and all of freight transportation and logistics to a larger extent, and it is typically viewed with a bit of apprehension, as the supporting data is almost always dire in highlighting the severity of the driver shortage. That is not to say that the driver shortage does not remain a significant issue, it does to be sure. But based on data issued by the American Trucking Associations (ATA), things don�...

The ATA said that the second quarter turnover rate at truckload fleets with more than $30 million in annual revenue dropped six points to 83 percent, which ATA said is its lowest level in five years going back to the second quarter of 2011.

At a certain point, it seems like the ongoing truck driver shortage cannot get any worse, right? Well, think again, because of myriad reasons we could well be in the very early innings of a game that is, and continues, to be hard to watch. That was made clear in a report issued by the American Trucking Associations (ATA), entitled “Truck Driver Analysis 2015.”

The annualized turnover rate for large truckload carriers in the third quarter rose one percentage point to 97 percent, according to the ATA.

In recent weeks, many well-known carriers, including Swift Transportation, Con-way Truckload and US Xpress are making a full-on press regarding increasing driver wages in an effort to secure more capacity and keep their wheels moving, as well as to prevent driver turnover at a time when it is becoming more difficult to recruit and retain drivers.