WAGE GROWTH VS. INFLATION – HAVE DRIVER WAGES KEPT UP? Have you heard about the latest inflation numbers? Much ink has been spilled over rising prices in recent months, and with good reason. Consumer prices began their ascent in April 2021. Since then, the cost of living has skyrocketed. Inflation is difficult for everybody to
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DOES GUARANTEED PAY FOR TRUCK DRIVERS KEEP THEM IN THE SEAT? The decision to offer guaranteed pay for truck drivers is one that many trucking companies wrestle with. Managing the balance between adequately compensating employees and maintaining driver productivity can be a struggle. Today’s standard compensation structure is based on paying per mile driven. But
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THE NATIONAL SURVEY OF DRIVER WAGES HITS THE ROAD LIKE NEVER BEFORE! For 27 years, the National Transportation Institute has aggregated data from hundreds of trucking companies across the United States. Our National Survey of Driver Wages is the industry standard for compensation and benefits research, shedding light into wage trends and helping organizations benchmark
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ECONOMIC GROWTH SLOWS TO A TRICKLE The latest numbers are in. Last quarter, the U.S. economy grew at a meager 2.0% annualized rate. In most years, this would be a respectable growth rate. But we’re calling it meager this time because it’s the smallest increase since the start of the recovery. To give you a
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WHAT DOES THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE DO? You might subscribe to our newsletter. Or you may have heard National Transportation Institute President Leah Shaver on the Hire Road podcast or Transport Topics’ Newsmakers. Maybe you’ve seen us mentioned in Bloomberg Businessweek, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes or USA Today. Or even listened in while Leah
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STAYING FIT TO DRIVE Today we want to talk about a topic that we all wish we didn’t have to. Driver health! It’s not a fun thing to think about. Whether you’re a trucker or a recruiter, this form can seem awfully intimidating. And we all know that the lifestyle on the road isn’t exactly
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THE ECONOMY IS ON FIRE: A ROUNDUP OF RECENT NEWS The final days of July included a lot of big news for the economy, including a few developments that are particularly relevant to trucking. Our industry is, of course, inextricably tied to the country’s economic health. But we can also tip the scales in one
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OUR INFRASTRUCTURE BILL WISHLIST In mid-July, a caucus of Democrats and Republicans came together in support of the latest Senate proposal for an infrastructure bill. While not a done deal yet, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework will likely move forward in the Senate and appears to have enough backers in the House. The infrastructure bill weighs
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AN UNLIKELY RECRUITING TOOL Ask most drivers what their least favorite part of the job is, and you’ll probably get at least a few mentions of detention. Over and over again, unpaid, unproductive time is reported to be one of a trucker’s biggest frustrations. Driver detention is a headache for everybody who’s involved in it,
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IT’S NOT (JUST) ABOUT THE MONEY Here at NTI, we’re pretty big on driver wages. I mean, come on. Obvious statement of the year, right? It’s our job to help carriers offer competitive driver pay, in a sustainable, non-painful way for their company. We talk about it every day. In fact, it’s what gets us
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