The Economy is On Fire: A Roundup of Recent News
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 […]
The Biggest Challenge in Driver Recruiting Today
THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN DRIVER RECRUITING TODAY There are so many difficulties in trucking today. Consumer demand is up, participation in the labor force is down, and today’s capacity crunch is worse than in 2018. There’re enough challenges to stuff an eighteen-wheeler. What’s the hardest part of recruiting today? Most fleets are going pedal to […]
This Fourth of July, Thank You to Our Truckers
THIS FOURTH OF JULY, THANK YOU TO OUR TRUCKERS It’s almost July, and that means it’s almost time to celebrate our nation’s birthday! Independence Day has always been one of our favorite holidays, between the barbecues and the fireworks and the displays of patriotism. The Fourth of July is all about celebrating what makes our […]
Decline Of Driver Supply Continues
DECLINE OF DRIVER SUPPLY CONTINUES Drug tests are a topic that we don’t love talking about. A positive test can feel like a lose-lose situation – you’re down another worker, and a driver is out of a job. But this year, there’s no way around that elephant in the room. FMCSA requirements mean that more […]
Truck Transportation Employment
TRUCK TRANSPORTATION EMPLOYMENT Jason Miller, PhD, Michigan State University Much has been written about the difficulty in finding truck drivers. Detailed employment data released as part of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Employment Statistics program helps shed some light on the challenges trucking firms face regarding attracting workers. Comparing employment figures in March 2021 […]
Stimulus Spending Will Increase Demand For Drivers
STIMULUS SPENDING WILL INCREASE DEMAND FOR DRIVERS The U.S. economy is getting close to firing on all cylinders again. With a combination of stimulus payments and robust economic indicators in the works, economists predict that Americans are going to rev up their spending. Of course, those purchases need to get moved on a truck. Carriers, […]
Driver Supply Constraints Plague Carriers
DRIVER SUPPLY CONSTRAINTS PLAGUE CARRIERS After spending the first half of 2020 rightsizing and attempting to pivot, most carriers were blindsided by the changes that came in the remainder of the year. Fleets experienced record low turnover and even stalled recruiting efforts in Q1 and Q2, only to find themselves completely unprepared for the third […]
Driver engagement: From hire to retire
Driver Wages began accelerating Q3 2020 in response to rising freight rates as increased demand has outstripped capacity in most markets and turnover is on the rise. Nearly every conversation in the last 7 weeks has started with “where have all the drivers gone?” followed by “we halted hiring March – May and now we […]