We have talked before about high trucking turnover and why it’s hurting our industry, and while new numbers suggest this trend is reversing, don’t expect an improvement overnight.
Yes, the ATA has released their trucking turnover numbers for the third quarter and they still don’t look good. Trucking turnover at large truckload fleets slipped 2 percentage points to 97% (from a high of 99% last year) and turnover at smaller fleets dropped 8 percentage points to 74%. This is the seventh consecutive quarter that trucking turnover remained above 90% at fleets with $30 million or more in annual revenue. Moreover, smaller-fleet turnover fell 20 percentage points from a six-year high.
While it’s a promising sign that the turnover number is dropping in both categories of fleets, the ATA’s chief economist, Bob Costello, says not to look too much into it. “The market for experienced, qualified drivers remains exceptionally tight,” Costello said.
Even worse, as the economy for trucking continues to remain strong, trucking fleets will be hard-pressed to find truckers to fill the demand. “I expect fleets to remain challenged finding enough qualified drivers, and we’ll be contending with driver shortage-related issues for the foreseeable future,” Costello said.
The unfortunate cost of high turnover remains a big stumbling block for fleets. With the cost of a new driver averaging out to $5,000, a company with 200 drivers and 100% trucking turnover rate is spending over $1 million on recruitment alone. As expected, the unpopular restrictions on hours-of-service rules that began in the third quarter are forcing turnover higher.
Time will tell if companies can work to fix this issue, and new methods of driver-retention are being put in place to steady the job market. However, more needs to be done if the industry wants any hope of improving trucking turnover and remaining efficient during a time of increased workloads.
What do you think of this issue? We want to know! Talk to us here as well as on our Facebook page, then head to our website for more information on getting quality insurance for your fleet.