While the trucking industry is used to high turnover, extremely high numbers (especially in large fleet turnover) can indicate that the market for experienced, reliable drivers is tight. This unfortunately appeared to be the case in the second quarter, according to a new report from The American Trucking Association. According to the Activity Report, the annualized turnover rate at large truckload fleets rose two percentage points to 99% in the second quarter of 2013. This large fleet turnover increase pushed the rate to its highest point since the third quarter of 2012 and just above the annual rate of 98% in 2012.
What does this mean for you? Due to the trucking industry’s continued expansion and improved economy, coupled with regulatory challenges from the CSA (including the dreaded “hours of service” rule) will only hurt fleets trying to hire drivers. This, in turn, will inflate costs for large fleet companies looking to attract and hire the best drivers.
In other news, turnover at truckload fleets with less than $30 million in annual revenue remained unchanged at 82% while turnover at less-than-truckload fleets plummeted nine percentage points to 6% – the lowest level in two years.
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