Truckload driver turnover surges in second quarter, ATA reports

“We continue to see steady, albeit sluggish, growth in freight volumes, which increases demand for drivers,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said. “That, coupled with continued pressure on fleets to improve their safety records as a result of regulatory oversight changes, is increasing competition among carriers for drivers with clean histories.”

The Trucker News Services

9/12/2012

ARLINGTON, Va. — The annualized turnover rate for linehaul truckload fleets of all sizes surged in the second quarter with turnover at large fleets breaking the 100 percent barrier for the first time in more than four years, according to American Trucking Associations’ quarterly Trucking Activity Report.

For large truckload fleets, those who report in excess of $30 million in revenue, driver turnover rose 16 percentage points to 106 percent — the highest level since the fourth quarter of 2007. The last time the turnover rate was over 100 percent was in the first quarter of 2008.

“We continue to see steady, albeit sluggish, growth in freight volumes, which increases demand for drivers,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said. “That, coupled with continued pressure on fleets to improve their safety records as a result of regulatory oversight changes, is increasing competition among carriers for drivers with clean histories.”

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At smaller truckload fleets, turnover jumped to 86 percent in the second quarter, a 15-point jump over the previous quarter. The spike put turnover at its highest level since the third quarter of 2007.

In data going back to 1995, the lowest turnover has been 39 percent for large TLs, and 35 percent for smaller TLs, with both being recorded in the first quarter of 2010. Large TLs saw a record high turnover rate of 136 percent in fourth quarters of 2004 and 2005. For smaller truckload fleets, the record high of 114 percent was set in the third quarter of 2006.

“We have been contending that the driver shortage is by and large qualitative, rather than quantitative,” Costello said. “Despite some estimates, I believe that in terms of raw numbers, the trucking industry is currently short somewhere in the range of 20,000 to 30,000 drivers. However, if we continue to see growth in freight volumes, we can expect that number to rise in the near future, exacerbating the qualitative shortage and creating a quantitative one.”

The turnover rate for less-than-truckload fleets averaged just 9 percent in the second quarter, up from 8 percent in the previous quarter.

Kevin Jones of The Trucker staff can be reached for comment at kevinj@thetrucker.com.

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