It seems to be a topic that never goes away: the truck driver shortage. There doesn’t seem to be one single solution or silver bullet. Still, that isn’t preventing carriers from doing what they can – or must – to address the shortage.
Many are focusing on the tried and true method of increasing truck driver pay. Pay stability is seen as a crucial factor in decreasing truck driver turnover. When operators are living paycheck to paycheck, that tends to create a lot of turnover.
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Other truck drivers operate under a “lumpy” pay scheme. This means their earnings can be impacted by unexpected events such as weather, breakdowns or delays at the loading dock. When a truck driver is delayed and effectively working for free, they usually aren’t happy.
How Fleets Are Responding
Many carriers are now offering guaranteed pay in an effort to offset unknown factors and reduce turnover. Although this can be an expense in the beginning, over the long run the offset in truck driver turnover will make up for any initial cost.
Private fleets are also able to offer 20 – 50% more than OTR fleets can. Private fleets can also offer better schedules and more home time. Combined, these efforts yield turnover as low as 14% for some private operations.
During the most recent truck driver pay cycle, which ran for the last 19 months, truck driver pay increased by 14% in a very short period of time. Contrast that with a 25% decrease during the great recession, and you can see where there is room to be made up.
This current pay cycle was also shorter than we would normally see. The average pay cycle comes in around 33 months. That fleets are making rapid-fire changes to their pay structures couldn’t be more obvious.
What About the Shortage
While the truck driver shortage still exists, it is in a bit of lull right now. As the workforce continues to age, however, this will become a more acute problem. Increased regulations are also putting more of a squeeze on the pool of qualified truck drivers.
There’s also no shortage of applicants, but finding the bodies isn’t the answer. Many of these drivers are simply not qualified. Some fleets report having to go through over a thousand applications before they find a qualified candidate.
As new regulations continue to come into effect, qualified driver pools are harder to come by. These regulations include the mandated use of e-logs, speed limiters, hair testing and more. Each of these rules are designed to target different segments of qualified truckers, for whatever reason.
How Regulations Have an Effect
While electronic logs may be a good thing in the long run, in the short term, owner-operators or small- to mid-size fleets will need to spend some time and capital catching up with the requirement. This could potentially lead to a gap in freight capacity. Some estimates say that gap could impact truck driver supply by 5%.
Speed limiters may end up having an adverse effect on independent truck drivers, as the devices will slow them down and reduce their financial potential. You may also see a segment drop out altogether simply because they have a hard time accepting new technology.
Finally, hair testing, according to some numbers, could affect capacity by as much as 6%. The traditional drug and alcohol test failure rate usually is around 5%, but for some fleets who have introduced the hair analysis as part of their standard procedure, that number rises to 11.6%.
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So as we look at these numbers one must ask, how does a fleet make an impact on the problem? Ultimately, the best way to find and retain truck drivers is to offer them consistent pay, as much home time as possible, and most of all – respect. Only then will your fleet be able to make a dent in what is being seen as a nearly intractable problem.