(Sept. 13, 2012) — The annualized turnover rate for U.S. linehaul truckload fleets surged in the second quarter, breaking through the 100-percent mark for the first time in over four years, reports the American Trucking Associations (ATA) in its quarterly Trucking Activity Report.
Large truckload fleets’ driver turnover rose 16 points to 106 percent — the highest level since 2007.
Smaller truckload fleets saw turnover climb to 86 percent — a 15-point jump from the Q1 2012.
“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.
“We have been contending that the driver shortage is by and large qualitative, rather than quantitative,” Costello continued.
“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.”
