It’s time for another weekly report packed full of all the latest driver recruiting data. Watch, listen, or just take in the highlights with our quick visual reference tool, Numbers at a Glance, and our downloadable PDF.
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Numbers At A Glance – March 17, 2021
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Truck Driver Searches |
| WoW: ≡ Flat |
|---|
| MoM: ∇ Down 9% |
| YoY: ∇ Down 18% |
Load Volume |
| WoW: ∇ Down 4% Still remains 80% higher than the same week in 2020. |
|---|
Volume by Segment |
| WoW: Dry Van ∇ Down 15% Volume more than double the same week in 2020. |
|---|
| WoW: Refrigerated ∇ Down 12% Still 93% higher than the same week in 2020. |
| WoW: Flatbed Δ Up 5% Marks the 3rd consecutive week setting an all-time high. |
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[one_half_last]
Clicks On Truck Driver Postings |
| WoW: ∇ Down 7% |
|---|
| MoM: ∇ Down 10% |
| YoY: ∇ Down 50% |
Truck Postings |
| WoW: ∇ Down 2% |
|---|
Truck Posting by Segment |
| WoW: Dry Van ∇ Down 4% |
|---|
| WoW: Refrigerated Δ Up 3% |
| WoW: Flatbed ∇ Down 4% |
Spot Rates |
| WoW: ∇ Down 1¢ per mile Rates are 32% higher than the same week in 2020. |
|---|
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Check out the Data for Yourself
Want to go over all of the trucking industry data yourself? No problem! All of the information covered in this week’s report is available for your convenience in PDF form below.
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Weekly Report – March 17, 2021 Transcript
Welcome to Randall-Reilly’s Weekly Review, I’m Joshua Miller. Let’s not waste any time and jump right into all the latest numbers on driver recruiting.
THIS WEEK IN JOB BOARD SEARCHES AND CLICKS
Job board activity remained flat, and clicks decreased for the second consecutive week. Click-through-rate declined WoW for all major segments. Postings for owner-ops and teams saw double-digit decreases in click-through-rate, while postings for company drivers and inexperienced/trainee drivers saw single digit drops. These declines in click-through-rate would seem to indicate that drivers are becoming even more selective in who they apply to, and…there not may be as many drivers browsing jobs with serious intent to apply.
Now for the numbers. Truck driver searches were flat WoW, down 9% MoM, and down 18% YoY. Meanwhile clicks on truck driver postings were down 7% WoW, 10% MoM, and 50% YoY.
THIS WEEK IN FREIGHT
Decreases in dry van and refrigerated volumes reflect further stabilization after February’s extreme winter weather. However, another potential disrupter is on the horizon as the most recent stimulus bill will be impacting the economy soon. The likely increase in consumer spending comes as retail inventories are already among the leanest on record. So, the pressure to move goods will be strong for the coming weeks and months.
Load posting volume in the truckstop.com system fell by 4% WoW but remained 89% higher than the same week in 2020. Dry van load postings declined 4% WoW, but volume remained more than double the volume saw in the same week of 2020. Notice a pattern here? Refrigerated fell 12%, but…here we go again…the volume was still 93% higher than the same week in 2020. Flatbed posting rose by 5% WoW – this sets a third consecutive all-time weekly high.
On the truck postings side of things, we saw a decrease of 2% WoW, however all three segments remained relatively level. Dry van fell 4%, refrigerated rose 3%, and flatbed fell 4% WoW. Spot rates eased by 1¢ per mile. Rates for dry van and refrigerated were both down WoW, while flatbed spot rates rose by 3¢ per mile. And – important note here – rates are now around 32% higher than the same week in 2020.
AND NOW FOR OUR STORY OF THE WEEK
2020 brought a lot of change and was a year unlike any other we’ve ever seen before for many reasons. I mean if we’re being honest it was pretty much a dumpster fire of a year. One big change was the shrinking driver pool. We saw many experienced, veteran drivers retire or simply move on to other industries. Of course, the virus did have a role to play here as many older drivers cited concerns about the job’s exposure to infection during exit interviews. Others were forced to leave the driver pool to tend to family members infected by the virus.
In addition to COVID we had the FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse that removed almost 50,000 drivers, and unfortunately there have been far fewer young men and women entering the workforce to replace those leaving.
With this shortage of drivers, carriers who attract and retain quality drivers have a major advantage. How can carriers do this? Fleets have seen success by keeping their drivers engaged and connected, reducing downtime, helping them overcome challenges to the job in any way they can, and conveying their respect and appreciation for the job they do.
In fact, one carrier in particular saw their turnover rate drop by 15% after making a concerted effort to improve in these specific areas.
The one thing that seems like a sure bet to attract new people to the industry is – pay. As we continue to see the average length of haul decrease due to e-commerce-influenced distribution networks, the traditional pay-per-mile structure just isn’t as attractive as it once was. Moves towards salary pay, daily rates, and guaranteed pay are finding traction and success among some carriers.
Finding new drivers is critical to growth in the current market conditions, and some carriers, especially those with local routes are doing this by filling in-house training schools with their current dock workers who show an interest in driving and are a good cultural fit.
And that does it for yet another edition of the show that takes a look back to help you move forward, for the Weekly Review I’m Joshua Miller, until next time – have a great week everybody.
