The Weekly Report brings you updated data on recruiting metrics including click, search, and spot rates, plus a new story of the week. This week’s story – New apps built around AI are attempting to solve the problem of excessive driver downtime.
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Numbers at a Glance
| Spot Rates |
| WOW: ▲ Up 1/2¢ per Mile |
| Spot Rates by Segment |
| WoW: Dry Van ▼ Down 4¢ per Mile |
| WoW: Refrigerated ▼ Down 4¢ per Mile |
| WoW: Flatbed ▲ Up 2¢ per Mile |
| Load Posting Volume |
| WOW: ▲ Up 5% |
| Load Volume by Segment |
| WoW: Dry Van ▼ Down 4% |
| WoW: Refrigerated ■ Flat |
| WoW: Flatbed ▲ Up 12% |
| Truck Postings |
| WOW: ▼ Down 5% |
| Truck Driver Searches |
| WOW: ■ Flat |
| MoM: ▲ Up 15% |
| YoY: ▲ Up 8% |
| Clicks on Truck Driver Postings |
| WOW: ▼ Down 8% |
| MoM: ▲ Up 5% |
| YoY: ▲ Up 28% |
March 2, 2022 Driver Recruiting Insights
Would you like to have your own copy of the trucking industry data? All of the information covered in this week’s report for March 2, 2022, is available for your convenience in PDF form below. Click the image to view and download your copy of the Weekly Trucking Insight.
Weekly Report Transcript – March 2, 2022
Hello everyone and welcome to the Weekly Report. For Randall Reilly, I’m Joshua Miller. If you’re watching us on YouTube and like our videos, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe. Go ahead and leave a comment while you’re at it too. Now let’s get to the report.
THIS WEEK IN JOB BOARD SEARCHES AND CLICKS
Searches were flat WoW, but up 15% MoM and 8% YoY. Meanwhile, clicks on driver posts were down 8% WoW, and up 5% MoM and 28% YoY.
THIS WEEK IN FREIGHT
Total load postings were up 5% WoW, but the individual segments were a little bit all over the place. Dry van volume was down 4% WoW, refrigerated remained flat, and flatbed volumes increased by 12% WoW.
Truck availability fell by 5% WoW as the overall load-to-truck ratio rose. The rise in load-to-truck ratio was solely due to flatbed whose individual segment rose to its highest load-to-truck ratio since May, while both dry van and refrigerated ratios fell.
Spot rates ended up edging up by a 1/2¢ per mile as fuel increases continued to offset the slightly softer base rates. Dry van and refrigerated rates both declined by 4¢ as flatbed rates rose by 2¢ per mile WoW.
STORY OF THE WEEK
New apps are attempting to solve the problem of excess driver downtime. Vorto recently launched their app, 5F, which looks to increase drive time and decrease downtime by connecting drivers through the platform.
Vorto’s CEO, Priyesh Ranjan, says that their data is telling them, “there is no driver shortage in America; there are only inefficiencies.” Ranjan says that trucking is no longer a profitable industry for drivers because of the time spent idle, which leads to low pay and inconsistent work. This causes drivers to leave the industry.
The AI the 5F app uses focuses on increasing the number of loads per day per driver. Ranjan claims drivers can go from driving a mere 6 hours a day (with the rest of that time spent idling, driving empty, or doing paperwork) to driving 10 or 11 loaded hours.
The company also claims that 5F can reduce deadhead and idle time from 50% to just 10%. The app can also be used by shippers and brokers to automatically dispatch loads, make payments, view shipment statuses, and even view their acceptance rates. The next focus for the 5F app is on allowing drivers to specify where they want to go next and allowing the AI to build a sequence of loads that will get the drivers to the desired end location.
Another app, FreightSmith, was recently launched by UChain Group Inc. FreightSmith was designed to help improve driver safety and downtimes. The app connects drivers and shippers, offering time-saving options like mobile check-ins and mobile payments for freight deliveries. Their idea is to create visibility and communication throughout the entire gate-to-gate arrival and departure process.
FreightSmith was originally developed around the idea of improving driver safety by keeping them from having to get out of the truck and walk around in high-traffic areas. Now the app has grown to also work at reducing driver downtimes and resolving supply chain issues.
Their next focus is to develop a pre-check process away from the delivery site to reduce inbound congestion. This would allow drivers to park safely in an alternate location and receive a notification on the app when the receiver is ready.
If you’re interested in learning more about either app I’ll link to the full story on the CCJ website and I’ll include links to the apps in the body of the page on our Randall Reilly site or down in the description over on YouTube.
And that does it for this week’s report. We hope the info has been useful to you and we look forward to you joining us again next week as we take another look back to help you move forward. Until then, have a great week everybody.
