The Weekly Report brings you updates on the most important driver recruiting metrics each and every week. In addition to updated click, search, and rate data we cover a new story of the week. This week’s story – local routes are on the rise as long-haul jobs decline.
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Numbers At A Glance – August 11, 2021
[one_half]
Truck Driver Searches |
| WoW: Δ Up 30% |
|---|
| MoM: Δ Up 59% |
| YoY: Δ Up 24% |
Load Volume |
| WoW: ∇ Down 5% |
|---|
Volume by Segment |
| WoW: Dry Van ∇ Down 6% |
|---|
| WoW: Refrigerated Δ Up 1% |
| WoW: Flatbed ∇ Down 6% |
Spot Rates |
| WoW: ∇ Down 1¢ per mile |
|---|
[/one_half]
[one_half_last]
Clicks On Driver Postings |
| WoW: Δ Up 16% |
|---|
| MoM: ≡ Flat |
| YoY: Δ Up 9% |
Truck Postings |
| WoW: ∇ Down 3% |
|---|
Truck Posting by Segment |
| WoW: Dry Van ∇ Down 12% |
|---|
| WoW: Refrigerated ∇ Down 16% |
| WoW: Flatbed Δ Up 4% |
Rates by Segment |
| WoW: Dry Van Δ Up 2¢ per mile |
|---|
| WoW: Refrigerated Δ Up 5¢ per mile |
| WoW: Flatbed ∇ Down 2¢ per mile |
[/one_half_last]
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August 11, 2021, 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 August 11, 2021, is available for your convenience in PDF form below.
Click the image to download the August 11, 2021, Driver Recruiting Insights PDF.
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Weekly Report – August 11, 2021 Transcript
Welcome to the Weekly Report. For Randall-Reilly I’m Joshua Miller. You can catch all-new reports every Wednesday morning at 10AM CT on our blog and over on our YouTube channel. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe to make sure you keep up with all the latest Randall-Reilly driver recruiting content. If you have any questions reach out to us. Links to our social media platforms are available in the description of the video on YouTube and at the bottom of our blog page in the “connect with us” section. Now let’s get to why you’re all here. Let’s jump into the report.
THIS WEEK IN JOB BOARD SEARCHES AND CLICKS
Truck driver searches saw big gains all around. Searches notched increases of 30% WoW, 59% MoM, and 24% YoY. Clicks on postings remained positive as well, though not quite as dramatic as those search numbers. Clicks increased by 16% WoW, remained flat MoM, and ticked up 9% YoY.
Clicks rebounded and with that, the totals fall more in line with what we’ve seen in recent trends except for two weeks (that of week 26 and 30). Clicks rose on postings for all major driver types with clicks on inexperienced/trainee driver posts seeing the largest percentage increase.
Searches spiked to their highest level since at least 2019. I say at least here because that’s as far back as our data on this category goes. While searches have increased nearly 60% over the past month those clicks are right on par with what we saw last month.
This seems to suggest that while drivers are technically searching, they are either not searching with intent or simply being very selective of the positions they click on. We here at Randall-Reilly tend to think it comes down to research vs. intent to apply. For our viewer BC who asked a question about this very thing last week I hope our answer in the comments of last week’s report or some of my commentary here today has given you a sufficient and satisfactory answer to your question.
THIS WEEK IN FREIGHT
Load postings decreased by 5% WoW, with both dry van and flatbed decreasing by 6% while refrigerated inched up by 1% WoW. Truck availability was down by 3% WoW, but most of that was due to flatbed’s rise of 4% WoW, as both dry van and refrigerated saw declines (12% for dry van and 16% for refrigerated WoW).
Overall spot rates dipped by 1¢ per mile, but both dry van and refrigerated posted moderate increases. Dry van was up 2¢ per mile, while refrigerated rose by 5¢ per mile. Flatbed, however, decreased by 2¢ per mile WoW.
And with that decline, last week marks the fifth straight week flatbed rates have fallen after setting all those record highs throughout the spring.
Though overall spot volume and rates aren’t consistently rising as they were this spring, they are still generally outperforming seasonal expectations. So far dry van and refrigerated rates … aren’t even weakening. The market continues to be bolstered by various disruptions stemming from material shortages, production volatility, port congestion, and chronic problems with rail service, which is hurting the competitive intermodal segment.
On top of that, purchases spurred on by robust job growth, strong consumer finances, and additional stimulus in the form of those advance child tax credit payments seem to be keeping a floor on volume and rates for the time being.
STORY OF THE WEEK
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, July jobs in truck transportation have increased by 9,800 since May. Great right? Well kind of. You see, employment levels are still about 30,000 below pre-pandemic levels.
By comparing today’s data to that of three years ago, the shifts within sectors of trucking transportation become more apparent. The overall number of jobs in truck transportation decreased by only 500 over that timeframe, but at the same time much of that employment has shifted from long-distance hauls to local routes.
Employment for local routes (general freight and specialized) increased by 23,500, while employment for long-distance routes (general freight TL, general freight LTL, and specialized) have decreased by 15,100 – which explains why capacity is so tight in those sectors.
And that does it for the Weekly Report. Thanks for joining us today. Come on back next week as we look at all the latest data and cover another new story of the week. Until then, have a great week everybody.
