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Driver Recruiting Weekly Report – July 14, 2021

All of the latest driver recruiting numbers and a new story of the week for July 14, 2021. This week’s story – The FMCSA has proposed some safety regulation and definition changes … and they want to hear from YOU!

How do you like your Weekly Report?

We provide the Weekly Report in numerous formats every week. Which one is right for you? Watch the latest reports on our Recruiting Resources or YouTube pages, use our Numbers at a Glance section for quick visual references, download the Weekly Report PDF (available below), read the transcript, or listen to the audio version of the July 14, 2021, Weekly Report below.

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View and comment on the FMCSA’s Proposed Changes

A full breakdown of all proposed changes can be found by visiting www.regulations.gov and searching for docket #FMCSA-2021-0037.

The FMCSA is asking for feedback/comments on the following:

    1. Does the definition of vehicle safety technology need to be expanded further to address other potential technologies and/or multifunction devices such as electronic logging devices that incorporate technologies such as GPS that either require placement in the approximate middle of the CMV windshield or would benefit driver safety by not diverting the driver’s eyes from the road and would be subject to the positioning requirements of the regulation?
  1. Would the proposed position of allowable vehicle safety technologies (not more than 8.5 inches below the upper and 7 inches above the lower edge of the swept area of the windshield) be sufficient for any current or developing devices?

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Register for Digging Deeper Webinar and Live Q&A

The Digging Deeper into Driver Recruiting with Dave Season 1 Finale will air Thursday, July 15th, 2 PM CT followed by a live Q&A session. This is a free webinar event; all you have to do to attend is register and follow the link at the appropriate time.
Click here to register for Digging Deeper Episode 9.
*This is a VIDEO webinar. You will NOT be able to view the episode if you use the dial-in feature. Please make sure to join us via computer (or smart device with screen).*

Numbers At A Glance – July 14, 2021

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Truck Driver Searches

WoW: ∇ Down 10%
MoM: ∇ Down 2%
YoY: ∇ Down 16%

Load Volume

WoW: ∇ Down 17%

 Volume by Segment

WoW: Dry Van ∇ Down 15%
WoW: Refrigerated ∇ Down 16%
WoW: Flatbed ∇ Down 18%

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Clicks On Truck Driver Postings

WoW: Δ Up 9%
MoM: ∇ Down 2%
YoY: Δ Up 5%

 Truck Postings

WoW:∇ Down 9%

Spot Rates

WoW: ∇ Down 8¢ per mile

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July 14, 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 July 14, 2021, is available for your convenience in PDF form below.

Click the image to download the July 14, 2021, Driver Recruiting Insights PDF.

JULY 14 WEEKLY INSIGHT
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Weekly Report – July 14, 2021 Transcript

Welcome to the Weekly Report, for Randall-Reilly, I’m Joshua Miller. Let’s dive right in.

THIS WEEK IN JOB BOARD SEARCHES AND CLICKS

Truck driver searches were down 10% WoW, 2% MoM, and 16% YoY. Meanwhile clicks on truck driver postings were up 9% WoW, down 2% MoM, and up 5% YoY.
We saw searches decrease, clicks increase, and click-through rates jump by 20% last week. All major experienced driver categories (company, owner-op, and teams) saw increased clicks WoW. It was only the inexperienced/trainee driver jobs that saw a decrease in clicks.

THIS WEEK IN FREIGHT

Load postings fell by 17% WoW. And as you may expect with a drop like that, load postings for all three major segments fell: dry van fell 15%, refrigerated 16%, and flatbed was down 18% WoW.
Truck availability was also on the decline. It dipped by 9% WoW as the overall ratio of loads to trucks hit its lowest level since week 6.
And not one to break the trend, overall spot rates fell by 8¢ per mile WoW. And unfortunately, that’s all I have for you this week on spot rates. As of this taping, the details we normally provide for dry van, refrigerated, and flatbed rates are not yet available. We should be back on track with that next report.
Lot of red over on that screen, but here are some things to keep in mind. The decline in load postings wasn’t really a surprise here as major holidays tend to depress the spot market’s weekly volume. As it turns out the decrease in volume for Independence Day week pretty much mirrored the amount of decline, we observed for Memorial Day week.
This recent downward trend for flatbed, however, does seem to suggest that the weakness we’ve seen lately for the segment goes a little bit deeper than typical holiday distortions. It’s something we’ll keep our eye on moving forward.
As we touched on last week, June is traditionally the high-water mark for the volume of the year … but that didn’t hold true in dumpster fire … excuse me, 2020. There was no real seasonality pattern to speak of last year as lockdowns were lifting and the economy was beginning to recover.
This year we must keep in mind all those stimulus checks that have gone out, the most recent round of which hit around three months ago. Beyond that we have supply chain disruptions and lagging capacity that continue to support volumes … AND remember, there are yet more stimulus payments on the way. This time in the form of a monthly child tax credit payment. Those tax credits begin this week and are set to continue right on through December.

AND NOW FOR OUR STORY OF THE WEEK

The FMCSA is talking about making some safety changes. The currently enforced safety regulations require any mounted devices to be no more than 4 inches below the upper edge of the area swept by the windshield wipers, or not more than 7 inches above the lower edge of the swept area. In addition to that all devices must remain outside of the driver’s sight lines to the road and highway signs and signals.
They are now proposing that allowable mounting area be expanded. The new proposal would increase that top mounting area allowable from 4 inches below the upper edge of wiper swept area to 8 ½ inches. All other parameters such as sight lines and acceptable distance from the bottom edge would remain the same.
In addition to the mounting guideline changes, the FMCSA is also proposing expanding the definition of “vehicle safety technology.” As it stands now it is defined as – “a fleet-related incident management system, performance or behavior management system, speed management system, forward collision warning or mitigation system, active cruise control system, and transponder.”
IF the proposed changes are adopted the definition would also encompass technologies that are intended to promote driver, occupant, and roadway safety, including braking warning systems, braking assist systems, automatic emergency braking, driver camera system, attention assist warning, and traffic sign recognition.
And I say IF here, because the agency wants your feedback on the proposed changes. You can make comments and let your voice be heard by heading over to www.regulations.gov and searching for docket number FMCSA-2021-OO37.
The FMCSA has specifically requested comments on the following two questions:
1. Does the definition of vehicle safety technology need to be expanded further to address other potential technologies and/or multifunction devices such as electronic logging devices that incorporate technologies such as GPS that either require placement in the approximate middle of the CMV windshield or would benefit driver safety by not diverting the driver’s eyes from the road and would be subject to the positioning requirements of the regulation?
2. Would the proposed position of allowable vehicle safety technologies (not more than 8.5 inches below the upper and 7 inches above the lower edge of swept area of windshield) be sufficient for any current or developing devices?
Wow. They really are good at making those questions succinct and effective, aren’t they? Anyhow those are the two questions they are actively seeking feedback on, so let your voices be heard and tell them what you think.
That website again is www.regulations.gov and the docket number is FMCSA-2021-0037. Link will be in the YouTube description or body of the blog page. To keep up to date on what’s happening make sure you check out our friends over at the CCJ website, they have covered this information as well and you’ll be able to stay up to date with any new developments there.
And that’s it for the story of the week. Thanks for joining us for another Weekly Report, but before we go, I do want to let you know the webinar viewing of the Digging Deeper season 1 finale will be airing tomorrow, Thursday July 15th at 2 pm CT.
The episode will feature Dave’s top moments from the first season and following the viewing there will be a live Q&A panel featuring several of the guests that have joined him on the show. If that sounds like something you’d like to check out all you have to do is register and join the webinar tomorrow. This is a completely free webinar, just register, and click the link tomorrow to join.
I’ll leave the registration link for you in the YouTube description and body of the blog as well. The episode will be made available a little later both our YouTube page and our blog, but that live Q&A is a special treat only for those who attend the webinar viewing. So, I encourage you to check it out and take advantage of the open forum.
Ask any questions you may have and get a response in real time right then and there. One final note on Digging Deeper, it is a video webinar, so if you register, you’ll get a link to attend, just make sure you use a laptop or smart device with a screen when the time comes to get the most out of the experience. Dialing in to a video webinar, kind of defeats the whole purpose of video, right? So, there you go. Thursday, July 15th 2pm CT – Digging Deeper Season 1 finale. Be there!
That’s it for this week, look forward to having you back next Wednesday morning to take another look back to help you move forward. Until then, have a great week everybody.