According to the ATA, the driver turnover rate for the fourth quarter of 2012 was 90%. Turnover in the fourth quarter was significantly lower than the second and third when it sat at 106% and 104% respectively, bringing the turnover rate for the whole year down to 98%.
The term “driver turnover” is bandied around a lot, so much in fact that we seem to have forgotten the truth of what it really means. A driver turnover rate of 98% means that for every 100 driving jobs, 98 of them were filled by new drivers or drivers who were hired from a different company. This means that only 2 drivers out of 100 are happy enough with where they are to want to stay.
These numbers are slightly skewed by people who change jobs more than once within a year, or by positions that have employees that leave before the first year is up. Regardless of the exact number, the fact that major carriers are celebrating that driver turnover ended up at 98% this year is extremely disturbing.
According to the ATA there is still a “driver shortage” of about 20,000-25,000 drivers. Major carriers have tried to paint themselves as the victims of underserved bad fortune. In the same breath that they use to bemoan a high turnover rate and driver shortages, they refuse to acknowledge that they themselves are the cause. Instead they pretend to be oblivious of the fact that smaller fleets had a turnover of only 76% in the fourth quarter and that the total number of owner operators on the road has actually been increasing!
The ATA’s chief economist also forecasted that the turnover rates of today would be minimal compared to the sort of turnover that we’ll see in the future.
“Hard as it may be to believe, we may someday soon look back on turnover rates of just 90% as the good old days as increased demand, an aging workforce, and regulatory constraints combine to push the shortage higher.”
Hey, ATA, if you really want to reduce driver turnover, perhaps you should stop subjecting your drivers to conditions that make 98% them so miserable that they leave within a year. It’s entirely in your hands.
Next Story: OOIDA v. C.R. England Is Finally Over! Or Is It?
Source: ttnews, bulktransporter
Most other job fields would cringe at turnover over 20% but of course truck driving is not normal by any stretch at 90%. The real question is weather trucking companies can really do anything about given the high competition, low freight rates and other costs such as fuel, regulations and equipment. I think as we all know the driver shortage in this climate of unemployment just shows how little anyone wants to be a truck driver. The word has gotten out that its not a great career move. The turnover rate just proves that not many think its worth staying.
I strongly disagree John S. They most certainly can do something about it. I copy and pasted this below from the truckers report because it identifies perfectly the problem.
” Trucking companies will FLOOD the airways, newspapers, billboards, and all other known media in an effort to attract truckers while at the same time changing NOTHING! These companies will pay, on average, over $3,000 per driver to hire that driver. Turnover? IF the drivers that just left the company were indeed paid for their time and generally taken care of better then they would not have to fork out more $$$ to get more drivers! This is truly a maddening aspect of the trucking industry. ”
” With the amount of trucks I see on the road today I shiver at the thought of 100?s of thousands more on our highways. I believe there is NO such thing as a shortage of drivers BUT rather a shortage of common sense and good business practices, period. The trucking industry is the most cold-hearted, cut-throated, and non-caring business I have ever witnessed. It truly is no wonder that there is 121% turnover in this industry considering how companies treat the drivers they DO have. “
I’ve read several of these thoughts. They all say the same thing. trucking companies are a joke.
What still puzzles me as a new driver is, Every one of you refuse to do the one thing that could put a stop to the cheating and the lies. Park them all for 4 days everybody the food supply would dry up so fast the the public would be on board instantly. There is no way that they could hire drivers to replace us in 4 or 5 days. it’s not possible. If you can’t because you will lose money and not be able to pay your bills, then stop your crying and go to work for what they offer even if it is BS. Another question I have is who owns Truckers Report it seems to me they make there money buy selling advertising to the truck companies now theirs a fish bowl for ya. Sleep tight and please drive safe.
To answer your question, I own TruckersReport and your assumption about how advertising works on the site is wrong. The advertising is handled by a Google service called Adsense, it automatically displays ads from a pool of thousands of advertisers. Trucking companies are a minority of the advertising on TruckersReport, most of it is a combination of truck manufacturers, insurance, GPS routing devices, electronics and software.
John S said : ” The real question is weather trucking companies can really do anything about given the high competition, low freight rates and other costs such as fuel, regulations and equipment.”
Yet strangely….the owners of these big mega carriers with 98% turnover rates are all multi-millionaires.
You said it right ironage. At times when Im driving at night and you have nothing but time to think, I’ve though of that…you know, here I am fighting to stay awake hauling a crappy load and Mr.Owner is laying down sleeping on his $20k bed and his $500 pajamas. lol Turnover can be a 130% for all they care,whether they come or go, the freight keeps moving.
Well, the amount of O/O increasing means that Drivers are getting sick of dealing with incompetent office staff (dm/fm) and are deciding to move on with a little more freedom to make life on the road a little better. Which are also my plans in the near future, honestly I don’t care about the fuel,maintenance,tolls,etc. expenses, if I can be less miserable, be home when I want, choose the areas I want to run, which loads I want, etc. that’s all that matters.
You got that right Chris. Incompetence in the dispatch/safety/driver management ranks, is what pushed me into doing my own thing. But, damned if you do, damned if you don’t, is still a big issue to pay the bills. The large carriers, are responsible for low freight rates, hell they haven’t changed much in 20 years! It’s a cat and mouse game it seems. As the ability is there to earn more, the “cat” earns more. Cat being, the feds, with regulations imposed to catch us mice.
Although everything you mentioned is true,a lot more matters if one is broke.
Iagree my thoughts exactly
Those figures are probably more skewed than economic numbers. I counted new drivers at two of the last companies I worked for and came up with nearly 300% turnover.
Maybe if they treated drivers with an ounce of respect they would get loyalty in return. Of all the reasons I hate driving, getting short mile pay is setimes enough to make me postal. I want to tell them “I know you dispatched for 10 long hard hours, but your going to be paid for 8 cause thats a standard work day. I dont think they would stay. They also need to understand those trucks are our homes. I wouldnt live in the ghetto at home, why would you try to put someone (experienced) in a POS??
Hmm let’s see. Out two weeks, 12 to 24 hour days, kind sounds like trucking doesn’t it? Far from it! The oil patch! Out two weeks , HOME ONE WEEK, 12 to 24 hour days, GET PAID FOR EVERY HOUR AND OVERTIME, let’s see Company provided hotel room (mine a single at Best Western with a king bed not a sleeper to sleep in) a good hot meal at the job site & a per denim of $30 a day.
Now can any one tell me why I would want to go back driving and living in a truck?
i got out of trucking a year ago after 15 years of being gone all the time,now i’m home every night by 4:30 and a 40 hr week with benefits,plus i lost 45 pounds and no stress
Companies want us to stay around? They should pay us for ALL of the work we do. In the course of a day, the average driver does a pretrip, fuels the truck, sits at a customer’s dock being loaded/unloaded, sits waiting for their next load, and does a postrtip. NONE of this is paid. Don’t tell me that a few points on a fueler card is “payment”, either. Pay us for ALL of the work we do from beginning to end and watch retention rise. Also, as Rob stated, pay us for ALL of the miles we drive.
when you have these big trucking companies, showing owner operator job ads touting ”Best Pay in the Industry”, and then they offer you 93 cents a mile to drive your truck that anyone with any sense would know costs you $1.00 or more per mile to operate, not counting your time, they offer 100% of the billed surcharge but dont tell you the billed surcharge is 22 cents when the national average is 60-70 cents, expect you to load your truck with 45,000 pounds and if you are only able to scale 44,000 pounds refuse to drop 1000 pounds from their load and instead leave you sitting or with the option of deadheading empty back home…or load your truck on thursday, with a delivery time 4-5 days away and no sooner, leaving your income in the dirt for those days..they know what they are doing..that is why so many of them have that great ”lease option plan” for newcomers to the arena to fall for…at that point they own the load, the truck, the driver, and his check….meanwhile, sitting at the country club in their silk shirts and gucci smoking slippers dreaming up ways to make it look like they are having it rough with the high turnover rate…get real…
Bless you all. And here I thought only big boss apologists trolled these articles.
OTR trucking is a dead end opportunity. It is a sweatshop by design. The ATA and their ilk know that the conditions they’ve created will run drivers off. They are comfortable with that because their bean counters have already forecast sunny days. Their policies are designed to defraud drivers of hard-earned pay. Chief among these are piece work pay schemes by any name: percentages, short miles, practical miles, even hub miles. I think that they’re predicting higher turnover because in the near future we’ll have a full blown old fashioned third world sweatshop, complete with Mexican carriers–the Sweatshops on Wheels will soon be the maquiladoras on wheels. We shouldn’t let that deter us from taking action right now. Demanding hourly pay is a very good start, Mr. Mind Games. Let’s get together.
Also, who wrote this article? We ought to be best friends.
And the story is about how turn over has improved. Couldn’t imagine our turnover being over 10% let alone 100%.
shameless.. i think there should be a new way of saying it, over 100% turnover doesnt describe it.. its literally a slave trade, the lies and the mistreatment are so bad these companies are rehiring around 100% of their entire fleet of drivers every year. thats sad and it sounds criminal to me.
Drivers are definitely a disposable commodity to the bloodsuckers at the top of this industry.
Well….here it is…our country has NO jobs paying a viable wage….not just trucking…we’re all trying to pay out mortgages…the only jobs that pay are Nursing (wages are decreasing though),
other medically oriented jobs – require at least a BS degree and $50,000 debt….then, make “one” mistake and your blacklisted,….ahh “roughnecks” can make “what’s considered good” now….if you’re young…perhaps driving in NDakota…due to the natural gas explosion and fracking…but the real estate to even find “sleeping space” is now like early Gold Rush days…America is moving at a frenetic pace….just to keep up with”Pace” in general…We’re all a “bunch of monkeys trying to reach for a banana that’s out of our reach”. Trucking is a VERY TOUGH LIFESTYLE.
Basically, this is probably not going to change much, either, until these jobs start paying either by the hour or by a percentage of the load, and drivers are also no longer subject to forced dispatch. Basically, I’d suggest looking for a company that pays on a percentage. For company drivers, that’s probably going to be around 22% to start up to, maybe, 26%, or so, after a period of time. See whether or not they have “forced dispatch.” Look to see that they have decent equipment. This tells you that their overall revenue is decent. Try to talk to a few of their drivers. This means listening to what they say. (Frankly, that’s something a lot of people are not too good at; the listening to what others say thing.) They will have a good customer base and they will probably run a freight brokering operation, as well. This way, the loads that are maybe not so great, they can still handle for their customer base by brokering those loads. You should probably expect that your first few weeks are not going to necessarily be that great, either. This is because they’re going to be watching you to see that you are reliable and whether you work okay with their customers. They start getting customer complaints about a rude, slovenly driver, you will probably start to find it harder to get the better paying loads.
An old-timer, years ago (I guess I’m getting to be an old-timer, too) said, never leave a truckin’ job because you’re pissed at the company. You only leave a truckin’ job to go to a better one.
If any other industry was the way trucking is the government would have done something about that industry long ago but because truckers are men and women who are out to just do their jobs and not cause trouble we pay the price. Everyone screams safety at the driver but when we are but in harms way they tell us to just get over it, when a customer screws with us the company tells us its are fault some how, the worst is when the driver stands up for him or her self then every one come down on them for making waves.
Turn over rate? I am a driver with just under a year of driving. When I was in school I didn’t hear the horror stories of driving a truck. When I was being recruited to drive by the companies they made driving for them a bed of roses. It was a shock to see how drivers are really treated by the trucking industries. The pay rate is ridiculous with many companies. Time off is a joke Don’t get in a accident whether it is your fault or not. The erratic driving times are killers also. Many shippers and receivers treat the drivers like second class citizens. It doesn’t surprise me a bit that the turn over rate is so high.
If you’d been told the truth, would you still be here? Tewnty seven years ago, when I started, this was an almost fun job. We made a decent wage. Like everything else, though, it’s gone pure cutthroat.
My thoughts exactly! I began driving a few years ago and was dumbstruck. How, in all my ‘research’ did I never once hear how thoroughly my new employer would soak me?
Interesting comments… why, I wonder, when a driver is so mistreated by one company, he leaves and joins another company that does the exact same thing? 100% turnover doesn’t mean the drivers leave the industry. It means they go somewhere else, just to repeat the cycle all over again. From my personal perspective, being a driver and a company owner, I’ve had my fill with drivers. I’ve never seen such selfish, lying, impatient bunch of people. I fired them all and now I’m driving my own truck, finally making good money with a lot less headaches.
I believe I can readily understand how you arrived at that, too.
Its not a increase of O/O it the increase,of a so called O/O lease purchase.They Aren’t doing any more than paying a payment for a greedy company.They should be called rent a driver.
Once again all I see here is a bunch of whining. You want change start emailing your congressmen in large numbers and together they will have to listen if we speak as a group. It worked on a smaller level when we fought the little town that tried to ban us from parking. What does it take to wake everyone up? Remember Nancy Reagan’s saying to drugs”Just Say No” apply it to this industry. No to cheap wages, no to more regulations, no to work without being respected for your efforts. Surely you can just say no. I’ll propose this to everyone take the first seven days of July off. Stay at home email or write your congressmen about your concerns. I don’t mean shut down at a truck stop stay home. Our country was founded by the people for the people, so let’s do something about it. If you’re afraid of getting fired for refusing to come to work, think about it your BOSS can’t do it without you or will he fire everyone. They are crying about shortages now. Sure some of you will lose your jobs. Did you ever stop to think they are just looking for one to do it anyway.. So what do you all say first seven days of July stay home and Say No?
Two things need to happen, and it’s not all up to the companies. The industry needs to get off the mileage scale, on both rates and driver pay. Back in the day, before De Reg, rates were by the ton/mile, and driver pay was %. We not only had more fun, but made more real spending money, even without the fancy equipment we have now. I’m sure all the other old farts remember everything loaded on the floor, and when 300 HP was a big deal. Bring back published rates, but not the fixed routes, and it will be an epiphany.
Dave, Mike, and everybody else calling for action, I propose that we put our heads together to figure out how we can organize to affect change. I don’t personally think that petitioning congress holds any promise. Still, I think that a conversation among folks who are committed to doing something is essential. That’s the only way we’ll ever find out whether or not we can work together to correct what’s being done to drivers.
I agree with the fact something needs to be done. My last trip to a terminal was such a fiasco that I complained to the mechanic, Had words with the service manager, told the Terminal manager If I ever got the truck out of his shop I would run it until it quit and TOW it to Peterbilt!!! That was after I saw corporate safety and called road repair 3 times and my dispatcher.
They pulled 2 new michelin installed 4 dry rotted cracked recapped drives. left prints all over truck, added a new quail-com, refused to help with anything “we don’t do that for drivers” or “it’s procedure” for anything I asked for…. a drop-light, grease rags, why they did something etc…. I was treated worse than a red headed step child and nothing I could do about it. My year is up in June and I have started looking at owner op or finding another industry.
And they say its for our own good. I believe they have us over a barrel and they know it.
35 years in this business. It isn’t the same as it used to be since deregulation. It’s a wonder more people haven’t gone postal. Driving is fun. It’s all the assholes we have to drive for as well as abusive customers that make you want to go Charles Whitman on their ass. And then they wonder why.
I think the turnover rate speaks loud and clear! A clear solution is apparent: all drivers need to be educated on how the logistics system works, and how we, as drivers, can have the upper hand when it comes to negotiating all compensation, work schedules, lanes to run, and regulations. How to accomplish this requires a dedication among our peers, that the professional driver is THE vital link in our economy, and without this link being completely satisfied the system can and will suffer. Instead of complaining, let’s offer real solutions to this problem at a grass roots level. A solution is needed. Let’s start one.
Just my two cents, but I just gave up my CDL’s. I have been driving off and on since 1987, when my family owned a couple trucks. I was raised around the trucking industry. I have owned trucks and have worked for companies over the years. I still have a clean MVR. My point is, I just don’t think I could ever drive for a company. Now with all the government regulations and “Big Brother” politicians sticking their noses into the remote recesses of my bowels, even as an owner operator I’m just working for a company. I think it’s time to quit at age 45. Luckily I have many skills to fall back on. May I make a suggestion…..The next time non-truck driving politicians want to pass a regulation, maybe they should jump in a tuck for a month to actually see what it’s like. How dare they require our service and then question the manner in which we provide it. In this country we are innocent until we commit a crime, unless you drive a truck. Now all drivers are guilty of a pre-crime as soon as we start the engine. It is assumed that we are breaking the law so therefor we need more regulations.
I will leave you with a couple quotes from the man that wrote our Declaration of Independence: Thomas Jefferson.
“My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.”
“I predict future happiness for the Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.”
“To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”
This is one of the only comments I found well thought out, bravo Thomas well done.
I too was born and raised in the industry, 31 years for money, 5 of it as an owner op.
To much government control , shippers & recievers running amuck, carriers kissing ass to keep freight, and your the proverbial jackass carrying the load for feed.
I am with grampa John and old guy, been at this 42 years and have seen the industry go to hell in a handbasket . It started with Regan’s deregulation in 86 then the American truckers association got involved and lobbied for more control over companies to stop forced dispatching. That started the changes in hours of service regulations. In the old days when you could log 5 hrs on and 5 hrs off until you ran out of your 60 or 70 hrs. I was more rested than I am these days. Now we are forced to drive even if your tired once you start that 14 hr clock. I still propose that everyone take the first seven days off in July. I don’t mean park at a truckstop take it to the yard tell you company you’ll see them on the 8th.
once again it looks as though the ATA has no clue why the turnover rate will never go below 90% So big deal,it lowers one month and rises another month. Most companies I have worked for expect you to either drive equipment that wont pass inspection or drive illegal [ take your pick ]
Did that dummy it down enough for u ATA ???
To do the things drivers do in the course of a day would pay closer to $100K per year or more in any other industry. Better pay would obviously be problem one. Asking an employee to be away from home and live in a box 2 to 4 weeks per month for $40K per year? Are you kidding me?
We don’t see the higher paying carriers with too many parked trucks.
The “x months experience within the last xx months” qualification factor we see at almost every larger carrier’s web site is a major stumbling block for drivers like me who have extensive experience, but outside the 36 month window. I can understand a week or three of training to get back up to speed, but 2 or 3 months in teams at half pay for a million mile driver to be considered road worthy as a solo? This issue is keeping tens of thousands of drivers like me out of the industry. I left trucking in 2007 to pursue a different career, and now I am treated as if I have no experience whatsoever. Many carriers who are not required to follow any 36 month issue are using it anyway as an excuse to put a driver into teams at half wage. In that respect, the carriers are part of the problem of driver shortages.
Overworked/underpaid…why would you ever work for (most) a company that would expect you to haul their crap in equipment that wont even pass inspection or not to run legal? And why would you take a pick, that’s very irresponsible on your part. Hopefully you’re in a better place now. That is a serious part of the problem. Many drivers continue to allow this, it’s no wonder all the regulations come down for the bad apples in the industry. Just think: if drivers refused to run uncompliant, refuse lousy pay, say no to dispatch when things ain’t right, trucking can and will be very different. I have only worked for professional carriers, earning consistently top industry pay, in 100% safe and legal equipment, and I am well rested while on the road. Most of the top carriers are on elogs, and this tool __greatly__ sticks it to the shipper. They need their crap hauled and now it has to be legit. Soon the day will be here when all trucks have to use it. The bottom line I’m saying is WORK SMART NOT HARD!!
So whats the deal…. Are truckers going to UNITE and lets do a work stoppage First week of JULY? Never happen…… LOL
Drivers,
Start being smarter, save some money so you can leave a company when they lie/cheat/steal/whatever. Investigate the company before going to work for them. Spread the word to all newer drivers that there is no such thing as a good lease purchase program. The smarter we act in this business the better it will get.
And the oilfield is the place to go to make better money and be treated better too.
We’ll have to unite. I like ideas that will work whether or not the other guy joins me. I am also leaning toward ideas that don’t put my job in jeopardy. Something like a secondary strike. Pick a trucking company that steals from drivers, find their major customers and let them know that we’re calling for a boycott until they stop using this trucking company. Action ends when trucking company meets our demand or a shipper stops using them, whichever comes first.
Hi there. I work for KRPS public radio in Pittsburg, KS, and I’m working on a story about truck driver turnover. If anyone here lives in Southeast Kansas, Southwest Missouri, Northeast Oklahoma or Northwest Arkansas, I would love to interview you for this story. Or if you are coming through this area soon, please let me know. You can call the KRPS newsroom 620-235-4283 or e-mail ereid [at] pittstate [dot] edu.
The Truckers Report sets themselves up as “for the driver” and for the driving industry and yet they except advertising from convicted “criminal” enterprises” such as CRENGLAND. More of the no fault, won’t take responsibility for our actions.
CR England is on my advertising block list. If you see their ads getting through, let me know what URL is being linked to.
No one is going to do anything about it, It’s never gonna change. These companines are going to do what they want. People are going to countinue earning their CDL and companies are going to countinue to single handedly ruin their careers before there ever even started. The fact a company can screw you and report on your DAC report just cause you sit in on one of their orientations simply cause thats the only way to hear the policies from the horses mouth. Is complete B.S. Driving a truck is great, however the industry is an outright joke. Keep your CDL as your own personal milestone, cause realistically that’s all it’s worth. Bigger trucking companies will see to it, that it stays that way, And smaller trucking companies won’t even look at you without experience. It’s a lose lose situation for new drivers. Ultimately, find a new, less stressful career path. And hopefully one day, they’ll be such a driver shortage, the industry falls flat, and forced to make drastic changes.
How about giving some of us New drivers a go?Is it any wonder companies can’t find drivers.Simple fact is nobody wants to give us a go…need experience they say…well we need to drive to get that experience.Not everyones a full boar cowboy.Some of us are sensible,safe drivers that just can’t get a start.
There are actually a lot of companies hiring new drivers, you just need to know where to look. I created a list of ~40 companies that hire CDL students and new graduates: https://www.thetruckersreport.com/jobs4newtruckers/
Hope that helps!