Truckload driver turnover surges in 2Q

That is what I am saying, Rick. The quote is not worded correctly.

 

No other industry would stand for such a high turnover rate. In most companies 10% turnover in a year calls for a serious look at management/leadership. Depending on who you believe, USX has between 6,000-8,000 drivers. I know from being there and talking with a HR representative that they run 100-150 people per week just through their Tunnel Hill terminal. They also have other orientation sites as well. Speaking of that, what other industry has "orientation"? I was in law enforcement for 26 years and in management for at least half of that. The background investigation is exhaustive and we never brought people in for "orientation". When we brought them in they were hired. There was a probationary period, but I don't recall anyone we ever let go during that time. We did have many that realized that that work wasn't for them and then quit after less than a year.

 

This is because the carriers are basically cheap, they don't want to admit their bait and switch doesn't work until the analysis is done and by then it's too late (like closing the barn door after the horse runs away).

No carrier wants to increase pay by 10% when everyone else is doing 3-5% so they're a bunch of nits, as we'd say up in Canada. This herd mentality somehow keeps the pack together and the trucking industry ends up eventually acting as a whole, at least that's the perception of the shipper a.k.a.: the buyer, the customer, the payer of the bills. Carriers that eventually find the "intestinal fortitude" to pay the extra couple of cents per mile wins the better drivers, holds onto them and takes a bigger bite out of the freight market.

Surpressing the driver pay does not pay off, it stunts the growth and chokes performance. In a former life I was a Corporate Director of Logistics and would choose carriers that consistently performed; on time, claim free, worry-free, etc.. and did not mind paying them a hundred or two more per load when my customers got their deliveries that were worth hundreds of thousands per shipment. It was referred to as "short money" or "you get what you pay for".

 

Well, let's see, I'll take a crack at this. As long as the revenue generated by the driver that is being paid a sub-standard wage is in excess of the cost of hiring/training and paying that driver then it is a net win for the company.

 

Exactly! Why is this so difficult to understand. As long as a carrier makes money they will continue doing business the way they have in the past because it is successful. If it ain't broke, don't fix it" and as long as steering wheel holders keep showing up and keep working for peanuts the carriers won't change their business practices>Why would they?

 

I left and went to the oilfield. I now make over double what I did when I was otr. Now to lose this extra weight