Truck driver turnover - why so high?

Maybe not, but the o-o is accumulating some business equity the ltl driver is not (assuming the o-o is running his business right .. and especially if he/she started right)

 

Just to be fair, ltl does have it's drawbacks too. Junk equipment (at my yard anyway), being on call and not having much of a life. I thought once I got into ltl I'd have a life but not so. I'm a slave to the phone. Once I get a bid that will change but it's a waiting game. The good that has come out of ltl for me is higher pay, free benefits for me and the family and sleeping in a hotel instead of a truck. When I had a dedicated run otr, I made almost the same pay, had really nice equipment and was home 2.5 days a week. I always new when my days off were and still got to see the country. Now all I see is California! Career wise I think ltl is the better choice for me but if I picked a job that I liked, it would be owner operator all the way. I had a blast on the road in my own truck! I didn't care much for moving people cross country but I made a killing doing it. Again this was in 1999 and it looks like they are paying about the same, not cool!

 

I wonder if this guy is doing a story about the difference between Wal-Mart drivers and the rest of the Trucking Industry.. Take this Industry and compare it to them.. Youll find your answer.

 

That was and sort of still is the perfect answer to turnover.......Walmart's private fleet. True enough i've heard it's gone down a bit but I believe they still have a waiting list?

Any carrier could fill all his empty seats with drivers if he followed this model.

JMO

 

yes they would but wal-mart will never see my application.

 

They've been advertising on the radio so I would think they do have spots they can't fill.

It is a good model but until there is huge restructuring in how loads are handled, it won't work for the industry as a whole.

But, I have heard predictions that eventually most companies will go to a "dedicated" format with terminals set up around the country 500 miles apart and drivers dropping and hooking out and back. We shall see.

 

What does what Costco workers make per hour have to do with Walmart Transportation LLC?? The Private Fleet has nothing to do with the stores, and visa versa.

So, I take it you have been a Walmart driver, and know how bad it is?? You know, from personal experience. Oh, that's right I forgot, you wouldn't lower yourself to be a Walmart driver.

I don't care how badly you hate Walmart, or hate the Private Fleet, the reality is other trucking companies can learn from them. They can learn how to treat their drivers so that their turnover is lower. They can learn to expect more from their drivers, and treat them with the respect that good performance earns and demands. Whether or not their process's or logistics will work for other aspects of the trucking industry is a mute point. What can work is the strive for efficiency, the mutual respect, the honestly caring what the drivers think, and the holding of them to the high standard that demands respect. Basically, if you treat drivers well, expect them to be professional, and compensate them accordingly............ you will be rewarded with drivers that carry themselves well, are safe, reliable, and go out of their way to help their fellow drivers..................

Walmart is advertising for drivers because they are having a hard time finding drivers that meet their standards. They will be having a lot of drivers retire in the next few years, and will need to replace them. It is as simple as that.

Why is driver turnover so high??
1) Lies
2) Poorly maintained equipment
3) Unrealistic expectations
4) Everything is the drivers fault
5) Not being paid for everything you do (see the Walmart model)
6) Lies............... Lies about pay, Lies about home time, Lies about equipment, Lies about mileage, Lies about wait times, Lies about importance of driver feedback.
7) Lack of respect, which leads back to...........
8) Lies

 

I was just saying the average Costco shoppers income is what Walmart drivers say they make. I'm sure the skinny blonde haired lady shopping at Costco wouldn't know what a brake chamber is or could subtract 50% from a dollar but her income is probably $85,000 or much higher. She probably works 6 -8 hours a day and home in time to watch her favorite soap opera. I was basically saying if a trucker needs to be gone all week from home to make $90,000 and behave themselves 24 hours a day because they are representing the company they drive for and could get fired for anything they do on or off duty. Those hours from home count too. If you calculate all your hours and add them to your income, it doesn't add up to much. I was talking about the entire trucking industry and said"even Walmart" I know Walmart drivers do better than most truckload outfits out there but it's still not what it should be. Your right! I don't shop at Walmart much anymore. Nothing to do with ego though.

 

I disagree. WalMart drivers work for WalMart. You cannot compare this private fleet to a for hire carrier. The fleet's costs are absorbed by WalMart forcing vendors to make substandard products that result in minimal profit for vendors , keeping their employees wages low.
WalMart also told vendors to stop shipping their products. WalMart (Schneider) would pick them up. WalMart told the vendors to cut their price 6% for the shipping costs. Vendors said the shipping had cost them much less than 6%.

 

SO I guess you're saying the lies is the problem ...