Quote:
Originally Posted by ColdFrostyMug
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trapper
I've been reading on here that there's a shortage of freight so why are the companies still hiring drivers and complaining there isn't enough people to fill their trucks? Is there actually a freight shortage or not?
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The typical OTR mega-carrier sports about a 130% turnover rate, regardless of freight levels. Another way to look at it is that the entire labor force at these companies is replaced on average of 1.3 times per year!!!! So figure at a big company like Swift which has something like 15,000 power units, it means that 19,500 drivers come and go like the wind on an annual basis.
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I don't know squat about trucking but I suspect the numbers are a lot higher than that.
Let's say a company has 3,000 drivers. Say that 50% are there over one year and 50% are there less than one year. Now let's say the company has a 130% turnover.
The turnover is probably greatest in the least experienced segment (those with less than one year of time). But the turnover is figured as a total for the entire workforce.
So in our imaginary company, a 130% turnover is 3900 drivers . . . but they are going into those 1500 slots of people with less than one year.
That means you have closer to 260% turnover . . . and that's probably even on the low side.
I suspect the average company is churning drivers through . . . probably 5-10 get hired for every one that stays.
Of course, if a company admitted that 50% of their workforce was stable but the rest was churning like a drowning rat . . . and that your chances of surviving the first year were one in 5 or one in 10 . . . who the heck would volunteer to drive?
Much better to talk about miles, cents per mile and benefits . . . .