The number of truck drivers in the US is rapidly diminishing, which is causing some trucking companies to consider something they have long avoided: Paying higher wages.
Some of the nation’s biggest trucking firms — including Swift Transportation, Con-way Truckload and US Xpress — are offering higher wages in an effort to secure more new drivers and to reduce driver turnover.
Recruiting and retaining truck drivers has become a real problem due to the industry’s traditional low wage rate, as well as social issues such as the time drivers must spend away from their families, health problems caused by sitting sedentary behind the wheel for hours or even days at a time.
Bob Costello, chief economist at the American Trucking Association, said the situation is becoming dire.
“Today, the industry has in the range of 30,000 to 35,000 unfilled truck driver jobs,” Costello told Logistics Management. “As the industry starts to haul more because demand goes up, we’ll need to add more drivers — nearly 100,000 annually over the next decade — in order to keep pace.”
Earlier this month, US Xpress announced that it was instituting an average 13% increase in base mileage pay for over-the-road solo truck drivers, effective August 25. The company’s chief operating officer, Eric Fuller, said that the move was a direct result of the company’s need to recruit and retain qualified drivers.
“Listening to feedback over the years, we know driver pay is a very important aspect for our drivers and drivers in the industry,” Fuller said.