The Weekly Report brings you updates on the most important driver recruiting metrics each and every week. In addition to updated click, search, and rate data we cover a new story of the week. This week’s story – CDL training is rebounding, and some institutions have returned to full capacity.
New episodes of the Weekly Report premiere every Wednesday at 10 AM CT on our YouTube channel and blog page.
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We provide the Weekly Report in numerous formats every week. Which one is right for you? Watch the latest reports on our Recruiting Resources or YouTube pages, use our Numbers at a Glance section for quick visual references, download the Weekly Report PDF (available below), read the transcript, or listen to the audio version of the August 18, 2021, Weekly Report below.
Numbers At A Glance – August 18, 2021
[one_half]
Truck Driver Searches |
| WoW: Δ Up 2% |
|---|
| MoM: Δ Up 28% |
| YoY: Δ Up 30% |
Load Volume |
| WoW: ∇ Down <1% |
|---|
Volume by Segment |
| WoW: Dry Van Δ Up 4% |
|---|
| WoW: Refrigerated Δ Up 8% |
| WoW: Flatbed ∇ Down 6% |
Spot Rates |
| WoW: ∇ Down 6¢ per mile |
|---|
[/one_half]
[one_half_last]
Clicks On Driver Postings |
| WoW: ∇ Down 9% |
|---|
| MoM: ∇ Down 10% |
| YoY: ∇ Down 1% |
Truck Postings |
| WoW: ∇ Down 3% |
|---|
Truck Posting by Segment |
| WoW: Dry Van ∇ Down 1% |
|---|
| WoW: Refrigerated ∇ Down 5% |
| WoW: Flatbed ≡ Flat |
Rates by Segment |
| WoW: Dry Van ∇ Down 9¢ per mile |
|---|
| WoW: Refrigerated ≡ Flat |
| WoW: Flatbed ∇ Down 6¢ per mile |
[/one_half_last]
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August 18, 2021, Driver Recruiting Insights
Would you like to have your own copy of the trucking industry data? All of the information covered in this week’s report for August 18, 2021, is available for your convenience in PDF form below.
Click the image to download the August 18, 2021, Driver Recruiting Insights PDF.
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Weekly Report – August 18, 2021 Transcript
Hello everyone and welcome to the Weekly Report. For Randall-Reilly I’m Joshua Miller. Now let’s get to the numbers.
This Week In Job Board Searches and Clicks
Searches were once again up across the board. Truck driver searches increased by 2% WoW, 28% MoM, and 30% YoY. Clicks on driver postings, however, went the exact opposite direction. Clicks declined 9% WoW, 10% MoM, and 1% YoY.
Searches continued to rise following last week’s record high. The large increase in searches for postings for inexperienced/trainee drivers directly led to the 2% WoW rise. Clicks were down for all major driver types apart from postings for team positions. Much like we saw last week, the trend of searches being up while clicks are down continues to suggest that while drivers are looking for jobs … they are being very selective when it comes to the posts they click on.
This Week in Freight
Overall load postings dipped but just slightly, falling by less than 1%. Dry van load postings rose by 4% WoW, while refrigerated climbed by 8%, and flatbed fell by 6% WoW.
Truck availability on the spot market dropped by 3%. Availability for dry van was down by 1%, while refrigerated truck availability fell by 5% WoW, but flatbed availability remained unchanged.
Spot rates dipped by 6¢ per mile WoW. That led to dry van rates decreasing by 9¢ per mile, flatbed dropping by 6¢, and refrigerated rates remaining flat WoW.
At this time last year, we saw the spot market surge responding to the first round of stimulus spending and a reopening economy. This year, however, we have no such overriding impetus. There are some notable factors contributing to keeping the market elevated, such as insufficient driver capacity, the child tax credit payments, and service challenges in the competitive intermodal segment.
On the other hand, large stimulus payments have mostly played out and material shortages are holding back production in many sectors, perhaps most notably the automotive sector. And while there is no indication that the COVID Delta variant is negatively impacting commerce thus far, only time will tell.
Story of the Week
In 2020, CDL schools were hit hard due to the restrictions put in place during the height of the COVID pandemic. Some facilities in fact had to cease all operations, while others resorted to creating hybrid instruction utilizing both online and socially distanced in-person training.
As we get deeper into 2021, however, CDL training is rebounding from the COVID disruptions with most institutions once again running at full capacity. Before I get into the nitty-gritty of the numbers here it is worth noting that the data we’re about to cover was collected in July. Since that time, we have seen some COVID spikes due to the Delta variant, but more recent data is not yet available. That being said, here’s the latest available data we have in regard to CDL training.
In 2021, a monthly average of 50,000 CDLs have been issued. That is a full 60% higher than the 2020 monthly average and is 14% higher than the 2019 average.
CDL training is surging to the point that many trucking schools now find themselves booking classes out several months in advance.
So, what does all of this mean for recruiting departments? It means that more drivers will soon have 3-6 months of experience (depending on when they completed their CDL training). If your fleet is among those hiring drivers with little experience, the data tells us that there will soon be an increase in drivers meeting the minimum requirements in the next few months.
Drivers with 12-24 months of experience will be low as there were fewer drivers completing training in 2020. If your carrier requires 1-2 years’ experience, you can expect a smaller pool of drivers to hire from for a bit longer. If your fleet is in desperate need of drivers, it may be prudent to perform a cost-benefit analysis of reducing your required experience level … at least until more drivers are able to accrue more driving experience.
That does it for this week’s report. Thanks so much for joining us. We look forward to having you back here for updated stats and a new story of the week. New reports debut every Wednesday at 10 AM CT on our Randall-Reilly blog and YouTube channel. Until then, have a great week everybody.
