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Driver Recruiting Weekly Report – March 3, 2021

The Weekly Report for March 3, 2021 is now available. Check out this week’s report to get all the latest numbers and data on what changed in the world of driver recruiting last week. Check back with us here on our blog or over on our YouTube page every Wednesday at 10am for the newest report.

Don’t Have Time to Watch the Full Video?

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 March 3, 2021, Weekly Report below.

Numbers At A Glance – March 3, 2021

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Truck Driver Searches

WoW: ∇ Down 8%
MoM: Δ Up 5%
YoY: Δ Up 17%

Load Postings

WoW: Δ Up 25%
Sets a 3rd straight weekly record.

Load Postings by Segment

WoW: Dry Van Δ Up 26%
WoW: Refrigerated Δ Up 6%
WoW: Flatbed Δ Up 32%

Truck Postings

WoW: Δ Up 27%

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Truck Posting by Segment

WoW: Dry Van Δ Up 39%
WoW: Refrigerated Δ Up 30%
WoW: Flatbed Δ Up 20%

Clicks On Truck Driver Postings

WoW: Δ Up 1%
MoM: Δ Up 22%
YoY: ∇ Down 11%

Spot Rates

WoW: Δ Up 6¢/mile
This is an increase of 40% compared to the same week in 2020.

Spot Rates by Segment

WoW: Dry Van Δ Up 17¢/ mile
WoW: Refrigerated Δ Up 7¢/mile
WoW: Flatbed Δ Up 2¢/mile

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Check out the Data for Yourself

Want to go over all of the trucking industry data yourself? No problem! All of the information covered in this week’s report is available for your convenience in PDF form below.

Weekly Trucking Insights - March 3, 2021
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Weekly Report – March 3, 2021 Transcript

Welcome to Randall-Reilly’s Weekly Report, I’m Joshua Miller. Let’s not waste any time and jump right into it.
This Week in Job Board Searches and Clicks
Last week saw a decrease in searches while clicks rose slightly. Clicks on job postings for inexperienced/trainee driver positions saw the largest increase, while postings for more experienced company drivers was the only category that saw a decrease in clicks and click-through-rate. And since the majority of posting activity happens to be in this category that had a large influence on the overall search and click volume. Now for the actual numbers.
Truck driver searches were down 8% WoW, up 5% MoM, and up 17% YoY. Clicks on driver postings were up 1% WoW, up 22% MoM, and down 11% YoY.
It would seem that though it appears drivers are interested in what other fleets are offering, the low lead volume would indicate that for the most part it’s merely window shopping.
This Week in Freight
Spot volume surged once again and hit another record milestone. While winter weather did play a role in the past few weeks, the trend had already begun long before that. We saw near record volume as we began 2021 and consumer demand rose sharply as January saw another round stimulus. Low retail inventory levels and various supply chain shortages also took a tole and stressed the system. While the winter storm effects will rapidly disappear, the underlying market forces will continue to shape the freight market in the coming weeks.
Load postings in the truckstop.com system shot up nearly 25% and set another weekly record. That is now the third consecutive week a record has been set. In addition to the spike in load postings, all three major segments set weekly records for load volume.
Dry van load postings rose 26% WoW, refrigerated was up 6% WoW, and flatbed increased by 32% WoW.
As the country shook off the cold and more trucks became available to accept loads, truck postings jumped by 27% WoW bringing the numbers more in-line with what we saw prior to all the winter weather activity.
Postings also spiked for all three segments. Dry van was up 39% refrigerated was up 30%, and flatbed rose by 20% WoW.
Spot rates increased by 6 cents per mile. That translates to a 40% increase in rates from the same week in 2020. As far as each segment. Dry van rates were up 17¢ WoW, refrigerated was up 7¢ WoW, and flatbed came in with an increase of 2¢ WoW.
With plenty of freight and miles available to drivers, retention rates will be higher. Those looking to increase driver capacity and take advantage of the ample freight, will need their offerings to drivers to be as competitive as possible.
Now Let’s Finish Things Up with Our Story of the Week
Changes to the FMCSA’s hours of service regulations have given fleets and their drivers added flexibility. Fleets are now able to categorize more of their drivers as short haul, meaning they will be able to lengthen their workday. The short haul air mile driving radius was increased from 100 to 150 miles and short haul drivers are now officially allowed up to 14 hours on-duty time – that’s up from the previous 12 allowable hours.
In addition, drivers can now exceed the air mile radius up to 8 days within any 30 day period without having an ELD in the truck. They will, however, need to keep a good old fashioned paper log on the days they exceed that 150 air mile limit. New break rules are also in effect allowing drivers to take their 30 minute rest break during on-duty/non-driving time.
It is important to remember there are 25 states that have not yet made the switch to these new changes, so please check local restrictions in your area for the most accurate information. It is expected that all states will adopt these new changes…eventually. This increased flexibility will alleviate some of the capacity constraints, but of course fleets will still need to bring on additional drivers to meet demand.
One thing to note is safety groups have challenged the legality of these new changes, but courts have granted the FMCSA a motion to put the case on hold until April 20th. We’ll keep you updated as any new information becomes available.
And that’s it for this week’s report. Don’t forget you can access a PDF featuring all of the information we cover here every week over on the Randall-Reilly.com blog, and we have some other goodies over there you may want to check out as well. Until next week, this has been the Weekly Report taking a look back to help you move forward. Have a great week everybody.