Welcome back to the Weekly Report. Each week we take a look back at various metrics to help you get a better understanding of exactly what is happening in the world of driver recruiting. We have several tools and versions available to help you consume and process the report in the easiest and most convenient way possible.
You can now watch the full video, listen, look over our visual aids, or read the video transcript. Check back here on the blog every Wednesday for a new report and don’t forget to head over to our YouTube page to check out all of our driver recruiting video content.
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 32, 2021, Weekly Report below.
Numbers At A Glance – March 31, 2021
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Truck Driver Searches |
| WoW: ∇ Down 3% |
|---|
| MoM: ∇ Down 5% |
| YoY: Δ Up 8% |
Load Volume |
| WoW: Δ Up 3% |
|---|
Volume by Segment |
| WoW: Dry Van ∇ Down 2% Volume 78% HIGHER than the same week in 2020. |
|---|
| WoW: Refrigerated ≡ Flat Volume 88% HIGHER than the same week in 2020. |
| WoW: Flatbed Δ Up 6% Volume 3.5x HIGHER than the same week of 2020. |
[/one_half]
[one_half_last]
Clicks On Truck Driver Postings |
| WoW: ∇ Down 5% |
|---|
| MoM: ∇ Down 34% |
| YoY: ∇ Down 52% |
Truck Postings |
| WoW: Δ Up 1% |
|---|
Truck Posting by Segment |
| WoW: Dry Van ∇ Down 2% |
|---|
| WoW: Refrigerated Δ Up 6% |
| WoW: Flatbed Δ Up 4% |
Spot Rates |
| WoW: Δ Up 3¢ per mile |
|---|
Rates by Segment |
| WoW: Dry Van ∇ Down 5¢ per mile |
|---|
| WoW: Refrigerated ≡ Flat |
| WoW: Flatbed Δ Up 6¢ per 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.
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Weekly Report – March 31, 2021 Transcript
Welcome to an all-new edition of Randall-Reilly’s Weekly Report, I’m Joshua Miller. Let’s get right into it.
THIS WEEK IN JOB BOARD SEARCHES AND CLICKS
Driver job board activity posted low-to-mid single-digit decreases for both searches and clicks. Last week’s activity was at the lowest point since the beginning of 2019.
Before we jump into the actual numbers, I do want to take a moment to point out that moving forward from this point any year-over-year metrics are not going to be all that useful as this is right around the time that the pandemic really started taking effect and we saw big changes throughout everyday activity. We will still provide them for you here, but just know a far more useful metric to look to as we move deeper into 2021 is going to be month-over-month.
Truck driver searches were down 3% WoW and 5% MoM but were still up 8% YoY. Clicks on driver postings were down across the board. Clicks dropped by 5% WoW, 34% MoM, and 52% YoY.
There could be numerous factors at play for the drop in search and click activity, but recent stimulus checks are likely one of if not THE primary cause.
THIS WEEK IN FREIGHT
Overall load posting volume rose 3% WoW. That’s as dry van load postings fell by 2% WoW, though it remained 78% higher than the same week in 2020. Refrigerated remained FLAT WoW but were 88% higher than the same week in 2020. And Flatbed load posts climbed 6% WoW, which sets yet another all-time weekly high. This is now the fifth consecutive week a record has been set, and these flatbed numbers are around 3 and half times higher than that of the same week in 2020, which was right in the middle of flatbed’s decline due to COVID.
Which, again keep in mind all of the yearly figures are going to be skewed from this point out because of all the disruption we saw due to the pandemic. So, all of these numbers being so much higher than 2020 is good to know, but take it with a grain of salt – at this point we’re comparing data from today to a very irregular time.
Truck postings rose by 1% WoW, with dry van falling 2% WoW, while refrigerated rose by 6% and flatbed rose by 4% WoW. The ratio of loads to trucks was also up and came in at the third-highest level on record.
Spot rates were up 3¢ per mile WoW overall, although each segment fared a little differently. Dry van fell by 5¢, refrigerated remained flat, and flatbed rose by 6¢ WoW. These rates are now 31% higher than the same week of 2020.
AND NOW FOR OUR STORY OF THE WEEK
A bill has been reintroduced to both chambers of Congress, which if passed, would allow CDL holders under the age of 21 to cross state lines. The “Developing Responsible Individuals for a Vibrant Economy Act” or the “DRIVE Safe Act” … Washington really loves acronyms, don’t they? Anyway, if passed the new bill would classify 18–20-year-old CDL holders as apprentices. These apprentices would be accompanied by an experienced driver during their apprenticeship, which would entail a total of 400 on-duty hours and 240 driving hours to complete. Apprentices would also be required to meet specific training requirements to progress through the program.
This bipartisan legislation was first drafted and introduced back in it 2018 but failed to become law. The bill currently garners support from the American Trucking Associations but has met resistance from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association. We’ll keep an eye on it, but only time will tell if the bill makes it into law this time around.
That does it for another Weekly Report. Thanks so much for joining us again. We’ll see you back here next week as we take another look back to help you-move forward. Have a great week everybody.
