The Weekly Report brings you updates on the most important driver recruiting metrics each and every week. In addition to updated click, search and spot rates, we cover a new story of the week. This week’s story – In today’s story of the week, we take some time to go over some tips to help you improve your fleet’s driver retention.
New episodes of the Weekly Report premiere every Wednesday at 10 AM CT on our YouTube channel and blog page.
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 November 17, 2021, Weekly Report below.
Numbers At A Glance – November 17, 2021
[one_half]
Spot Rates |
| WoW: ∇ Down 5¢ per mile |
|---|
Rates by Segment |
| WoW: Dry Van ∇ Down 3¢ per mile |
|---|
| WoW: Refrigerated Δ Up 3¢ per mile |
| WoW: Flatbed ∇ Down 9¢ per mile |
Load Volume |
| WoW: ∇ Down 4% |
|---|
Volume by Segment |
| WoW: Dry Van ∇ Down 3% |
|---|
| WoW: Refrigerated ∇ Down 2% |
| WoW: Flatbed ∇ Down 8% |
[/one_half]
[one_half_last]
Truck Postings |
| WoW: Δ Up 9% |
|---|
Truck Driver Searches |
| WoW: Δ Up 3% |
|---|
| MoM: Δ Up 5% |
| YoY: ∇ Down 24% |
Clicks On Driver Postings |
| WoW: ∇ Down 4% |
|---|
| MoM: ∇ Down 7% |
| YoY: Δ Up 46% |
[/one_half_last]
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November 17, 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 November 17, 2021, is available for your convenience in PDF form below.
Click the image to download November 17, 2021 Driver Recruiting Insights PDF.
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Weekly Report – November 17, 2021 Transcript
Hello everyone and welcome to the Weekly Report. For Randall-Reilly, I’m Joshua Miller. We have all the latest data for you, but before we jump in one quick note here – Thanksgiving is coming up next week, and we here at the report will be taking a little time off. But, not to worry, we will be back the following week on December 1st. Now let’s get to the numbers.
THIS WEEK IN JOB BOARD SEARCHES AND CLICKS
Truck driver searches were up 3% WoW and 5% MoM, but down 24% YoY. Clicks on truck driver postings were down 4% WoW and 7% MoM, but they were up 46% YoY.
Compared to data from a year ago, the click-through rate on driver postings remains elevated. This suggests that drivers have more intent when searching for driving jobs than they had in Q4 of 2020.
THIS WEEK IN FREIGHT
Total load postings fell by 4% WoW, with all three major segments declining. Dry van was down by 3%, refrigerated was down 2%, and flatbed loads were down 8% WoW.
The softening in the dry van and flatbed segments largely seems to follow historical trends for the same week of the year. Refrigerated’s slight decline, however, is a little unusual this close to the Thanksgiving holidays.
Overall truck availability was up 9% WoW with all three segments seeing increases in availability. This comes as the load-to-truck ratio fell to its second lowest level since way back in mid-January.
Overall spot rates declined by 5¢. Dry van was down by 3¢ as flatbed fell by 9¢, but refrigerated rates rose by 3¢ per mile WoW.
STORY OF THE WEEK
For this week’s story we’re going to focus on a few tips for boosting driver retention. To strengthen retention, focus on improving driver interaction, upgrading equipment, and improving overall operations.
Truck driving be a very isolated and lonely job, so most drivers want to feel a sense of belonging with their company. Forming a bond with your drivers begins immediately at orientation, but recognition must go beyond the first day.
Simple things like giving shoutouts to drivers for good performance and trying to create a real sense of community between the carrier, the driver, and their families can go a long way to help establish and build a strong relationship.
When possible, offer dedicated routes. The nature of dedicated routes can give drivers a sense of normalcy and predictability as they always know exactly where they’re going, when they’re going, and how long it will take them.
Another step some fleets have taken is to try and build some trust by allowing drivers to operate without speed limiters. Drivers appreciate fleet managers who trust them to make the right decisions. Speed can be tracked through telematics and event notifications, so the drivers that are speeding and may abuse that privilege can be dealt with on a one-on-one basis without penalizing the entire fleet.
Make sure that your customers are taking proper care of your drivers and treating them with respect. You may try asking shippers to allot more break time to your drivers or consider more efficient ways of loading and unloading.
Another way to improve driver retention is starting a relationship when the driver is young and then maintaining that relationship. Giving drivers under 21 the ability to haul shorter loads closer to home will allow them to gain experience that builds the foundation for what may result in a long career in trucking.
That does it for this week’s report. We hope the data and this week’s tips in retention are useful to you. Remember we’ll be taking the week off next week, but we will be back with a new report 2 weeks from today on Wednesday, December 1st. Until then, have a great week and a happy Thanksgiving!
