In this Freightvine episode, Kristen Monaco (currently Associate Commissioner of Compensation and Working Conditions at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) shares her views drawn from a career focused on research in the truck driver labor market.
Monaco’s research uncovers the different challenges of hiring, turnover, and lifestyle by segmenting trucking into various segments including private, long haul irregular route, short haul, local, and LTL. The toughest lifestyle challenges are within the truckload irregular route segment. While occupational longevity is considerably high for these drivers, company tenure is relatively low. Monaco discovered that this churn – drivers moving from one company to another – creates driver downtime and amplifies the driver shortage. This is especially impactful during a rebound from a recession when wages are low, but demand is climbing.
Looking forward, Monaco points out that the autonomous truck impact is still yet to be determined and the long haul irregular route segment has the best potential to lower costs. She also states that the primary headwind is the many different regulations across multiple agencies for long haul, including federal, state, and local regulations. As for the future of the truck driver, her view is that there should continue to be an opportunity for them in local pick-up and delivery.
Listen to the full episode to hear Monaco‘s response to more questions, including: Is there a driver shortage? How many drivers, trucks, and carriers are in the industry? How can we increase driver productivity? What is the future impact of autonomous trucks?
This episode recap was written by Chad Kennedy, Sr. Product Manager, FMIC Pulse.
Market Update & Forecast: 7 November 2019
Dry Van
Active rates are down 0.5%, spot rates are down 1%, replacement rates are down 1%, and new rates are 1% below replacement rates
Temp-Control
Active rates are down 0.5%, spot rates are flat, and replacement rates are down 2%
Intermodal
Active and spot rates are down 0.5% while replacement rates are down 1%
Over the last few weeks, new bids are still coming in and the new bids still favor shippers. The bid results are reflected in the active rates continuing a slow but steady drop.
