Turnover rate at large truckload carriers falls in third quarter

Turnover rate at large truckload carriers falls in third quarter


American Trucking Associations Chief Economist Bob Costello has said the turnover rate at large truckload carriers fell 11 percentage points in the third quarter, undoing two quarters worth of increases in the annualised churn rate.

The turnover rate fell 11 percentage points – dropping it to 87 percent, marking its lowest point since the first quarter of 2017 when it stood at 74 percent. The drop also reverses two consecutive quarters of increases in the turnover rate, which had driven up the churn rate as high as 98 percent – 10 points higher than at the end of 2017.

“The drop in turnover can be potentially explained in a few ways,” Bob said. “First, large pay increases fleets have been offering appear to be working, and drivers are remaining with their current carrier. Second, we did see a softening of freight markets in the third quarter from the incredibly strong pace it had set earlier in the year. Historically, softer freight volumes lead to lower driver turnover.”

Also in the third quarter, the turnover rate at small carriers – fleets with less than $30m in annual revenue – remained unchanged at 72 percent, and the churn rate at less-than-truckload carriers fell four percentage points to 10 percent.

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7th January 2019