The American Trucking Association released a report predicting that the industry will have a 50,000 driver shortage by the end of 2015. In a related scenario, driver-turnover has reached alarming rates at some companies. As we head into the heart of fall; and into the busiest season of our industry, these two articles combine to show a cloudy forecast.
A shortage of drivers is easy to understand: anyone who’s taken Economics 101 can draw a supply and demand graph and can predict that a driver shortfall will cause industry inflation. What’s also interesting, is that the driver-turnover will likely increase as drivers look for a yard with greener grass. What the second article also detailed was that those drivers who leave truck-driving jobs quickest and are the freshest graduates of driving school contribute to the highest level of accidents and cause most of other cost-inflating situations.
Now while this is unsurprisingly relevant for those of us in the shipping industry, it is also relevant (though maybe not as obviously) to those of you use the shipping industry. As shortages impact the market and driver-turnover hampers some companies, it is even more imperative to use a carrier and/or a broker you trust and one who treats its drivers well. The better we treat our drivers, the better they will handle your freight.
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