Trucking news: ATA reports that large truckload carrier driver turnover rate dips 11 percent

Jeff Berman, Senior Editor -- Logistics Management, 9/19/2007

ARLINGTON, Va.—Taking a time-out from the ongoing trend of rising truck driver turnover rates, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) announced yesterday that annualized turnover rates for truckload line-haul drivers saw its first in the second quarter of this year saw its first quarterly decline in a year.

The ATA reported that turnover for large truckload carriers—or fleets with at least $30 million in annual revenue—came in at 116 percent, representing an 11 percent decline from the 127 percent rate seen during the first quarter. These statistics, noted the ATA, are for employee, over-the-road, line-haul drivers and do not include local drivers for port trucking.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a statement that a fair amount of the turnover rate can be attributed to soft freight volumes and looser capacity that occurred during the quarter, which, in turn, drove down the quarterly turnover rate. But he added that despite this decrease, the turnover rate is still high and has not dipped below 100 percent since the fourth quarter of 2002.

It is worth noting that the 116 percent figure during the second quarter is a step in the right direction, considering that the rate peaked during the fourth quarter of 2005 at 136 percent. The ATA also said yesterday that the quarterly turnover rate for small truckload carriers—with less than $30 million in annual revenue—dropped to 90 percent, which represents its lowest annualized rate in two years. And it noted that this marks the first time that the small fleet turnover rate has been below 100 percent since the third quarter of 2005.

In an interview with Logistics Management earlier this year regarding the ongoing truck driver shortage, Costello said more progress needs to be made to get the turnover rate to decrease on a regular basis.

“Things are not getting better and there is no silver bullet to solve the problem,” said Costello. “This problem is multi-tiered, and a lot of different things need to happen [to make the situation better], including augmenting pay and lifestyle issues associated with the profession.”

According to an often-sited May 2005 report that economic consultancy Global Insight prepared for the ATA, there is a projected need for another 320,000 long-haul drivers between 2004 and 2014.