Are Truck Drivers Finally Getting the Attention They Deserve?
Truck driver pay may finally be getting the attention it needs. Photo: Dupre Logistics
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I called Kyle Kottke, one of our Emerging Leaders from 2016, to talk about how things are going in the refrigerated business for an update for our upcoming May issue. Kottke Trucking is a third-generation interstate hauler, in operation since 1938.
“We’re nearly turning down as much work as we’re hauling,” he told me. But are they buying new equipment to handle some of that business they’re turning down? No. “Our pipeline for drivers is currently not very healthy, so we’re just replacing our equipment,” he said. In fact, they’re looking at having their first unseated truck.
This is hardly unusual, of course. We’re hearing the same story all over. Business is booming and drivers are scarce.
Many drivers, when they read articles about fleets facing a driver shortage, will tell you, it’s not a driver shortage, it’s a pay shortage. And we’ve seen a rash of pay raise announcements from fleets in the past several months like we’ve never seen before. Not only per-mile pay going up, but various bonuses, and some creative approaches to addressing driver benefits and overall compensation. (See my March editorial, Money Is Not the Only Thing That Speaks to Truck Drivers).
The latest release of ACT’s For-Hire Trucking Index showed fleet equipment purchase intentions are strong, that they have or plan to increase driver pay, and that they currently have power in contract negotiations with shippers.
The capacity crunch is allowing fleets to charge higher rates, which in turn in many cases are being used to pay drivers more.
As part of this month’s survey, ACT Research asked fleets about their drivers’ pay in the past and coming three months. “It was a near unanimous response from our fleet panel that they have or plan …Read the rest of this story
