We kicked off what has now become a very popular series about the driver shortage and how tough it is to hire safe, qualified drivers in today’s market.  We started the series by establishing that it can be very tough to hire drivers, and is expected to only get worse.  In the last Newsletter, we discussed some of the reasons behind the shortage which included an improving economy, increasing government regulations, an aging driver population, and safety and driver wellness.

While there is no doubt that those issues and others do impact a company’s ability to hire and retain safe, qualified drivers, wages are another factor that contributes to the driver shortage issue.  In fact it is important enough that we purposefully did not include driver wages in the last Newsletter but decided to dedicate an article just to this topic.

Consider the following statistics from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI):

–          Key Industry Issues 2013 (From Top Ten List Published by ATRI)

• #3 Driver Shortage
• #7 Driver Retention
• The #1 & #2 issues are Hours-of-Service and CSA respectively (Both have a direct impact on driver wages due to reduced productivity, etc.)

–          2,370 Drivers and 446 Carriers Surveyed

• 82.5% of drivers said hours-of-service have been somewhat or very negative to quality of life
• 67.4% of drivers surveyed say their pay has decreased
• In 2013, an estimated 33% of the total operational cost of trucking is driver wages and benefits.

At a time when it would make sense that some driver wages should be going up due to an improving economy, instead it appears some wages are decreasing in large part due to the impact of regulations.  Each company should look at their specific situation and know the answers to questions such as:

• How long does it take to fill an open driver position?  Why?
• How do my wages and benefits compare to other driver positions in my area?
• What are market wages for my area?
• What is my voluntary turnover rate?
• What are the real reasons drivers leave the company?
• Is my driver pay structure matched to the job and the market?