NTI ALERTS

WEBINARS & LINKS

TOP NEWS & ARTICLES

NTI IN THE NEWS

Newsmakers, that is. NTI President & CEO Leah Shaver sat down with Transport Topics’ Dan Ronan to discuss the state of the industry - what’s keeping fleet owners up at night, where new opportunities lie, and what executives can do to keep great truckers on their payroll.

There are real pressures out there for fleets. One of the biggest is the dwindling driver pool. When drivers wear out, age out, or sit Covid out, finding their replacement can be a nightmare.

‘Early in the year we heard as much as a 40% YoY decline in onboarding at the company, filling new jobs, Shaver explained. ‘The most common number that our fleets report to us is that they could do four times the amount of work that’s being offered if they simply had enough drivers.’

It’s a real kick in the pants. Carriers everywhere suddenly find themselves struggling to recruit after a year of right-sizing in 2019. The market relaxed briefly, only to be fraught with complications after Covid struck.

‘The delays and issues bringing in new entrants is a severe problem. It’s going to be a problem for us, not just in the near future, but throughout 2021 and 2022.’

It wasn’t all doom and gloom, though. As Shaver told Ronan, there are many, many marketing opportunities for trucking firms. By pulling in workers from other parts of the company, reaching out to nontraditional recruits like women and minorities, or marketing to younger recruits, carriers can find new potential CDLs.

Another important focus should be instilling a sense of pride in the work, Shaver says. As Covid taught us, truckers are essential to keeping the country going. From groceries to medical supplies, everything is moved on a truck - something that the world saw in 2020.

‘We all need to be proud of the work that our drivers are doing. Most of us have now experienced being trapped at home with low stock and supply at stores. It validates what we’ve known all along. Supporting the image of our drivers is important to communicate all the time, not just during times of extreme need.’

The state of the market wasn’t the only topic that came up. To hear about recruiting veterans, regional operations, and whether huge signing bonuses are a good idea, you’ll have to check out the rest of the interview. Watch the whole thing here.

NEW LEGISLATION PROMOTES WOMEN IN TRUCKING

If the lack of women in trucking is getting you down, then we have some good news for you. The Promoting Women in Trucking Workforce Act was reintroduced in February, and it’s dedicated to addressing factors that keep women from getting behind the wheel. Here’s to (hopefully) seeing more ladies enter the field.

The bill directs the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association to establish an advisory board, whose role is to educate, train, and mentor women in trucking, and look for ways to recruit more women to the industry.

Research done as a part of the Promoting Women in Trucking Act found that women make up 47% of the overall workforce, but only 12.5% of the trucking industry, and fewer than 8% of truck drivers. With a driver shortage plaguing carriers, trucking firms hope that this bill brings more truckers into the fold.

If you’re looking to promote the accomplishments of women, or attract new female faces in your organization, we can help. NTI President & CEO Leah Shaver has served on the Women in Trucking Association’s Board of Directors for six years, and currently chairs the Membership Committee. Reach out to us for more information on how to empower women at your company.

GETTING GEN Z BEHIND THE WHEEL

There are a few issues out there that seem to constantly haunt trucking executives. Driver recruitment and retention is a big one, but an offshoot of that is truckers’ age. New entrants start out at 38, on average. The mean age of an experienced driver is 54. With statistics like these, aging out and wearing out becomes the norm.

But there’s a new opportunity in the form of recruiting younger entrants. The Gen Z age cohort (people born between 1997 and 2012) is a largely untapped pool for trucking companies.

There’s a few reasons for that. Carriers face insurance complications from having younger drivers on the payroll. Truckers under 21 are barred from crossing state lines. It can dissuade recruiters from even thinking about looking at high schools. But the culture around hiring young truckers is starting to shift.

The Next Generation in Trucking Association, a new nonprofit, is working to get more simulators into high schools, and promote companies and programs that nurture younger entrants intrastate until they can thrive beyond state lines. Then there’s the Drive-Safe Act, which would lower the age of entry for new drivers. More and more, trucking advocates, CDL schools, and even lawmakers are considering tapping younger recruits to remedy the driver shortage.

There may not be many young truckers on the road now, but we expect that to change. And it will be key to improving the driver supply for years to come.

CAREER ADVANCEMENT: IT’S NOT JUST FOR OFFICE JOBS

When you’re thinking about driver retention and recruitment, a challenge that may come to mind is competition from other roles. Warehousing, welding, and construction can pose challenges to finding and keeping drivers. Rising wages in truck-competitive fields can pose challenges to retaining truckers.

But it isn’t always drivers leaving for a different job. Taking other employees and moving them into trucking can be a growth opportunity.

This is something that NTI advises companies to keep in mind. There are opportunities at every level of every organization. Professional drivers can mentor, train, or obtain additional endorsements, to name a few options. Career paths do exist in trucking - a fact that may seem obvious to you or I, but that a prospective CDL may not be aware of.

Many companies in NTI’s National Private Fleet Survey employ truckers and warehouse workers, for example. And while some move from trucking to warehousing, others start out in a warehouse only to find that they want to be on the road. Good thing there are career paths for each position!

At NTI, we want to help you promote your company’s biggest benefits to drivers and new recruits. One of those benefits might be career progression. Do you offer a career path for your drivers that could blow your competitors out of the water? Then check it against our National Private Fleet Survey and promote, promote, promote!

STIMULUS SPENDING WILL INCREASE DEMAND FOR DRIVERS

The U.S. economy is getting close to firing on all cylinders again. With a combination of stimulus payments and robust economic indicators in the works, economists predict that Americans are going to rev up their spending. Of course, those purchases need to get moved on a truck. Carriers, start your engines.

Vaccine rollout, a healthy savings rate, and easy money from the Federal Reserve all play a role in getting the economy buzzing again. Durable goods orders jumped 3.4% in January, after gaining a paltry 1.2% in December. Retail sales did even better, jumping 5.3% in January, well above an expected 1.2%. Interest rates are low and expected to stay low. The housing market continues to overheat.

Now, throw the recently passed $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act into the mix, and we’ve got the makings of a gangbusters economy this year.

While 2020 was filled with unemployment, shuttering businesses, and fear, 2021 should be healthy. The National Retail Foundation revised its annual retail sales forecast up from 6.5% to 8.2%. Goldman Sachs predicts the economy will grow 7% this year, after shrinking by 3.5% during Covid-tide.

As those of us in trucking know, this means even more demand for our services. And that translates into needing a robust supply of drivers. Knowing how to best market yourself is essential if you want to avoid losing employees to other carriers, or even other industries.

Subscribe/Unsubscribe for Upcoming NTI Alerts • Contact for Editorial
 

{{msdyncrm_contentsettings.msdyncrm_addressmain}}

©2021 All rights reserved | The National Transportation Institute