ATA: Driver turnover jumps in Q3 2015

The annualized turnover rate at large truckload carriers rose 13 points to 100 percent in the third quarter of 2015, but the driver turnover rate at smaller fleets and less-than-truckload carriers fell, according to the American Trucking Associations.    The annualized turnover rate at large truckload carriers rose 13 points to 100 percent in the third quarter of 2015, the highest it has been in three years, the American Trucking Associations said Monday. However, the rate at smaller truckload carriers dipped to 68 percent, its lowest point since the final quarter in 2011. 
   “It is just one data point, so it is hard to draw any real conclusions on what is happening with turnover,” ATA Economist Bob Costello said in a statement. “However, the increase in the turnover rate at large carriers matches up with what we’ve been hearing anecdotally from fleets: that the market for drivers continues to be tight.”
   For the first three quarters of 2015, the turnover rate for larger carriers – fleets with more than $30 million in annual revenue – has averaged 90 percent, down slightly from 2014’s average of 95 percent. The small carrier rate has averaged 75 percent year-to-date, a significant dip from the 90 percent it averaged in 2014.
   The turnover rate at less-than-truckload fleets dipped three points to 10 percent in the third quarter and has averaged 10 percent for the first nine months of 2015 – down from the 11 percent it averaged for 2014.
   “The split in the truckload turnover rates is not unusual, but may be caused by a variety and combination of factors,” Costello said. “We may likely have a clearer picture of the driver market once fourth quarter turnover figures are in so we can better analyze any possible trend.”