KAG implements driver pay increases

The pay increases are designed to proactively address the trucking industry’s driver shortage issue, the bulk transportation and logistics provider said.    Kenan Advantage Group, Inc. (KAG), one of North America’s largest bulk transportation and logistics providers, said an “overwhelming majority” of its customers have partnered with the company to support pay increases for its drivers, which is something that requires rate increases from those customers.
   Ohio-based Kenan Advantage Group says that it is implementing a pay increase strategy that it began conceiving in September 2017. The strategy, KAG said, was designed to proactively address the rapidly worsening driver shortage issue facing the entire trucking industry.
   As a result of the campaign, which includes finalizing details with a few remaining customers, the promised 2018 driver pay increases for KAG drivers took effect Jan. 1.
   The program calls for guaranteed pay increases for the next three years to help elevate driver pay to levels that successfully attract new drivers required to meet the capacity and growth needs of the organization’s customer base. This requires securing rate increases from customers, KAG said, to help fund the pay initiative.
   “We are thankful, but not surprised, that our valued customers understood the consequences of an impending driver shortage and took action with us to support this critical role within our country’s economy,” KAG President and CEO Bruce Blaise said in a statement.
   “Our customers recognize that the safe and secure delivery of their products is imperative to their business success,” he continued. “Similarly, as the flagship transportation company in the liquid bulk industry, we understand the importance of retaining and recruiting the best drivers in the business.”
   KAG declined to say how much of an increase in pay its drivers are receiving, or how much of an increase in rates its customers have agreed to accept.