Find the sweet spot to support your IC drivers so they don’t just survive, they thrive

Independent contractors with the right support and services at their fingertips don’t fear the current market. They’re not rolling in the dough, but they’re also not shaking in their boots and fretting about losing their trucks, their business, and their livelihoods. Here are a few ways your fleet can propel your ICs to thrive while maintaining a proper legal relationship.
Bad habits, bottlenecks, and weak links: Why right now is the perfect time to address your fleet’s recruiting and retention programs

Now’s the time for your fleet to thoroughly assess your recruiting and retention policies and programs and to identify and address any weaknesses, bad habits, and bottlenecks before the demand for professional drivers becomes pressing again — and you don’t have the ability to reflect and correct.
Private fleet driver pay increasingly tells a different story than for-hire wages

While per-mile and hourly pay for professional drivers at for-hire fleets has been riding a rollercoaster for nearly a decade, wages at private fleets and dedicated 3PLs tells a much different story.
Location, location, location: The future of driver recruiting — and pay models

Fleets of all types, but especially those with the most successful recruiting and retention programs, increasingly are shifting to location-based hiring models — and compensation structures that fit those models.
NTI survey shines a light on the hurdles and opportunities to advancement for women in trucking

This Women’s History Month, NTI conducted a survey to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences and challenges encountered by women in the trucking industry. While progress has been made, there remains a clear need for ongoing improvements to make trucking a more appealing and secure career choice for women of all backgrounds, ages, and family situations.
Five unique benefits to consider offering your professional drivers and diesel technicians, and what the data says about their prevalence

Offering a robust benefits package is a crucial element in attracting and retaining professional drivers and diesel technicians, especially in today’s tight labor market and with opportunities prevalent both inside and outside of trucking for the driver pool.
Real talk: The one vital element we must get right as an industry for women to join us and excel

This year, for Women’s History Month, we’re focusing on a single topic — likely the most consequential issue for women entering our industry and finding a secure career: Childcare.
Riding trucking’s waves: Avery Vise of FTR talks freight market cycles and their impact on the driver pool

In this episode of Taking the Hire Road, NTI’s Leah Shaver talks with FTR’s Avery Vise about what’s next in the current market correction and how the industry can take a more long-view approach to labor needs rather than being so reactive to trucking’s ebbs and flows.
Driver pay highlights in early 2024: Per-mile incentives swell while base pay gains remain moderate

Current data from NTI’s National Survey of Driver Wages reveals fleets have been active in adjusting incentives paid to professional drivers that promote cost savings while also giving drivers the opportunity to boost their paychecks absent the aggressive base pay increases seen from late 2020 through the middle of 2022. While base pay gains have moderated and stabilized, current data published this month in NTI’s National Survey of Driver Wages shows year-over-year changes do persist for drivers’ base hourly and mileage pay.
Trucking’s other labor shortage: Unlocking solutions through benchmarking diesel technician pay — plus other strategies your fleet can use

Interest in technician pay benchmarking has swelled at The National Transportation Institute in recent years, including survey demand doubling last year for technician pay benchmarking reports as the challenge to hire and retain diesel technicians continues to become more difficult for trucking fleets of all types.