What’s next for driver wages after a 5-year rollercoaster ride?
In our 2023 Driver Market Forecast, NTI explores in-depth the critical themes and trends impacting driver supply and availability and the factors influencing driver wages in 2023, as well as how driver pay structures could evolve in the coming decade. We also provided our forecast for wage growth in 2023, offering our expectations for where the recent rollercoaster ride goes next.
Fighting fatigue of seniority-based load bidding: 3 ways to reward drivers working less-desirable shifts
In NTI’s work with private and dedicated fleets, that’s a common concern we hear: Seniority-based bid systems contribute to frustration of new hires and churn among early tenured truckers. Here are three ways your fleet can help soothe those frustrations, incentivize weekend shifts and other lesser desired loads, and manage hang-ups caused by seniority-based load bidding programs
From the personal to the professional, reflecting on trucking into an uncertain 2023
NTI’s reflections, resources, and driver wages insights as 2022 closes and 2023 begins.
From holiday pay to health programs, here are a five ways your fleet can support drivers on and off the road every holiday season
In the fourth quarter of 2022, on average, motor carriers are offering their professional drivers a little over 6 paid holidays a year, according to data from NTI’s National Survey of Driver Wages. The pay rate for those paid holidays ranges on average between $100 and $200 a day. While it’s a fantastic show […]
Attracting talent and providing career path development in trucking extend well beyond the driver’s seat
What does career path development look like at your fleet? This is a point we hit on frequently at NTI in our work with fleets of all sizes. The pervasive lack of career path — or at least a stated and understood path — for professional drivers absolutely is a contributor to the churn of […]
Fleets responding to newer drivers’ expectations for wage growth momentum
The “earn your stripes” mentality is quickly becoming an ideal of the past. While per-mile and hourly pay for drivers of all experience levels has shown strong and steady growth over the past two years, the momentum of wage growth among drivers at the lower end of the experience scale has been the most pronounced.
Investing in and supporting truck drivers’ health is foundational to showing driver appreciation year around
One of the most critical and foundational ways that motor carriers can show appreciation for drivers’ lives and their livelihoods is to build effective health and wellness programs that educate drivers on personal health, support them in making better decisions, and treat driver health as a team effort.
3 highlights from this quarter’s driver wages data
Survey data compiled by The National Transportation Institute on driver compensation and benefits programs for the most recent quarter shows that driver wages across segments, applications, trailer type, and fleet type continued their streak of quarter-to-quarter gains that started in the back half of 2020. Here are three highlights from this quarter’s wage data.
Six strategies fleets can leverage as the ‘consumption gap’ persists between a tight employment market and consumer demand
Here are six strategies fleets can employ to compete within the backdrop of an ongoing “consumption gap.”
When bad PR strikes trucking, lead with lessons rather than ire
When bad PR strikes, it will feel like a strong headwind to recruiting and retention. The actions carriers take in the wake of the bad PR, however, is much more important than the negative attention cast on the industry.