The booming U.S. economy has been a two-edged sword for trucking: the good news being that demand to move freight has never been higher thanks to rising pay levels and nearly full employment; the bad news being that fewer people seem ready to drive trucks at existing pay levels.
The desperately tight labor market in the truckload segment is presenting a set of steep costs to carriers — from idle trucks to rising outlays for recruiting new drivers — to add to the sharp increases during late 1999 in diesel fuel and insurance rates.
To combat the driver shortage and increasing employee turnover, many carriers are increasing driver pay. While such a move increases immediate costs for a trucking operation, some companies consider it a well-placed investment.
One of the latest companies to give its drivers a raise is M.S. Carriers, one of the nation’s largest dry van truckload carriers. The company announced that it will increase mileage pay for about 4,000 drivers by an average of 13% on March 5, raising its operating expenses by 5 cents a loaded mile.
For the full story, see the Jan. 3 print edition of Transport Topics. .
