What are the turnover rates in the trucking industry?

In recent years, turnover rates in the trucking industry have hovered just above the 90% range. However, truck driver turnover rates can be somewhat deceiving. Most new drivers obtain their CDLs via paid training programs offered by some of the nation’s largest carriers. In exchange, drivers have to work for the carriers for one to two years.

How do you calculate driver turnover?

For example, let’s say that you want to calculate your driver turnover rate for 2021. At the start of the year, you employed 100 drivers. Throughout the year, 25 resigned or were terminated. So you would divide 25 by 100, which would be 0.25 or 25%. You can incentivize drivers to remain members of your company in several ways.

Is high turnover a sign of driver empowerment?

In many respects, high turnover is an indicator of driver empowerment. When the labor market tightens, drivers find themselves in the driver's seat (pardon the pun), putting millions of hard-working men and women in control of their own destiny in ways they haven’t been in years, if ever.

Is turnover an indicator of people exiting the industry?

Turnover is not an indicator of people exiting the industry (we know, because ATA created and tabulated the metric). Rather, it more accurately measures drivers moving between carriers. It captures churn within the industry—not attrition from the industry.