Can strong job growth in trucking continue?

According to Trucking Info the Bureau of Labor Statistics has data that shows in April and May the for-hire trucking industry added about 27,300 payroll jobs. “That puts trucking employment at the highest on record and 65,900 payroll jobs, or 4.3% ahead of the pre-pandemic month of February 2020”. The trucking industry began collecting data over 32 years ago and this kind of a surge for more than two months has only been seen three times. The article also reports that “the number of trucking companies leaving the market has [begun] to rise, most of those single-truck carriers”. We will see smaller carriers taking more of a hit when different obstacles arise. With unprecedented diesel price surges and other factors, operators are looking for more stable environments to work in.

Increasing fuel costs are also creating hurdles in converting independent carriers into leased owner operators, creating an opportunity for a potential new model. This new model would have the larger carrier agree to “buy the single-truck carrier’s truck and to hire the driver to operate it. Think of it almost as the reverse of a typical lease-purchase agreement”. This model might not be common but can be a way for carriers to adapt in the current climate. Click here for full story.