Large carrier turnover rate hits 100 percent, ATA reports

Updated Jun 13, 2023

2015 11 03 16 47The annualized turnover rate for large truckload carriers rose 13 points to 100 percent in the third quarter of 2015, the highest it’s been in three years, according to ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello.

The turnover rate at smaller truckload carriers, however, dipped to 68 percent, its lowest point since the fourth quarter in 2011.

“It is just one data point, so it is hard to draw any real conclusions on what is happening with turnover,” Costello said. “However, the increase in the turnover rate at large carriers matches up with what we’ve been hearing anecdotally from fleets: that the market for drivers continues to be tight.”

For the first three quarters of 2015, the turnover rate for large carriers – fleets with more than $30 million in annual revenue – average 90 percent, down from 2014’s average of 95 percent. The smaller carrier average was 75 percent through the first three quarters of 2015, a significant drop from the 90 percent it averaged in 2014.

“The split in the truckload turnover rates is not unusual, but may be caused by a variety and combination of factors,” Costello said. “We may likely have a clearer picture of the driver market once fourth quarter turnover figures are in so we can better analyze any possible trend.”

The turnover rate at less-than-truckload fleets dipped three points to 10 percent in the third quarter and averaged 10 percent for the first nine months of 2015, down from 11 percent in 2014.

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