Fleet executives said they are increasingly using technology to aid their recruitment and retention efforts as the industry’s driver shortage worsens.
Onboard computers, turn-by-turn navigation, recruiting software and even in-cab cameras can all be useful tools in the struggle to put qualified drivers in the seats of tractors, executives said at the ALK Transportation Technology Summit here May 19-21.
Richie Henderson, senior vice president of administration and technology at J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., described the driver situation as the industry’s “most pressing issue.”
“In this year alone, J.B. Hunt will hire over 11,000 drivers just for turnover replacement,” Henderson said.
The company estimates that it costs between $5,000 and $10,000 to replace a driver in its fleet, factoring in the cost of lost utilization and the price of advertising, training and signing bonuses.
Henderson said J.B. Hunt seeks to improve drivers’ productivity through onboard technology.
The Lowell, Arkansas-based carrier uses the data harvested by those systems to plan drivers’ routes in a way that maximizes their driving time, thus improving their pay.
That’s especially important given the headwinds from the new hours-of-service rules and traffic congestion, Henderson said.
“Through the data discovery tools that we’ve purchased, we have great visibility into driver utilization and how many hours they’re spending on every aspect of their day,” he said. “How we plan the driver’s day is becoming so much more critical.”
He said J.B. Hunt is using social media such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to reach out to the driver community.
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