Page 40 - ATR 1 2015 web

seen since the third quarter of 2012.
Turnover at small fleets also reached its “the Biggest issue we haVe is the hole iN the
highest level in nearly two years at 94
percent, a full 12 percent higher than Bucket. we doN’t haVe eNough comiNg iN the
Q2 2013. fuNNel—New people iNto the iNdustrY to
Furnell says, “I know a driver who offset the people who are retiriNg.”
works for ABF, and he’s been there for
25 years. You don’t hear that often. He’s
there because the quality of life and pay. —lori furNell,
He gets paid a lot of money, and he can’t Vice presideNt of BusiNess deVelopmeNt
go to just an average trucking company at acs adVertisiNg
and make that kind of money.”
While some companies are raising
pay to lower turnover, C.R. England
has announced they are raising pay for looking at another industry or going to dragging the industry to a place, once
the driver trainers to avoid some of the a private fleet. If private fleets are hir- again, where compensation matches the
trouble with fighting over drivers in the ing again, that’s where they are going life we ask drivers to live.
pre-existing pool of licenses. They are to want to go because they do have a “Change costs money, and change
investing, instead, in the ones respon- higher rate.” costs an investment of something
sible for helping to add new drivers to With so many carriers choosing whether it’s time, resources or chang-
the pool. to raise wages in an effort to keep the ing of processes. So it doesn’t happen
best drivers in their trucks, we can only as quickly as we would all like, but I
Wage War? wonder if we are on the brink of a wage think we are beginning to see people
Furnell says, “A lot of our clients war. It seems inevitable that the more are understanding the role they have in
have been in that retention fight. We’ve large fleets raise pay, the more small the driver population and growing the
got to do something to keep them from fleets will have to follow to compete, population,” Furnell says.
While a turnover rate of above
100 percent is unique to trucking, the
DIGITAL MAGAZINE NOW AVAILABLE! need to increase and offer competitive
wages is a trend spreading across all
industries, thanks in large part to state
legislatures.
Since the beginning of 2015, the
laws of 29 states and the District of
Columbia require minimum wages in
private employment that are higher
than the federal minimum wage of
$7.25 per hour.
Voters in Alaska, Arkansas,
Nebraska and South Dakota approved
minimum wage increases through
ballot measures in the 2014 general
election. In eleven states, the state
minimum wage was raised by legislation
in 2014; and in nine states, the state
minimum wage automatically increased
you may view Arkansas Trucking Report—complete with sound effects—online within a on January 1, 2015 because the mini-
week of distribution.
mum wage is indexed to cost of living
Another awesome feature of this great new technology is that websites in the statistics.
digital magazine are “live.” So, viewers may click on a site featured in an ad and be
transported directly to an advertiser’s website. So to appeal to potential employ-
ees, not only does a carrier have to stay
Check it out: www.arkansastrucking.com
ahead of its competition, but also its
This is just one more service that we’re happy to offer on behalf of our ATR advertisers. state legislature. ATR

40 arkansas trucking rePort | issue 1 2015