One trucking industry consultant who used to be the president and CEO of one of the biggest trucking companies in the U.S. thinks you may not be driving as many hours a day as you really could be. This is not about time spent on the road or being on duty, but actually driving, and he adds, “A busy driver is a happy driver.”
That’s the opinion of Richard Stocking, the founder and CEO of DPX Consulting, and former president and CEO of Swift Transportation. Writing in our sister publication Commercial Carrier Journal, Stocking suggests the oft-ballyhooed driver shortage may actually be a problem of driver utilization.
Stocking wrote, “the average driver at a large for-hire truckload fleet averages less than 40 hours/week.” He added, “In recent years, the government reports 450,000-470,000 people work as OTR truckload drivers. On average, the government reports these drivers are working between 41 to 42.5 hours per week.”
READ RICHARD STOCKING’S ARTICLE: Are your trucks working hard or hardly working?
He concludes, “If we assume 10% of these hours are on-duty-not-driving hours (when drivers are doing inspections, fueling, loading/unloading, etc), then the average driver is only driving approximately 38 hours per week.”
That being said, Stocking believes many drivers would be willing to drive much more than they do. After all, federal hours of service regulations allow truckers to drive up to 11 hours per day and as many as 70 hours in an eight-day period.
He suggests that with some work, trucking companies could increase utilization by 25%. That equates to nine and a half more driving hours added to the 38 he suggests the average driver now logs.
He also suggests, having drivers do more driving benefits erveryone:
Imagine what would happen to your company if driver utilization increased by 25%. Imagine all the extra revenue and profit without having to buy any more trucks or hire any more drivers.
With drivers making significantly more money, they will be less likely to quit. A busy driver is a happy driver. With better retention comes better safety, fewer unseated trucks and less time and money spent recruiting and training new drivers.
What looks like a driver shortage problem may actually be a driver utilization problem. It’s time to start thinking differently.
We tell you all of that to ask you this: “Are you driving all the hours you can or want to? Do you think you drive too many hours or not enough? Or, do you not care about the hours, and worry just about the miles you drive because that’s what you’re pay is most likely based on?
Take our poll and tell us what you think. Are you driving too little, too much, or just the right number of hours?