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Driver shortage persists but wage increases are tepid, carrier survey finds

Sluggish economy, modest freight demand means carriers unable to significantly increase driver wages, says Transport Capital Partners.

Concerns that a shortage of qualified truck drivers would lead to a significant increase in driver wages and, by extension, a substantial rise in freight rates might be overblown.

A second-quarter survey of carrier executives by Chattanooga, Tenn.-based consultancy Transport Capital Partners LLC found that while 93 percent of respondents expect driver wages to rise over the next 12 months, 71 percent expect the increases to be 5 percent or less. About 20 percent expect driver wages to climb between 6 and 10 percent. About 7 percent expect wages to remain unchanged, while the remaining 2 percent see compensation climbing above 10 percent by this time next year.


In the second quarter of 2011, about 65 percent expected a 1- to 5-percent rise in driver wages by the same period in 2012. About 22 percent expected a 6- to 10-percent hike by this time, according to the survey.

The numbers indicate that modest freight demand in a sluggish economy is giving shippers the leverage to hold the line on carrier rate increases, according to Lana R. Batts, a long-time trucking executive and a partner in TCP. As a result, carriers struggling to maintain profitable growth can't increase driver wages as much as they might like, even though they continue to confront a driver shortage that is growing more acute, she said.

Batts said relatively small increases in driver compensation is likely to accelerate driver turnover rates and deter new entrants from obtaining a commercial driver's license and getting behind the wheel. Another issue, she said, is that the recent uptick in U.S. residential construction activity is luring back labor that had left construction for trucking in the wake of the real-estate bust that began in 2007.

About 40 percent of the survey's respondents had annual revenue of more than $51 million.

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Warehouse automation project orders fell 3% in 2024

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Warehouse automation orders declined by 3% in 2024, according to a February report from market research firm Interact Analysis. The company said the decline was due to economic, political, and market-specific challenges, including persistently high interest rates in many regions and the residual effects of an oversupply of warehouses built during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Swedish supply chain tech firm Kodiak Hub expands to U.S.

The Swedish supply chain software company Kodiak Hub is expanding into the U.S. market, backed by a $6 million venture capital boost for its supplier relationship management (SRM) platform.

The Stockholm-based company says its move could help U.S. companies build resilient, sustainable supply chains amid growing pressure from regulatory changes, emerging tariffs, and increasing demands for supply chain transparency.

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Logistics gives back: February 2025

Here's our monthly roundup of some of the charitable works and donations by companies in the material handling and logistics space.

  • For the sixth consecutive year, dedicated contract carriage and freight management services provider Transervice Logistics Inc. collected books, CDs, DVDs, and magazines for Book Fairies, a nonprofit book donation organization in the New York Tri-State area. Transervice employees broke their own in-house record last year by donating 13 boxes of print and video assets to children in under-resourced communities on Long Island and the five boroughs of New York City.
  • Logistics real estate investment and development firm Dermody Properties has recognized eight community organizations in markets where it operates with its 2024 Annual Thanksgiving Capstone awards. The organizations, which included food banks and disaster relief agencies, received a combined $85,000 in awards ranging from $5,000 to $25,000.
  • Prime Inc. truck driver Dee Sova has donated $5,000 to Harmony House, an organization that provides shelter and support services to domestic violence survivors in Springfield, Missouri. The donation follows Sova's selection as the 2024 recipient of the Trucking Cares Foundation's John Lex Premier Achievement Award, which was accompanied by a $5,000 check to be given in her name to a charity of her choice.
  • Employees of dedicated contract carrier Lily Transportation donated dog food and supplies to a local animal shelter at a holiday event held at the company's Fort Worth, Texas, location. The event, which benefited City of Saginaw (Texas) Animal Services, was coordinated by "Lily Paws," a dedicated committee within Lily Transportation that focuses on improving the lives of shelter dogs nationwide.
  • Freight transportation conglomerate Averitt has continued its support of military service members by participating in the "10,000 for the Troops" card collection program organized by radio station New Country 96.3 KSCS in Dallas/Fort Worth. In 2024, Averitt associates collected and shipped more than 18,000 holiday cards to troops overseas. Contributions included cards from 17 different Averitt facilities, primarily in Texas, along with 4,000 cards from the company's corporate office in Cookeville, Tennessee.

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Electric vehicle (EV) sales have seen slow and steady growth, as the vehicles continue to gain converts among consumers and delivery fleet operators alike. But a consistent frustration for drivers has been pulling up to a charging station only to find that the charger has been intentionally broken or disabled.

To address that threat, the EV charging solution provider ChargePoint has launched two products to combat charger vandalism.

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New Jersey is home to the most congested freight bottleneck in the country for the seventh straight year, according to research from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), released today.

ATRI’s annual list of the Top 100 Truck Bottlenecks aims to highlight the nation’s most congested highways and help local, state, and federal governments target funding to areas most in need of relief. The data show ways to reduce chokepoints, lower emissions, and drive economic growth, according to the researchers.

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