Dive Brief:
- Amid freight challenges upending the workforce, private fleets turned to new and existing online communication channels this quarter to pursue new ways to help recruit and assist workers.
- Prime said last week that it plans to launch a health-related podcast to present drivers with physical and mental health resources. The audio programs will include first-hand success stories and feature “health experts specializing in fitness, dietetics and overall health,” the company said.
- Meanwhile, prior to Mother’s Day CRST published a blog post highlighting mothers who drive in the business. “Being a mom and a truck driver can be challenging,” the company said, noting that regional or dedicated positions can keep drivers closer to home.
Dive Insight:
The trucking industry continues to target and research ways to improve turnover as the industry could lose 50,000 long-distance general freight trucking jobs this year.
Carriers will need to execute retention strategies to avoid further churn, and companies have been highlighting women in trucking as part of this mix.
Last month, the American Transportation Research Institute approved five research topics, which include identifying barriers to entry for female drivers and examining the diesel technician shortage.
“Female truck drivers represent less than 10 percent of the truck driver workforce, yet ATRI research documents that female drivers are safer than their male counterparts,” the organization said. “This research will identify gender issues and proactive steps that the industry can take to make truck driving careers more appealing to women.”
Other diversity efforts include the Women In Trucking Association nonprofit and the Department of Transportation’s Women of Trucking Advisory Board that launched last year.
Diversity and wellbeing are more than just buzzwords but part of improving carrier’s financial strength. Steve Wutke, Prime’s VP of sales and marketing, noted in a company driver meeting last week the connection between health and safety.
“Those of you that are new, you might think you’ve joined a health club,” he said. “We care about you. We care about your health. We recognize that a healthy driver is a safer driver.”
