(NewsNation) — The truck driving industry powers America, but it’s an industry with one of the highest turnover rates in the nation.
The turnover rate at large fleets averaged 89% in March 2021, two points higher than the previous year, according to the American Trucking Association.
Commonly, people associate job turnover with leaving an industry, but that’s not the case in the trucking industry. Instead, turnover can mean switching companies. For example, a driver can start with one company and jump to another carrier for a raise after a few months, which counts as turnover.
The high turnover rate also makes what consumers buy at the store cost more. Each new driver costs a company thousands of dollars in sign-on bonuses, training and recruiting.
Those companies then pass along the additional costs to the consumer.
Despite the turnover and bonuses, truckers’ salaries have fallen by as much as 50% since their peak in the 1970s, Business Insider reports.