BY MARK B. SOLOMON, SENIOR EDITOR
MOTOR FREIGHT
THE ANNUAL SHIPPER-TRUCKLOAD
carrier autumn rate waltz has been con-
cluded, with a few steps added to the 2015
dance card. That’s because rising carri-
er costs and tightening capacity have
forced both sides to get more creative
in their contract negotiations than
they’ve been in years.
The latest cost shoe to drop
has been in the area of driv-
er pay. The most recent and
notable move as
DC VELOCITY
went to press was truckload
and logistics giant Schneider
National Inc.’s announcement
that it had raised base and bonus pay by 8 to 13 percent for its dry van employee drivers. This
came after recent pay increases for Schneider’s tank truck drivers and for drivers operating
so-called dedicated services for specific company accounts. Schneider executives were unavailable
to comment beyond the company’s press release.
Thom S. Albrecht, transportation analyst at investment firm BB&T Capital Markets, said that
a decent number of privately held truckers have already put rates in place that will cover those
costs; at worst, Albrecht said, there would be a one-quarter lag. Publicly held carriers are tweaking
their rates to ensure that they, too, can pass through the higher labor expenses, he added.
Eric Fuller, chief operating officer of U.S. Xpress Enterprises, which in mid-August announced
a 13-percent pay increase for solo drivers, said the carrier has encountered little shipper resistance
to rate hikes to compensate for the wage increases. “In most cases, our customers understand the
situation we’re in, and they have been very supportive,” Fuller said.
Still, carriers avoided any across-the-board increases during the autumn contract talks for fear
transportationreport
Shippers show
“grudging acceptance”
of truck rate hikes
Shippers, carriers conclude contract talks, with
shippers resigned to rates heading upward
one way or another.
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