In this week’s episode, Chris is joined by a colleague at the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics and fellow Research Scientist, Dr. David Correll. At MIT, Dave leads the FreightLab’s driver initiative which is focused on North American over-the-road truck drivers, and finding ways to increase utilization and profitability while also improving the driver experience. Chris and Dave discuss several research findings related to the alleged “driver shortage,” including Hours of Service (HOS) utilization, day of the week effects, and driver retention tactics. Dave goes on to explain why he believes there is a utilization crisis versus a driver shortage, and how it could be solved by each driver adding just 12 minutes a day. Stay tuned to the end, as Inam Iyoob joins Chris for the latest market update and rate forecast for the North American truckload market.

[0:56] Here’s more information about the FreightLab at MIT: https://ctl.mit.edu/research/current-projects/freightlab

[9:47] Access the 2009 report Predicting truck driver turnover here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1366554509000210

[11:45] Read David’s article, “Is There a Truck Driver Shortage or a Utilization Crisis?” here: https://medium.com/mitsupplychain/is-there-a-truck-driver-shortage-or-a-capacity-crisis-73a7d7a5bcb

[12:21] Here's the Census Bureau's report on Class A Driver count: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/heavy-and-tractor-trailer-truck-drivers.htm

[12:40] Here's the ATA's 2019 driver shortage report: https://www.trucking.org/ATA%20Docs/News%20and%20Information/Reports%20Trends%20and%20Statistics/ATAs%20Driver%20Shortage%20Report%202019%20with%20cover.pdf

[16:10] Access the 2009 report Predicting truck driver turnover here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1366554509000210 

[22:54] For more information about the Dock 411 app: https://dock411.com/

[23:06] Listen to the full episode with Bill Driegert (Uber Freight) here: https://www.chainalytics.com/uberization-the-shifting-shipper-carrier-relationship-a-conversation-with-bill-driegert/

[24:59] To participate in the MIT FreightLab Driver Initiative, send an email to [email protected]