The trucking industry continues to be impacted by low rates, resulting in the loss of several thousand jobs last month.
Recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that over 2,000 trucking positions were cut from the economy in July. This marks the fourth straight month of job losses, following a five-month period of growth.
David Spencer, vice president of market intelligence at Arrive Logistics, explained to Land Line that the job losses in July reflect the ongoing “poor trucking spot rate conditions.” Although improvements may be on the horizon, Spencer foresees further job reductions before conditions stabilize.
“We may see carriers and drivers, who have shown patience during this prolonged downturn, decide to leave the industry after a disappointing peak season,” he noted. “While there are encouraging signs, the timeline for the spot market to become consistently profitable remains uncertain. Many analysts suggest that a rate recovery might be a year away, which could lead to a continued decline in the number of market participants on the carrier side.”
Job Losses and Trends in Trucking
Revised statistics reveal greater job losses in the trucking sector over the past two months, with a downturn of 900 jobs in June (up from an initial estimate of 100) and 6,800 jobs in May (corrected from a reported 6,100).
Yearly Overview of Trucking Employment
As of the second half of 2024, trucking jobs are down by over 7,000 for the year, reflecting a net loss of nearly 12,000 jobs in the last four months alone. The total employment in trucking has decreased by 30,000 jobs compared to the previous year, despite a 14,000 job increase in the broader transportation sector.
This overall growth in the transportation sector occurred despite significant losses in the transit and ground passenger transport subsector (down 10,800 jobs), countered by job increases in the couriers/messengers (up 10,900) and warehousing/storage (up 10,700) areas. Trucking saw the second-lowest reduction, with air transportation following (down 1,200).
Wage Growth Amid Job Losses
Employment numbers for the transportation sector have been updated to show a marked increase, with 21,900 jobs added in June—much higher than the initially reported 7,300. May’s revised figures also showed a spike to an increase of 25,800 jobs, more than double the original count of 12,200.
Transportation jobs have risen by 115,000 this year, facing only one drop in January. From August 2022 to January 2024, the sector’s employment recorded just four monthly increases. Current employment stands at 6,636,000—the highest level since August 2022, when the area experienced a slide from an all-time high of 6.655 million.
Trends in Wages and Unemployment Rates
In July, wages saw a monthly increase along with year-over-year growth. Average weekly earnings in the transportation and warehousing sector rose by over $2 to $1,171.98. Compared to July 2023, hourly earnings climbed from $29.41 to $30.68. For production and nonsupervisory employees, weekly earnings rose from $1,100.09 in June to $1,105.27, with hourly earnings up by $1.15 from the previous year to $29.24.
Across all industries, job growth increased by 114,000, although this was significantly below expectations. The unemployment rate now stands at 4.3%, marking the fourth consecutive month of increase. This rate is the highest since October 2021, as the economy was still gradually recovering from the pandemic’s peak in April 2020. Comparatively, the unemployment rate for transportation and material-moving occupations increased sharply from 5.7% to 6.8% over the past year.
