Ensuring the Supply of Agricultural Truck Drivers: What the State of California Can Do

SEPTEMBER2023 ENSURINGTHESUPPLYOF AGRICULTURALTRUCKDRIVERS WHATTHESTATEOFCALIFORNIACANDO STEVEVISCELLIERICBALCOM WITHPHOTOGRAPHYBYJAMESYEAR ExecutiveSummary Californiaagriculturalshippersexperiencedrecordincreasesintruckingcostsin2021.Somesuggestedashortageoftruckdriverswasthecause.Californiastateagencieswereaskedtoreviewpoliciesrelevanttotheindustry’sworkforceandoperationstoseewhatstategovernmentmightdotohelp.Theagencies,inturn,commissionedthisresearchtostudytheworkandsupplyoftruckdriversandgathersuggestionstoimproveworkingconditionsonthejobaswellastrainingandcareerpathwaysfordrivers.Thoughstateagenciesfundedtheresearchandcontributeddata,theconclusionsandrecommendationsarethoseoftheauthorsalone. Welookedatawiderangeofstatisticaldatafromstateandfederalsources.Wetalkedtodrivers,shippers,industryassociations,andotherstakeholders.Weheardaboutproblemsfacingdrivers.Someoftheseconcerns,likecongestionandpoordrivingbehavior,areperennial.Forotherproblems,likethestate’struckspeedlimitandlimitedtruckparking,thestatehasoptionstoconsiderreadyathand. Wedidnotfindevidenceofashortageofpeopleinterestedinbecomingtruckdrivers,butwedidfindstrongevidenceofaretentionproblem.Thatproblemisconcentratedinthelong-haulsegmentoftheindustry—thesegmentthatcausedshippersthemostpainin2021.Becauseofthishighturnover,long-haultruckingistheprimarygatewaytotheindustryfornewtruckers.Driversarguedthatthejobwaschallengingbecauseoflonghoursandtimeawayfromhome,butpoor-qualitytrainingandbadinitialjobsdiscouragedmanywould-bedrivers.Inthisarea,thestatehassomeuniqueopportunitiestofosterpartnershipsthatwillbetterutilizestatetrainingmonies.Theseoptionsincludefundingandfosteringanalternativepipelinetotruckingcareersbuiltonlocaltrainingandlocaljobsthatleaddirectlytoagriculturaltruckingjobs. WhatCausedFreightRatestoSpike? TheincreaseinratesexperiencedbyagriculturalshippersinCaliforniaresultedfromtheintersectionofimmediatedisruptionsfromtheCOVID-19pandemicandlong-termcyclesinthetruckingindustry.Inshort,COVIDcrusheddemandformanytruckingservicesatatimewhentheindustrywasalreadyreducingcapacity.Employersslashedworkforcesandthenstruggledtorehiredriversandaddequipmentastheeconomyrestarted,demandsurged,andlabormarketstightened. Thetruckingindustrytriestostayleantokeepcapacitytight,expandingwhenratesincreaseandshrinkingwhentheyfall.COVIDproducedamoreextremeandrapidversionofthiscyclethatfaroutpacedtheabilityoftheindustrytoscaleup.Thiscyclewasexperiencedasacrisisforagriculturalshippers,buthighratesmadeforthebestoftimesforthetruckingindustry. AgriculturalTrucking Thereareawidevarietyoftruckingjobsinagriculture.Thebiggestdifferenceisbetweenjobsthatarelocalandthosethatarelong-haul.Wedidnothearaboutorfindevidenceofanunusualshortageoflocaldrivers,asidefromsomeimmediateCOVID-relatedproblems.Localjobsvaried,however,injobtenureandhiringpatterns.Somelocaljobs,likedairy,haveverylittleturnoverandhiringisrelativelyinfrequent.Others,liketomatoes,havetremendousturnoverbecausetheyareseasonal,requiringemployerstogooutandfindnew driverseveryyear.Essentially,somelocaljobshaveshortagesatthestartofeverynewseason.Themainareainwhichweheardaboutproblemsforshipperswaslong-haulrefrigeratedtrucking. Long-haulrefrigeratedisa“waitandhurry-up”servicefromtheperspectiveofdrivers.Thischaracteristicstemsfromthenatureofthefreightitself,whichisoftenfreshandperishable.Driverstypicallywaitwhilegoodsareloadedintheirtrailer.Sometimesfreightmaynotbereadytoloadbecauseitmuststillbeharvested,cooled,processed,orpacked.Allofthismeanslotsofnon-drivingworktimeandlonghours.Driversinthelong-haulrefrigeratedsegmentcanwork100hoursormoreinaweekandspendweeksatatimeon theroad.Theyareusuallypaidbythemileorload,sodelaysanddisruptionsmeanincreasedamountsofunpaidworkandpossiblyalowerpaycheckattheendoftheweek.Whilepayforexperienceddriverscanbeattractive—muchmorethan$100,000ayear—newdriverscanearnverylittle,sometimeslessthanminimumwagewhenallworkhoursarecounted.1Inaddition,mostlong-haulrefrigerateddriversspendweeksawayfromhomeatatime.Driverssaythatlowpayandtimeawayfromhomearewhatleadtoturnover. MakingtheJobBetter Truckersidentifiedanumberofthingsthatwouldmakethejobbetter.Atthetopofthelistisrethinkingthestatewide55mphspeedlimitfortrucks—Californiaistheonlystateinthenationwithsuchapolicy.Fordrivers,thefactthatcarswereoftentraveling20mphfasterormorewasthemainsafetyissuetheyfaced. Equallyimportantandrelatedtothespeedlimitfordriversisadesperateshortageoftruckparking.Driversarguedthatthestateslowedthemdown,requiringthemtotakemorebreaks,buttherewasoftennowheretotakethem. ImprovingRetention Thetruckingcompanieswiththemostturnoverhavethegreatestincentivetorecruitandtrainnewdrivers,whichistherootoftrucking’sretentionproblemfromtheperspectiveofdrivers.Newdriversarelikelytoattendtrainingschoolforseveralweeksandthenspendweeksormonthsoutontheroadwithatrainer. Driversareoftenrequiredtosignatrainingcontractthatindebtsthemtotheemployerunlesstheystaywiththeemployerforayear. Oncetheyareoutontheirown,driverscanexpecttowork80-100hoursaweekandbeont