Much has been made of the “driver shortage” gripping the nation. In reality, there’s not so much a shortage of qualified drivers as there is an inability of the large fleets that many shippers depend on to find more drivers.

Take a look at the numbers:
Since February 2012 –

• Fleets with 501+ trucks have added 157,185 drivers– up 20%
• Fleets with 1-19 trucks have added 224,886 drivers – up 54%

Many drivers are choosing to join smaller fleets, or strike out on their own. There are many reasons – more flexibility and control, better profit margins… but this is a problem for large shippers who aren’t able to reach this “sweet spot” where the drivers are more plentiful, but scattered. Who can? Brokers.

Invite your brokers into the fold, and tap into this rapidly growing fleet of trucking firms. These firms often have great drivers, who simply want to be treated as a person and work for an organization that knows his or her name. Brokers continue to invest in the tools, resources and practices to connect with these firms and add plentiful capacity, especially for larger shippers.