The American Transportation Research Institute released the results of its analysis examining the differing motivators for why truck drivers choose to be a Company Driver or an Owner-Operator\/Independent Contractor (OO\/IC).<\/p>\n
This analysis was prioritized by ATRI\u2019s Research Advisory Committee to better understand the role of OO\/IC in the trucking industry, and how legislative attempts to reclassify OO\/IC as Company Drivers would impact those individuals and supply chains in general.<\/p>\n
ATRI\u2019s research includes respondent data from over 2,000 professional truck drivers, of whom more than 2\/3rds are OO\/IC.\u00a0 When presented with identical factors that motivated their decision to be a Company Driver or OO\/IC, Company Drivers indicated their top three motivators were Job Security\/Stability, Income, and Healthcare\/Retirement Savings.\u00a0 Among OO\/IC, the top three motivating factors were Independence\/Ability to Set Hours, Schedule\/Flexibility, and Choice of Routes\/Length of Haul.<\/p>\n
The analysis also examined the various compensation models used with Company Drivers and OO\/IC and driver satisfaction levels with each.\u00a0 Both Company Drivers and OO\/IC ranked Income as an important motivator and in terms of satisfaction, 68.9 percent of Company Drivers and 80.1 percent of OO\/IC indicated being Very Satisfied\/Satisfied with their income.\u00a0 Over 50 percent of OO\/IC in ATRI\u2019s dataset reported net incomes of over $75,000 in the previous year while nearly 70 percent of Company Drivers indicated their annual wages fell in the $50,000 to $100,000 range.\u00a0 A large percentage of OO\/IC expected they would experience significant decreases in their job satisfaction (73.0%) and annual income (68.3%) if they were reclassified as a Company Driver.<\/p>\n
\u201cATRI\u2019s analysis validates what we know to be true with our professional truck drivers \u2013 those who choose to be owner\/operators are often motivated by the desire to be in charge of their schedule and work environment,\u201d said\u00a0Eric Fuller, president & CEO of U.S. Xpress Enterprises, Inc.\u00a0 \u201cUnderstanding what motivates our company drivers and owner\/operators allows us to better tailor offerings as we continue to focus on recruitment and retention.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to examining the differences between Company Drivers and OO\/IC, ATRI\u2019s analysis also offers insight into the different motivating factors for female truck drivers versus their male counterparts.<\/p>\n