The number of producers who turned away concrete orders due to lack of drivers fell by more than 10% in 2019, according to a survey.
The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) says findings from its annual Mixer Driver Recruitment & Retention Survey shows 47% of orders were turned away in 2019 compared with 60% in 2018.
Gary Mullings, executive vice president of compliance and operations at NRMCA, says: “This year’s solid findings show the survey’s continuing importance to NRMCA producer members as well as the industry at large. Mixer driver shortages are a longstanding issue and this report offers insight on how to steadily reduce if not eliminate the lack of qualified drivers.”
The survey also revealed the number of companies with mixer driver vacancies dropped from 95% in 2018 to 87% in 2019. In 2018, results closed with approximately 10,000 open mixer driver jobs; as of the survey’s last day on 30 April, there was a decrease to 6,000 openings. Finding drivers with ready mixed concrete experience remained the biggest hiring challenge.
In response, more producers in 2019 were willing to hire 18-21-year-old drivers (51%) and newly-licensed commercial drivers (56%). Approximately 7% of new hires were new commercially-licensed drivers, about the same as the previous year. Additionally, more producers (65%) rehired former employees in 2019, equating to 8% of the new-hire mixer driver pool.
Other findings showed mixer driver job turnover remained a concern as a third of the mixer driver population quit or was released in 2019. Within the approximate 25,000 who left, 74% had more than one year’s tenure. Turnover rate increased for the fifth year to 33.4%. For the first time, the survey found more drivers quit to work for a competitive ready mixed concrete company, though the perennial first-place holder, a short-haul driving job-not in the industry, was just 1% behind. For the fifth year, higher pay elsewhere and inconsistent daily schedules remained the top two reasons drivers quit. The quit/released ratio stayed at 66%-33%.
