Officials of the Arkansas-based carrier, which is the largest publicly-owned truckload carrier in the United States, said at a July 6 hearing that the carrier’s miles driven would fall by 8.85% if it did not add any drivers. It would need 13.22% more drivers to move the same number of loads and the same amount of trucks.
Hunt would have to increase its pay by 9.71% for its drivers to maintain their current pay levels. DOT estimates carriers would have to raise salaries by 0.39%to attract drivers.
When administrative staff necessary to support the larger driver force is added in, Hunt’s wage and benefit costs would increase by 24%, according to the company’s analysis.
For the full story, see the July 17 print edition of Transport Topics. .