Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/757641
18 | Overdrive | December 2016 Logbook Owner-operator miles and earn- ings have been fairly level this year, according to the third-quarter report from ATBS, the nation's largest owner-operator financial services company. "I think the most remarkable thing is that income is holding steady in a flat to down year for trucking," said Todd Amen, president and chief executive officer of ATBS. Per-mile spot market rates gener- ally have fallen since January, though all segments showed a slight rebound in the summer, according to monthly transaction data from Truckstop.com. Economist Jonathan Starks said last month that the spot market appears to be moving in favor of carriers. "Through the first three quarters of this year, we're still well below 2015 for the number of loads in the system," Starks told the Truckstop. com Connected 2016 user confer- ence in Dallas. "However, the supply [of trucks] has gone down," which should cause rates to rise. Based on averages of thousands of leased and independent ATBS clients, monthly miles rose to 9,271 in the second quarter from 9,083 in the first, when there is usually a seasonal slump. Third-quarter miles rose to 9,371. Average monthly revenue grew from $11,354 in the first quarter to $12,214 in the third. That growth was offset partially by rising fuel costs, but net income grew from $14,550 in the first quarter to $15,290 in the third. However, net income per mile rose only a penny, to 54 cents. The biggest rise in income per mile over the three quarters has been for leased flatbed operators, 68 cents to 73 cents. Dry van climbed from 51 cents to 53 cents. Reefer dropped from 43 cents to 40 cents. Based on third-quarter net income for all ATBS clients, the annualized rate would be $61,160. Median truck driver compensation, mostly for long-haul company drivers, rose to $53,988 in October, reports Glassdoor Economic Research, which uses several sources to track labor market trends. That's a 7.8 percent increase from a year earlier, compared to a 2.8 percent increase in the overall labor market. The spread indicates that fleets have been aggressive with pay raises this year. – Max Heine Owner-operator income withstands downturn Leased flatbed operator clients of ATBS earned 73 cents per mile in net income during the third quarter, a bigger increase than that of dry van. Reefer income per mile fell. A coalition of major carriers has petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to immediate- ly allow hair sample tests to satisfy federal rules requiring trucking com- panies to drug-test drivers prior to employment. The agency currently recognizes only urine sample tests. The Trucking Alliance, a car- rier advocacy group that includes J.B. Hunt, Knight Transportation, Maverick Transportation and Dupre Logistics, submitted the petition. The FAST Act highway bill passed last year opens the door for the agency to recognize hair tests in lieu of urine samples, but not until the Department of Health and Hu- man Services creates guidelines for hair sample testing. The FAST Act requires HHS to finalize guidelines within a year of the law's enactment, which was to be Dec. 5 of this year. The guidelines had not been finalized last month, however, and the Alliance said HHS likely would request more time to do so. "On this issue, the private sector is already far ahead of the public sec- tor in utilizing the latest methods to detect drug users," said Lane Kidd, managing director of the Trucking Alliance. Some carriers, such as J.B. Hunt, already test drivers via hair sample, but those carriers still must spend money to test drivers via urine sample. – James Jaillet Carriers want drug testing via hair sample