Hunt Hiring Sets Record

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. is on track to set a record in 2003 for hiring drivers.

The Lowell truckload carrier will likely have hired about 16,000 drivers by year’s end. The firm hired a little more than 15,000 drivers during 2002, when its annual report tallied its final driver total at 12,029 or 79.6 percent of its 15,119 total employees.

It’s well documented that major carriers, particularly the over-the-road variety, experience high turnover ratios. That helps account for the additional 3,000 drivers the firm hired last year. But it’s difficult to accurately assess more recent turnover ratios for the firm with the information that’s available publicly. Industry experts estimate, however, that the cost of replacing a driver is $4,000-$6,000 each.

The company has enjoyed back-to-back stellar financial years, and J.B. Hunt Transport’s growing fleet suggests some expansion in this year’s driver force. Back in 2000, the company launched a three-pronged effort to improve its driver retention that included buying 15,000 Freightliner Century Class conventional tractors.