Weak market or not, truck transportation jobs saw healthy jump in March

Truck transportation jobs in March grew by the second-largest amount in the 15-month period starting in 2023 that has seen jobs in the sector decline overall, according to the monthly report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The increase of 5,100 jobs also comes with a revision of the February report on truck transportation jobs that lifted that month’s total by 2,600 jobs. Additionally, the revision for January is an increase of 1,100 jobs from the most recent estimate of that month.

With those three months of rising numbers, truck transportation jobs in March were 15,800 more than reported in August of last year, when a loss of 31,600 jobs took the total down to 1,543,100 — that big decline fueled largely by the loss of employment created by the shutdown of Yellow Corp.

Overall, the weakness in the trucking industry means that the March total is 20,600 jobs less than where it was in January 2023.

Since the start of 2023, the 5,100 jobs added in March was the second-highest monthly gain, behind only the 8,000 jobs added in September. But that gain came right after the big Yellow-driven fall in jobs in August, so the 8,000 new jobs then could be viewed as at least partially a snapback after the Yellow layoffs.

“The increase in March is somewhat baffling, but the steady growth over the last 2 quarters indicates that carriers and fleets are making investments in drivers ahead of a potential flip in trucking conditions this year,” David Spencer, the vice president of market intelligence at Arrive Logistics, said in an email statement to FreightWaves. “Lower equipment prices, some relief at the pumps and a somewhat active spot market early in Q1 may be what is enabling fleets to feel comfortable with these additions.”

Source: freightwaves.com