Yellow bankruptcy sends trucking jobs plummeting in August

Trucking jobs experienced their largest monthly drop since the pandemic first hit in early 2020.

According to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 37,000 trucking jobs were eliminated from the economy in August. This marks the largest decline since April 2020, when jobs went down by 84,500.

Revised numbers show a decrease of 3,500 trucking jobs in July and a decrease of more than 1,000 jobs in June.

David Spencer, vice president of market intelligence at Arrive Logistics, told Land Line that the significant decrease in trucking jobs is likely the result of the Yellow Corp. bankruptcy that affected tens of thousands of drivers. Spencer expects more trucking job losses in the near future.

“The key takeaway when considering all of the recent information that has been made available is that trucking conditions are as tough as we thought they were,” he said. “The spot rate remains below the cost to operate a truck, and savings are running out quickly for carriers. It appears the cyclical nature of trucking continues. Looking forward, I expect it to get worse before it gets better in terms of trucking conditions and employment levels. However, as tough as it is to see, capacity leaving the market can be a good thing for those who can survive the current environment. Ultimately, this trend is what will set up market vulnerability, enabling the next inflationary cycle. I’m still predicting this to occur in the later part of the first half of 2024 (Q2).”

Year to date, trucking jobs are down by 39,500. Last year, trucking jobs went up by nearly 61,000.

Accounting for all transportation sector jobs, employment is down by more than 34,000 jobs. This year, transportation jobs have dropped five times. Since the pandemic, transportation sector jobs have dropped only twice before: in April 2021 (minus 12,900 jobs) and in November 2022 (minus 37,100).

Trucking experienced the largest monthly decrease, followed by couriers/messengers (minus 9,000) and rail transport (minus 100). The remaining subsectors all experienced an increase, with transit/ground passenger transportation leading the way (5,500), followed by air transport (3,400) and water transportation (1,300).

Based on revised numbers, employment in the transportation sector dropped by 10,000 in July. June’s revised numbers show a decrease of more than 19,000 jobs, up significantly from the initially reported decrease of nearly 9,000 jobs.

Year to date, transportation employment is down by nearly 30,000 jobs. For 2022 overall, transportation employment increased by nearly 261,000 jobs.

Month to month, wages increased in August. Average weekly earnings of all employees in the transportation and warehousing sector increased by $2.41 to $1,119.00. Compared to August 2022, hourly earnings are up to $29.37 from $27.92. Accounting for only production and nonsupervisory employees, average weekly earnings decreased from $1,049.79 in July to $1,046.83. Weekly earnings are up $1.81 to $27.99 compared to last August.

Across all industries, nearly 190,000 jobs were added to the economy. The unemployment rate rose from 3.5% to 3.8%. Compared to the previous year, the unemployment rate for transportation and material moving occupations increased to 5.8% from 5.1%.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the consumer price index has jumped by 3.2% over the past 12 months. The 0.2% monthly increase in July was broad-based, with the indexes for shelter, gasoline and food being the largest contributors. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2%, up 4.7% over the year. LL