Note: Rachel Lovell will be presenting at the CCJ Symposium, August 9-11, in Birmingham, Alabama, as part of an expert panel that will discuss the future of driver pay. Click here to register, or here to see the full agenda.
Labor shortages in the post-pandemic recovery have put a chokehold on many industries, especially transportation, where the demand for capacity is tighter than ever. Most freight market indicators, like the ton-mile index published by supply chain economist and Michigan State professor Jason Miller, hit record highs in Q4 2020 and Q1 2021 with no signs of slowing down.
Motor carriers are struggling to recruit and retain more drivers to meet demand. To address this challenge, the question that boardrooms and C-suites are trying to answer is “what drives the driver?”
Rachel Lovell recently participated in a board of directors meeting for Milan Supply Chain Solutions, which was mostly a brainstorming session to find ways Milan could separate itself from the competition in the minds of drivers.
“No idea was shot down,” she said. “We threw it all out there to think about.”
Lovell is vice president of people operations at Milan Supply Chain Solutions (CCJ Top 250, No. 159), a Jackson, Tennessee-based carrier that operates about 400 trucks and more than 1,000 dry van trailers.
