NRMCA Mixer Driver Recruitment & Retention Survey Notes Progress on Several Fronts
Alexandria, VA – August 28, 2020 – The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association has released its annual Mixer Driver Recruitment & Retention Survey, which collects data about the ready mixed concrete industry’s largest employee segment. Among other findings, results show an improved outlook on producers’ ability to maintain a healthy concrete delivery professional driver pool. In 2019, 47% turned away orders because they did not have drivers to deliver concrete, down from 60% in 2018.
Another positive development showed that the number of companies with mixer driver vacancies dropped from 95% in 2018 to 87% in 2019. In 2018, the survey closed with approximately 10,000 open mixer driver jobs; as of April 30, 2020, the survey’s last day, there was a decrease to 6,000 openings. Finding drivers with ready mixed concrete experience remained the biggest hiring challenge. In response, in 2019, more producers were willing to hire 18-21 year-old drivers (51%) and newly-licensed commercial drivers (56%). Approximately 7% of new hires were new commercially-licensed drivers, about the same as the previous year. Finally, more producers (65%) rehired former employees in 2019, equating to 8% of the new-hire mixer driver pool.
NRMCA’s report again showed that mixer driver job turnover remained a concern. About one-third of the mixer driver population quit or was released in 2019. Within the approximate 25,000 who left, 74% had more than one year’s tenure. Turnover rate increased for the fifth year, to 33.4%. And for the first time, the survey found more drivers quit to work for a competitive ready mixed concrete company, though the perennial first-place holder, a short-haul driving job-not in the industry, was just 1% behind. For the fifth year, higher pay elsewhere and inconsistent daily schedules remained the top two reasons drivers quit. The quit/released ratio stayed at 66%-33%.
Contact: Eileen Dickson, 703-706-4864