The strategies that reduce driver turnover are the same few across fleet types. Pay drivers accurately and competitively. Run a structured first 90 days. Ask for feedback and act on it. Give drivers a mentor and a path forward. Then measure turnover every month so you know what is working. This guide explains each one, with figures and fleet examples, for carriers and for FedEx Service Providers hiring linehaul and pickup and delivery drivers.
TL;DR
- Turnover is expensive. A University-led study of 15 truckload companies put the average cost per departing driver at $8,234, and recent industry figures run higher.
- The first months matter most. Newly hired drivers face the highest churn risk in roughly their first four months.
- Pay is the top reason drivers say they would leave, so audit settlements for errors before you change rates.
- Listening only works if you respond. Fleets that added engagement calls, advisory boards and structured feedback report lower turnover.
- Track turnover monthly, by tenure band, so you can see whether a change helped.
Table of Contents
- What driver turnover costs
- Why drivers leave
- Strategy 1: Fix pay accuracy before you raise pay
- Strategy 2: Build a structured first 90 days
- Strategy 3: Listen, then act on what you hear
- Strategy 4: Safety, equipment and recognition
- Strategy 5: Set honest expectations at hiring
- How to measure whether retention is improving
- Retention for FedEx Service Providers
- Hire for fit while you work on retention
- FAQ
- Sources
What driver turnover costs
Turnover is a cost that rarely shows up on one line. Recruiting spend, screening, orientation, idle equipment and lost productivity sit in different budgets.
The Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute study (SP-146) found an average truckload turnover cost of $8,234 per driver, with a range from $2,243 to $20,729 across 15 companies. The spread was wide partly because companies kept records of different quality. That study is from 1998, so treat the dollar figures as a floor and the lesson as current: you cannot manage a cost you do not record.
The scale of the problem is also documented. According to ATRI's operational cost research as summarized by Netradyne, the sector-weighted average driver turnover rate was 48.0% in 2024, up from 46.6% in 2023. LTL operations averaged about 20.8%.
A simple way to size your own cost:
- Count drivers who left in the last 12 months.
- Add recruiting, screening, orientation, training pay and the revenue lost while a truck or route sat empty.
- Divide by the number of departures.
Multiply the result by the departures you expect next year. That is the budget available to spend on retention before it pays for itself.
Why drivers leave
Research points to a short list of causes.
Pay. In CCJ's 2025 survey, more money was the top reason drivers gave for leaving their current fleet, at 41%. Choice of routes and hauls was a distant second at 22%. The National Academies found that piece-rate pay and irregular earnings, combined with stressful working conditions, contribute to persistently high turnover among long-distance truckload carriers.
Early experience. Drivers who leave in their first year earn about 25% less than those who stay a full year. A study cited by Trimble found a third of new drivers quit within 90 days and another 22% within six months.
Culture and feedback. ATRI's 2022 research found that 84% of younger drivers consider company culture important when joining or staying with a carrier, and that structured feedback and coaching are key to training them.
For a deeper look at the errors fleets repeat, see our guide to driver retention mistakes fleet managers must fix.
Strategy 1: Fix pay accuracy before you raise pay
Before changing a rate, confirm drivers are paid what they are owed. Pay errors cost drivers trust and cost you the driver.
A practical audit:
- Pull 20 recent driver settlements.
- Check each line against dispatch and ELD records: miles, accessorials, detention, layovers, stop pay and bonuses.
- Log every error by type and by driver.
- Fix the process that caused the most errors first.
- Explain each settlement in plain language, so a driver can reconcile it in a few minutes.
Two categories of pay are often missed. Detention is one: see how to claim your share of detention pay. Stop pay is the other: our 180 day stop pay audit checklist walks through it.
Then look at the rate
If your audit is clean and drivers still leave for pay, the rate is the next lever. A 2021 peer-reviewed study by Trick, Peoples and Ross suggested that raising compensation can be cost effective, because the annual wage differential needed to retain drivers was below the study's conservative estimate of $3,654.72 per driver turnover cost. Your own cost figure from the section above tells you whether the same logic holds for you.
FedEx Service Providers can use our guide on how to set competitive driver compensation. Clear pay in the job post also helps. Read what pay transparency laws mean for trucking employers and drivers before you publish ranges.
Strategy 2: Build a structured first 90 days
Most preventable turnover happens early, so this is where effort pays back fastest.
A 90-day plan that works for most fleets
| Window | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Before day 1 | Confirm route, schedule, pay structure and equipment in writing | Sets expectations before the driver commits |
| Week 1 | Orientation, equipment walk-through, named point of contact | Drivers know who to call |
| Day 30 | Short survey and a check-in call | Catches problems while they are fixable |
| Day 60 | Review settlements and home time against what was promised | Keeps promises visible |
| Day 90 | Performance conversation and next-step discussion | Moves the driver from new hire to team member |
Estes Express Lines ran a multi-year effort that included a 30-day new-hire survey, a driver checklist and a welcome kit, and reported turnover of roughly 12% to 18%.
For templates, use our 90 day driver onboarding checklist and our guide to onboarding new CDL drivers quickly. New CDL holders face their own set of problems, covered in 10 common first-year CDL driver challenges.
Pair new drivers with a mentor
At Epes Transport, 71% of drivers with a mentor were still employed at four months, against 47% of those without one. Pick mentors who are paid, who have a clean record and who want the role. Give them a short list of topics for the first two weeks: route knowledge, paperwork, equipment checks and who to call for what.
Help drivers with the paperwork around the truck
Drivers who lease or buy their own equipment take on tax and compliance tasks that are easy to get wrong in the first year. Pointing them to a Form 2290 first-time filers guide removes one source of early stress and shows you care about their first months on the road.
Strategy 3: Listen, then act on what you hear
Gathering feedback is easy. Responding is where most fleets stop.
Leonard's Express introduced regular driver engagement calls and a driver advisory board, and reported turnover down 15% to 20% since starting them.
CEVA took a structured approach and cut driver turnover from 50% in 2022 to 17% in 2025. Its feedback process has two tiers: local issues go to the relevant team, and broader issues are reviewed quarterly with senior management. CEVA's Marco Henry said the key is acting on feedback and telling the driver you took note. Without that, he said, collecting it is useless.
A workable version for a small fleet or Service Provider:
- Hold a short call with each driver every month, with the same person each time.
- Keep a written log of issues and who owns each one.
- Reply to every issue within a week, even if the answer is no.
- Meet quarterly with a few drivers to review the log and pick what to fix next.
- Tell drivers what changed because of their input.
Strategy 4: Safety, equipment and recognition
Drivers notice well-maintained equipment and consistent home time. Trimble lists competitive compensation, consistent home time policies and well-maintained equipment among its core retention strategies, along with open communication, recognition and training.
Safety coaching can support retention when it is framed as help. ATRI's Dan Murray said that drivers appreciated it when dash cam data was used to make them better drivers. The practical rule: use video and telematics to coach, share the good clips as well as the bad, and never use the data only to discipline.
Recognition does not need a large budget. Name safe-mileage milestones, thank drivers for covering a difficult route, and put anniversaries on the calendar.
Strategy 5: Set honest expectations at hiring
Some turnover starts in the job post. If the posting promises weekly home time and the route delivers less, the driver leaves in the first months and tells others.
Be specific about:
- Role type: linehaul, CDL-A solo, CDL-A team, or pickup and delivery.
- Schedule, start times and typical home time.
- How pay is calculated, including accessorials and detention.
- Equipment and terminal location.
- What the first 90 days look like.
Team roles need extra attention to pairing and compatibility. Our guides on team driver recruiting strategies for CDL-A hiring and solo versus team driver hiring differences cover this.
How to measure whether retention is improving
Pick a few numbers and review them on the same day each month.
- Annualized turnover rate. Departures divided by average headcount.
- Turnover by tenure band. Under 30 days, 30 to 90 days, 90 days to one year, and over one year.
- Cost per hire. Include recruiting, screening, orientation and lost productivity.
- Settlement error rate. Errors found divided by settlements audited.
- Feedback close rate. Issues resolved divided by issues raised.
Use industry benchmarks for context. The STPS Driver Turnover Report, built from payroll activity, measured monthly turnover of 8.52% in October 2026, and a rolling 12-month sum of 122.59% for November 2025 through October 2026. The report is updated monthly, so check it for the current reading. Compare your numbers to your own segment: ATRI's figures show LTL carriers run well below the sector average.
Change one thing at a time where you can. If you fix settlement accuracy in one quarter and add a mentor program the next, you can tell which one moved the 90-day number.
Retention for FedEx Service Providers
Service Providers have specific pressures: route-based work, peak-season volume and a driver pool that can move between nearby operators. The principles above apply with a few adjustments.
- Be clear about routes. Pickup and delivery drivers want to know their service area, start time and typical stop count before they accept.
- Plan for peak. Tell drivers what peak season looks like in hours and pay, ahead of time.
- Match the role to the driver. A driver who wants home every night will not stay in a linehaul seat, and the reverse is also true.
- Keep hiring while you retain. Even strong programs lose drivers. A steady pipeline of FedEx-experienced applicants keeps one resignation from becoming a missed route.
Our view on retention
We built UCEP for FedEx Service Providers and the drivers who work with them, so we see both sides of a hiring decision. In our experience, retention and recruiting are one process. The job post sets expectations, the application sets the first impression, and the first 90 days confirm or break the promise.
We think Service Providers should treat the job post as the first retention tool. When linehaul, CDL-A solo, CDL-A team and pickup and delivery roles are described clearly, with pay structure and schedule, the drivers who apply are the ones who fit. Our platform is designed around that idea: dedicated job categories, employer and terminal directories, and driver and Service Provider reviews, so drivers can research an employer before they accept.
We also believe reviews are a feedback channel. A Service Provider that reads what drivers say and fixes the pattern behind it is doing the same work as a driver advisory board, at a lower cost. Our built-in applicant tracking and targeted driver alerts are designed to let a small team keep a pipeline moving while it works on keeping the drivers it already has.
Aaron
Hire for fit while you work on retention
A Service Provider that recruits through a FedEx-focused channel reaches drivers who already understand the work, which supports the expectation-setting described above. UCEP is a job board and recruiting platform built for Service Providers contracted with FedEx. Our positioning is that it is the only driver recruitment platform dedicated exclusively to FedEx Service Providers, with targeted reach to 140,000+ FedEx-experienced drivers.
New recruiters can start with a Complimentary Trial Listing, and the Standard Monthly Plan is $99 per month. See the details on the UCEP pricing page. Drivers can browse FedEx-related driving jobs, including pickup and delivery, CDL-A solo linehaul and CDL-A team linehaul roles, at no cost.
FAQ
What is the most effective way to reduce driver turnover?
Start with pay accuracy and the first 90 days. Pay is the top reason drivers say they would leave, and the highest churn risk comes in the first months. Auditing settlements, setting honest expectations and checking in at day 30, 60 and 90 address both.
How much does it cost to replace a driver?
It depends on your records and your fleet. A university study of 15 truckload companies found an average of $8,234 per driver, with a range from $2,243 to $20,729. Calculate your own number from recruiting, screening, orientation and lost productivity.
How do you retain delivery drivers?
Give them predictable routes and start times, accurate pay and a named contact. Add a mentor for new hires and a regular feedback call. Then respond to what drivers raise and tell them what changed.
What is a good driver turnover rate?
It varies by segment. ATRI-based figures put the sector-weighted average at 48.0% in 2024 and LTL at about 20.8%. Compare yourself to similar operations, and track your own trend by tenure band.
Sources
- The Costs of Truckload Driver Turnover (SP-146)
- Pay and Working Conditions in the Long-Distance Trucking Industry, National Academies
- CCJ: What Drivers Want report
- FleetOwner: retaining newly hired drivers
- Netradyne: ATRI turnover figures
- Trimble: 3 truck driver retention strategies
- ATRI: recruiting, training and retaining younger adults
- Driver turnover in the trucking industry: What's the cost?
- Trucking Dive: Estes Express Lines
- CCJ: How fleets use technology to increase driver engagement
- CCJ: Leonard's Express
- IRU: Driver retention starts with listening
- Motive: 4 ways to improve truck driver retention
- STPS Driver Turnover Report