Antecedents of Truck Drivers’ Job Satisfaction and Retention Proneness

The aim of this study was to (1) explore the antecedents of truck drivers’ job satisfaction, (2) identify the impact of financial and nonfinancial job properties on satisfaction with the job and with one's employer, and (3) the drivers’ proneness to retaining their jobs. Based on the extant literature, we develop a conceptual model that is tested using survey data for 164 truck drivers. Multiple linear and ordinal logistic regressions were used to estimate the proposed effects. The results reveal that nonfinancial job properties and satisfaction with one's employer affect job satisfaction is statistically significant. Financial and nonfinancial job properties affect satisfaction with one's employer whereas the former shows a lower impact compared to the latter. Satisfaction with the job and one's employer impacts retention proneness. The contribution of this study was to (1) add to the understanding of the factors that predict retention of truck drivers in relationship to job satisfaction and (2) highlight the different roles of financial and nonfinancial job properties in this specific work context.     

美墨卡车跨境运输争端案及其启示

卡车跨境运输争端是美国与墨西哥在《北美自由贸易协定》下发生的涉及卡车跨境运输的服务贸易争端。该争端前后历时16年之久,全面展现了美国国内利益集团在对外贸易政策制定方面的影响力,更凸显了美国“实用主义”的国际法观及其对外贸易政策制定的国内政治博弈特点。而该争端的解决为世界各国如何在多边贸易体制中处理与贸易相关的社会问题提供了有益的借鉴。     

Mixed fleet dispatching in truckload relay network design optimization

We propose a mathematical formulation for strategic relay network design and dispatching method selection for full truckload transportation. The proposed model minimizes total transportation and installation costs of a mixed fleet dispatching system combining relay network and point-to-point dispatching. Operational constraints such as maximum driver tour length and load circuity are considered within the variable definition using predefined templates to generate feasible routes. High quality solutions for largely-sized problem instances are obtained in reasonable times. Computational results are analyzed to develop insights about the mixed fleet dispatching system and quantify its benefits over relay network-only and point-to-point dispatching.     

PROFITABILITY,TRANSACTIONAL ALIGNMENT,AND ORGANIZATIONAL MORTALITY IN THE U.S. TRUCKING INDUSTRY

The winds of creative destruction rarely blow more fiercely than in a newly deregulated environment. Managers simultaneously face a novel focus on operating efficiency and an onslaught of new competitors. What must managers do to enable their firms to survive in such an environment? What factors bear on firms’ survival? This paper presents an analysis of mortality of large motor carriers in the U.S. interstate for-hire trucking industry after deregulation. It examines this phenomenon through a multidisciplinary lens that encompasses organizational ecology, neoclassical economics, and transaction cost economics. The paper posits that carrier mortality is a function of both firm-level and industry-level attributes, which are drawn from both ecological and economic theories. While each of these theories separately informs motor carrier mortality, the inclusion of predictions derived from both disciplines in one model significantly increases explanatory power over either theory evaluated alone. The empirical analysis is among the first to show increased mortality when firms do not adhere to operating policies consistent with transaction cost minimization principles. In sum, managers are well advised to adopt a multidisciplinary approach to strategy to ensure their firms’ survival. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A less-than-truckload carrier collaboration planning problem under dynamic capacities

This paper addresses the deterministic dynamic single carrier collaboration problem for the small- to medium-sized less-than-truckload (LTL) industry. It is formulated as a binary (0–1) multi-commodity minimum cost flow problem and solved using a branch-and-cut algorithm. Its inherent network structure is exploited to generate the lower bounds to the branch-and-cut algorithm using the network simplex method and by relaxing the integrality constraints. Results from numerical experiments indicate inherent trade-offs at the higher degrees of collaboration between waiting for more affordable collaborative capacity and incurring higher holding costs. They also suggest that collaborating LTL carriers experience increased capacity utilization.     

中国汽车货运业经济绩效的实证分析

改革开放后 ,中国汽车货运业从垄断转变成完全竞争性市场结构。本文建立运力增长绩效分析模型 ,实证分析了中国汽车货运业的市场结构与经济效率、技术进步的关系及内外动因。分析表明竞争性市场结构下货车生产效率较高 ,但资源配置无效率且不利于技术进步 ,外部性、行业管制等环境因素对市场结构演变和经济绩效影响较大。建议通过运输组织技术进步以及调整经济管制政策 ,优化公路货运市场结构 ,提高经济绩效     

Agriculture,transportation, and the COVID-19 crisis

In this short paper, I assess how COVID-19-related disruptions in transportation services, as well as new demands for transportation services, could impact Canadian agricultural supply chains. The brief analysis reveals that agricultural access to bulk ocean freight, rail movement, and trucking has generally improved in the pandemic, bolstered by the reduced demand for these transportation services by other sectors of the economy. The intermodal containerized movement of grains and food products has seen some disruption from the lack of empty containers in North America. The widespread consumer adoption of physical distancing measures has vastly increased the demand for retail food pickup and delivery services to the point where these services are being rationed by long wait times. From a policy perspective, there is an apparent need for (a) continued supply chain monitoring and industry engagement, (b) the proactive development of strategies to deal with absenteeism and other potential threats to the supply chain, and (c) an assessment of the economic and health merits of providing additional public resources to provide greater access to grocery pickup and delivery services.     

汽车运输业的可持续发展对策

汽车运输要克服对生态环境产生的不良影响．促进社会经济可持续发展．有三个对策：一是使用作为清洁能源的车用乙醇汽油和天然气为燃料；二是采用科学的组织管理方法，提高运输效率，减轻环境污染，三是作为循环经济发展的重要支撑体系．开展反向物流服务。     

Driver Management That Drives Carrier Performance

The trucking industry provides the majority of transportation services in the United States. Truck drivers, particularly their driving performance, which influences how customers perceive motor carriers, are integral to the success of their firms. Hence, driver management is a topic of great interest to the trucking industry, logistics practitioners, and logistics researchers. Although the logistics literature does address issues relating to driver management, advice is scarce regarding how motor carriers might manage drivers to improve operational performance and thus the bottom line. Our results shed light on the processes whereby some formal controls directly influence operational performance, whereas others indirectly influence operational performance; that is, in the latter case, the influence of formal controls on operational performance is mediated by certain informal controls. According to our findings, motor carrier firms that employ a combination of formal and informal controls perform better operationally than firms that do not do so. And, thus, those employing such a combination of controls will realize a larger market share.     

Take This Job and Shove It: Examining the Influence of Role Stressors and Emotional Exhaustion on Organizational Commitment and Identification in Professional Truck Drivers

Professional truck drivers experience many challenges in the course of performing their jobs. Drivers must meet the needs of their company, shippers, and receivers as well as comply with safety regulations. It is well documented that truck drivers are prone to physical exhaustion; however, they may also be subject to emotional exhaustion, which can impact their decision to remain with a company. This research examines the influence of job stressors, such as role conflict and role ambiguity and their relationship to emotional exhaustion in professional truck drivers. Furthermore, the effect that job stressors and emotional exhaustion have on the efforts of a firm to build corporate identification, collective mind, and commitment among truck drivers is examined. Using qualitative and quantitative data from 435 professional truck drivers, a conceptual model is developed and tested using structural equation modeling. Findings are discussed and implications for managers in improving driver retention rates are offered.