ITC - State of the Industry - Driver Recruiting in Q1 2026

By: Brad Hackett | Director of Recruiting & Safety at Jett Express

Q1 historically we are in the thick of it for recruiting & retaining drivers.  Most companies (and even drivers) are holding off on making any big moves during the holiday season.  Q1 brings challenges of 2026 goals, account changes, etc - leading to opportunities.  With that - we at the ITC want to position you with the knowledge and skills to stay ahead of the competition. 

2025 brought us English Proficiency Mandates and crack-down on Non-domiciled CDL holders.  Signs point to these regulatory actions  showing their impact as we enter  further into the 2026 year.  This will lead to more freight opportunities for fleets that are ahead of the rules! 

Areas to focus your recruiting & retention efforts, specifically in Q1 2026:

DON’T WAIT

Do your market research on your competition, your advertising, and your operational data on what drivers are actually making!  Analyze this to ensure you are competitive, and are in the top 75th percentile or more in your market.  

Example: if you are $24/hr and your competition is $27-$32/hr for your job-type, you are going to be fighting an uphill battle! 

Also - if you are advertising 5 days out and 2 days home for a regional position, but  running the position 6+ days out, you don’t want to set up for false expectations!

Never Stop Recruiting

Even if you are full today - as much as we want all of our drivers to stay with our organization forever, sadly people retire, they get better opportunities, etc.  Even better than that, new opportunities come up where you need to hire!  Reminder it takes on average 21 days from an ad being placed to a driver being hired.  Don’t Wait until you need a driver to start the process, you will be WAY BEHIND!

Systems & Processes

I personally believe you MUST be using an Applicant Tracking System, regardless of your organization’s size.  Keeping things organized and efficient tracking of your candidates is vital!  Two ones that I personally have used and recommend are Double Nickel and Tenstreet could plug with a link (get them to be a member first!).  An ATS can help keep your internal processes running efficiently - Aligning with your Marketing, Recruiting, Safety/Compliance, and Onboarding teams of your organization in these systems will help you be efficient and not lose candidates with a clunky process!