As 2024 draws to a close, we’ve gathered as a company to study the data and interactions we’ve seen from thousands of carriers and millions of drivers and what they mean for our clients and the industry as a whole.Ā
To help you prepare for the coming year, check out our year in review, featuring the biggest trends we saw this year and the biggest opportunities to take advantage of in 2025.
2024's Biggest Trucking Trends
1. The Growing Influence of AI
2024 was undeniably the year AI started showing up in every aspect of our lives. We chose to integrate it thoughtfully into the Tenstreet platform with automation and messaging services to help you work more efficiently and reach drivers faster and more powerfully. We don’t believe AI will replace human workers – rather, AI can speed up the more tedious aspects of your day to make more time for human-centered interactions.Ā
The biggest AI innovations in your Tenstreet dashboard this year live within Pulse+. Perhaps most notable is the PulseBot, which lets you respond to applicant questions and after-hours/weekend messages with AI-generated responses based on your policies.Ā Expect to see AI’s influence grow in 2025 –Ā this technology is only getting smarter.Ā
2. More Data Than Ever Before
Every year brings more data to our lives, which can either be a source of clarity or overwhelm us with too much information. Knowing how to use the information around you is the secret to making meaningful choices.Ā
Here are just a few ways Tenstreet has made more data available and how it can help:Ā
- Identify which merchants perform best for lead apps and full apps, qualified applicant percentages, cost per qualified app, & more with Merchant Discovery Tool 2.0, helping carriers identify the best advertisers for their needs.Ā
- Run reporting on how much time your subjects have spent on a specific training within a given timeframe using the Time Spent on Training Report, letting you see who needs to be checked on or which drivers are unlikely to show up to orientation.Ā
- Manage safety performance with the Post-Hire Scorecardās color-coded guides for each driver’s key safety metrics to see whoās compliant and who needs additional help.Ā
- Customize your Insights surveys questions with Insights Gold so you can ask about issues and challenges specific to your company.Ā
3. Everywhere and Anywhere Communication
In the digital age, drivers have increased expectations about being able to get the answers they seek in real time. Using tools that help you meet drivers where they are means you’re more likely to appeal to them if they’re looking for a job and keep them in trucks once they’re hired.Ā
Our new Pre-Application Messaging feature lets drivers ask you questions before filling out a lead or applying, meaning you can address concerns and ensure they’re a good fit ahead of time. Paired with PulseBot, this feature helps you keep drivers engaged even when they’re interested after hours by fielding policy questions instantly.Ā
Once a driver is ready to apply, make pre-hire processes even more efficient by using Structured Messaging to standardize and remove ambiguity when requesting documents and more.Ā
4. Getting the Most Value Out of What You Already Have
In an economy that’s been putting a squeeze on carriers this year, making the most of your existing tools to get more value from the same investment can be the smartest move. There are almost always opportunities to leverage if you look, and Tenstreet continues to add new free tools every year to clients’ dashboards to ensure they’re keeping up with the industry.Ā
One incredible opportunity to make the most of what you’ve already got is with free driver applications from Driver Pulse that come as a result of your Tenstreet subscription. These driver applicants who are searching for companies by name, reapplying, and following recommendations show up in your dashboard with no added spend – and for our average client, they get back 49% of the value of their monthly invoice from these free applications.Ā
5. Location-Based Awareness and Optimization
Trucking is lived out on the road. Services that take into account the unique challenges of piloting a semi can reach drivers exactly when and where they need to, which is why we acquired TruckMap in 2023 and continue to expand our offerings that use location-based information to power new enhancements. Expect to see more features within Tenstreet and Driver Pulse in the coming year as well as more location-based offerings elsewhere in the industry.Ā
Have you checked out the quadruple-header of new location-based features from 2024 yet?Ā
- PulseNav lets you send routes to drivers and view their current progress in your dashboard, helping you keep track of what’s happening out on the road.Ā
- PulseGeo triggers written or video messages based on geographies of interest whenever a driver comes within a quarter mile of a location.Ā
- Welcome Back Messages are location-specific Structured Messages deployed when a driver returns to a terminal or dock to provide relevant information like the location of coffee machines and bathrooms.Ā
- TruckMap is now embedded within Driver Pulse and provides real-time data to help truckers navigate the roads safely alongside other features drivers love.Ā
6. Investing in the Future of Trucking
Many of the most notable carriers and partners in trucking are those that give back to the industry, whether that’s by advocating for policy changes, proposing solutions to transportation challenges, or advocating for the rights of drivers. If we don’t invest in making trucking a sustainable, desirable line of work, finding the next generation of drivers will get harder than ever.Ā
Tenstreet makes it a point to stay involved and work with others to tackle industry problems head-on. We sponsor the Veteran-Ready Summit, an event that teaches carriers how to create hiring processes and post-hire practices that appeal to and support veterans. We also sponsor initiatives like the Elevate TCA Leadership Program, which helps identify and nurture the next generation of future trucking leaders. WeāreĀ members of the Next Generation in Trucking Association and work with dozens of trade associations at both the state and national level. We also created the Tenstreet for Schools network to help early-career drivers transition seamlessly from school to truck.Ā
Whatever your interest in the industry, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in where trucking is headed. Ā Ā Ā
2025's Top Trucking Opportunities
1. Create a Driver Wellness Revolution
In an increasingly uncertain trucking landscape, keeping the drivers you already have satisfied and working for you longer is one of the easiest ways to avoid the losses of empty trucks and the expense of making new hires. For the past several years, conversations about retention have focused on driver happiness – addressing issues, showing appreciation, and staying in contact while drivers are isolated on the road.Ā
2025 will bring an additional focus to the driver retention conversation –Ā wellness. The reason is the chilling gap between the average life expectancy in the United States (78 years) with the average life expectancy of a truck driver: 61 years. The truck driving lifestyle makes everything from seeing doctors regularly to eating healthy to connecting with loved ones harder, so finding ways to mitigate these health risks is the next major evolution of carrier support. Even if drivers are happy, keeping them healthy is necessary to promote a long driving career, and carriers that stand out next year will be the ones that take a driver’s full well-being into account. Ā Ā Ā
To start your company’s driver wellness revolution, try out these Tenstreet tools:Ā
- Pulse Wellness – Encourage friendly competition and recognize drivers for practicing healthy habits through the Pulse App. Creating structured challenges around health initiatives like drinking water, exercising, and eating well make drivers more aware of their habits and help encourage better choices. Ā
- Training Content Library – Our training content library has dozens of courses designed to teach drivers about healthier habits on the road. Try assigning courses like Breaking Bad Habits, Eating Healthy on the Road, Mental Health and Wellness, Managing Long Distance Relationships, and more to your fleet to start the wellness conversation.Ā
- Rewards – Award points to drivers for demonstrating healthy habits or send gift cards with an encouragement to spend the money on equipment or items that will promote wellness on the road.Ā
2. Become Impossible to Ignore by Growing Your SkillsĀ Ā
Trucking professionals are used to juggling lots of responsibilities, and being flexible and growth-oriented is what defines many of the most valuable players in the industry. Continuing to develop your skills as an employee means you’ll be the person everyone turns to when it’s time to solve a problem or launch a new initiative.
The easiest way to keep developing your skills is by registering for UConnect25, Tenstreet’s industry conference that brings together trucking’s best with the experts and solutions that can power them. In just two days you’ll get exclusive industry insights, product training, connections to other pros who have dealt with the challenges you’re facing, and inspiration for the months ahead. It’s one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to superpower your career.
To give back to our clients, carriers can use promo-code JINGLE for $150 off the price of registration. But you’ll want to act fast, this gift expires January 31st at 5pm CST.Ā
For ways to upskill in the meantime, Tenstreet offers job-specific certifications in both Recruiting and Safety – this year’s new Safety courses are Introduction to the Trucking Industry (Safety Edition), Essential Power Skills (Safety Edition), Safety Job Skills, and Effective Safety Management with Tenstreet.Ā
3. Advertise Your Driver-Preferred Tools To Get More Applications
The IntelliApp has long been the DOT-compliant application drivers ask for by name because it saves them so much time and effort when applying to jobs. The Driver Pulse app is on most drivers’ phones because it helps them manage their driving career with ease, from documents to insurance.Ā
Let applicants know you hire with these time-saving tools by using our new graphics to show you’re “Powered by Tenstreet” on your website, trucks, printed materials, or anywhere else you can think of to attract more drivers and receive more of these easy-peasy applications directly to your dashboard.Ā
2025 is Looking Bright
It was our joy and our honor to serve our clients and the industry in 2024. Let us know if thereās any way we can support you that wasnāt covered here and weāll see you in 2025!Ā
