10/28/2026
Budget season is here.
For most carriers, the 2027 recruiting budget will start the same way: take this year’s number, add a few percent, move on.
But this year’s number was built for this year’s fleet.
If you’re adding trucks, opening a new lane, or carrying more turnover than you’d like to admit, last year’s budget isn’t a baseline. It’s a ceiling.
A better starting question: how many drivers do we actually need to seat next year, and what does it cost to find them?
Work backward from the trucks you plan to run. Not forward from the check you wrote last year.
The fleets that grow next year will be the ones that budgeted for growth this fall.