What the data says
- Market volatility is masking turnover risk: While driver tenure has climbed since late 2023, data from 5,000 carriers suggests retention is driven by market stagnation rather than loyalty, threatening a wave of "pent-up" turnover as freight conditions improve.
- Application volumes and job hopping remain high: April 2026 application volume dipped just 5% compared to April 2025, and drivers who changed jobs submitted new applications after an average of just 3.8 months in their new roles.
- Human connection scales the best results: Peer-referred drivers are 12 times more likely to be hired than the platform average, with personalized recruiter engagement and communication remaining the single strongest predictors of a successful hire.
Driver tenure has been climbing since late 2023, painting a positive picture for carriers, but a new analysis from trucking industry driver lifecycle management platform Tenstreet recommends carriers not get too excited about higher retention rates.
Based on anonymized data from approximately 5,000 carriers, the report surmised that drivers have held their seats because of market volatility, and the industry could see “pent-up” driver turnover if freight conditions continue to improve.
“This feels like a market stuck in neutral,” said Tenstreet CEO Tim Crawford. “If carriers can’t point to meaningful improvements they’ve made to the driver experience, today’s retention gains could prove temporary. We are seeing the beginning of an improvement in freight conditions, and that means drivers are likely to re-enter the market more aggressively as they regain confidence in available miles.”
Despite more drivers staying put, full application volume across the Tenstreet platform in April 2026 was only 5% lower than April 2025 levels as drivers continued to actively re-enter the market. Drivers who did change jobs submitted new applications after an average of 3.8 months in their new roles, according to the data.
The Tenstreet analysis suggested that fleets’ reduced driver turnover and simultaneous inability to retain their newest drivers could have something to do with the AI that has been redefining the recruiting process and other aspects of the driver lifecycle.
Drivers continue to prioritize human connection.
According to the data, drivers who were referred to their position by another driver were 12 times more likely to eventually be hired, compared to the overall platform average. Additionally, driver interest, fueled by personalized communication and recruiter engagement, remained the single strongest predictor of whether a driver was ultimately hired.
Crawford noted that carriers shouldn’t rush to implement AI without considering the driver experience.
“AI shouldn’t make the hiring process feel like the self-checkout experience at a grocery store,” he said. “It should only enable more contact and more connection between recruiters and drivers.”
Tenstreet recently launched a new AI-powered command center to help carriers maintain human connection while automating time-consuming tasks to support recruiter efficiency.
Tenstreet Assistant, which is set to roll out to the platform’s broader client base in August, incorporates more than 100,000 recruiter-backed workflows and 25,000 client-specific checklists to reflect how carriers operate today. Carriers can choose which tasks are AI-enhanced, giving them control over key decisions while saving 25% of the time typically spent on routine tasks.
“Tenstreet Assistant has already helped us reduce qualification time by automatically reviewing screening reports and results, which allows our team to process applicants faster and more efficiently,” said Brian Burke, senior onboarding manager at C&K Trucking.
Tenstreet’s pre-populated driver application platform, IntelliApp, feeds data to the assistant, which is directly integrated into Xchange, the platform’s employment verification network, which facilitates nearly half of all industry verifications across more than 8,000 providers.
