Faster Page Loads Deliver Truckloads of New Drivers for U.S. Xpress
Traffic jams and speed limits may prevent truckers from driving any faster, but America’s largest independent truckload carrier has found a way to speed its internet connections with drivers across the country to help address its truck driver shortage.
U.S. Xpress Enterprises last year pioneered the first test by a major motor carrier of Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) technology to optimize its recruitment websites and application process for truck drivers and potential hires that use their mobile devices. The test proved so successful — saving the Chattanooga company an estimated $1 million a year — that Google highlighted U.S. Xpress Jan. 4 as a prime example of the potential of its AMP technology.
U.S. Xpress ranks No. 21 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest North American for-hire carriers.
After running a 20-day test period, the AMP- enabled landing pages developed by The Johnson Group for U.S. Xpress loaded five times faster than non-AMP landing pages for prospective drivers applying online for work with U.S. Xpress. The faster download speeds generated a 62% increase in completed job applications when compared to the performance of identical non-AMP landing pages.
As a result, U.S. Xpress said it plans to fully implement AMP technology across all of its recruiting platforms this year, which the company believes could achieve a projected cost savings of up to $1 million per year or more in recruitment costs.
“Due to the nature of their jobs, truckers are in constant motion and the vast majority of potential hires access U.S. Xpress’ landing pages on their phones — often from areas with painfully slow mobile service,” Google said in a report on U.S. Xpress’s experience with AMP loading pages. “Filling out online job applications can be tedious, and frustrated drivers often abandon the process without completing the necessary forms.”
In the program test last year, the AMP-enabled landing page converted more than 3.4% of visits into completed job applications, compared with less than 2.2% of the applicants on the slower-loading non-AMP-enabled pages.
“AMP enabled us to deliver job offers at incredible speed, which has had a direct, positive impact on our ability to hire new drivers,” said Chris Luke, the chief technology officer at The Johnson Group.
U.S. Xpress, like most major trucking companies, has about a 90% annual turnover rate among drivers, meaning that it has to fill about 7,000 driver seats every year.
