Resource library

    Everything carriers, brokers, and drivers need — in one place.

    Deep guides, working calculators, FMCSA lookup tools, and per-state benchmarks. Curated by the team behind Hayes Recruiting Hub.

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    Cornerstone guides

    In-depth playbooks

    All guides
    Benchmarks

    What does driver turnover actually cost a trucking company?

    Recruiting, training, equipment downtime, and lost revenue add up to $8,200–$21,000 per turn. Here's the breakdown and how to model it for your fleet.

    Compliance

    The DOT 391 Driver Qualification File — what to include

    FMCSA 49 CFR 391 lists 11 documents required in every driver's qualification file. Miss one and a single audit can shut you down. Here's the full list.

    Compliance

    FMCSA Clearinghouse: pre-employment, annual, and limited queries

    The Clearinghouse is the single biggest source of citations in 2026 DOT audits. Here's how the three query types work and how to stay compliant.

    Recruiting

    How to recruit owner-operators in 2026 (without overpaying)

    Owner-operators search differently than company drivers. They look at three numbers, in this order: percentage, fuel surcharge, and home time. Here's the playbook.

    Recruiting

    Team driver recruiting: where to find pre-formed teams in 2026

    Pre-formed teams are 4x more retentive than carrier-paired teams. Here's where they look, what they want to hear, and the screening questions that filter friction.

    Compliance

    The 2026 DOT compliance calendar for trucking carriers

    Every recurring DOT filing, by month, with the exact form numbers and deadlines. Print it, pin it, run your fleet against it.

    Compliance

    ELD mandate 2026: the carrier compliance checklist

    The ELD mandate isn't new, but the audit posture in 2026 is stricter than ever. Here's the carrier-side checklist Hayes uses with our compliance partners.

    Benchmarks

    CDL recruiting cost-per-hire benchmarks for 2026

    Indeed, ZipRecruiter, referrals, native job-board feeds — what each costs to produce a hired, retained driver in 2026, with the math.

    Working calculators

    Run the numbers

    Driver turnover cost

    Quantify what each lost driver costs your fleet.

    Cost per hire

    Board spend, recruiter time, and onboarding rolled into one number.

    IFTA fuel tax

    Quarter-end IFTA estimate from miles + fuel per jurisdiction.

    Per-mile rate

    Convert all-in revenue and deadhead into a true RPM.

    Load board ROI

    Margin per load × loads booked − subscription = real ROI.

    Broker margin

    Net margin per load after factoring, accessorials, and overhead.

    Free tools

    FMCSA & operations lookups

    DOT/MC number lookup

    Pull FMCSA safety, authority, and insurance in one click.

    MC authority guide

    BOC-3, UCR, and the 21-day protest window explained.

    CSA score explainer

    How BASIC percentiles work and what triggers an intervention.

    Fuel surcharge calculator

    DOE-pegged FSC per mile against your base rate.

    Per-state benchmarks

    Know your market

    50-state coverage

    Freight rates by state

    Per-mile van, reefer, and flatbed benchmarks for all 50 states.

    50-state coverage

    CDL driver pay by state

    OTR solo, regional, local, and owner-operator pay ranges.

    50-state coverage

    Where CDL drivers live

    Every state ranked by driver concentration, headcount, and median pay.

    50-state coverage

    CDL jobs by state

    State-by-state CDL hiring guides with lane and pay data.

    By audience

    Solutions for every role

    carriers

    Your recruiter pipeline is too slow and your application form is too long. Drivers apply to 4 carriers in one day — whoever calls back first wins.

    shippers

    Your dispatcher spends an hour a day answering shipper status questions that should be self-serve.

    owner operators

    Tracking RPM, fuel, and maintenance by hand stops working the second you add a second truck.

    dispatchers

    TMS, ELD portal, customer EDI, broker email, fuel card, driver text. Switching context loses minutes per load.

    safety managers

    Once you have 40 drivers, paper DQFs become an audit risk. Once you have 100, they become a liability.

    brokers

    Authority lookup, insurance verification, W-9, carrier packet, NOA from factor — most brokers stitch this across 4 vendors and chase email.

    Ready to put it to work?

    See how Hayes ties recruiting, compliance, and dispatch into one workflow.

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