Recruiting qualified CDL A drivers has become one of the most persistent challenges in today’s transportation and logistics landscape. Carriers across the country are navigating increasing freight demand, tightening delivery windows, and rising customer expectations. At the same time, they are contending with a driver market that is more competitive, selective, and fragmented than ever. Many organizations are turning to specialized CDL driver recruiting services to overcome capacity shortages and reduce time-to-hire.
According to the American Trucking Associations, the trucking industry has faced a shortage of more than 80,000 drivers in recent years—a number projected to exceed 160,000 by 2031. These numbers highlight the magnitude of the hiring challenge, but they still don’t capture the full picture of what transportation companies experience day to day. The core issue is not only the quantity of available drivers—it is the ability to find qualified, safety-compliant CDL A drivers who can meet operational and regulatory demands consistently.
This case study illustrates how one national Amazon Relay carrier addressed this challenge by partnering with Hire Velocity to transform its recruiting process, accelerate hiring speed, and improve driver quality.
The Challenge: Filling CDL A Roles Quickly in a Tight Labor Market
A Texas-based Amazon Relay carrier needed to expand its fleet of CDL A drivers rapidly in order to keep pace with growing route volume. The operations team was stretched thin, and internal recruiting resources were not equipped to manage the level of sourcing, screening, and coordination required to fill multiple CDL A openings simultaneously.
The carrier’s key challenges included:
- Attracting qualified CDL A drivers who met Amazon Relay expectations
- Limited time and internal staff capacity to manage recruiting
- Lengthy interview scheduling cycles
- Operational pressure due to unfilled or understaffed routes
- Difficulty maintaining performance and service levels without consistent driver coverage
Although driver shortages are widely recognized, industry reporting reveals a deeper issue. As noted in a recent analysis, trucking is facing a quality driver shortage, where the shortage is not just about numbers—it’s about qualified, reliable, safety-conscious CDL A drivers who meet the increasingly high standards of modern transportation operations. This shortage makes competition intense, hiring cycles longer, and internal teams overwhelmed.
In many cases, CDL A hiring cycles extend 45–60 days, creating delays that directly affect route coverage and customer delivery performance. The carrier needed a solution that delivered speed, quality, and consistency—without adding more work to its internal operations or HR teams.
The Solution: A Fully Managed, Technology-Enabled Recruiting Strategy
In September 2025, the carrier engaged Hire Velocity to take full ownership of its CDL A driver recruiting efforts. Hire Velocity deployed a fully managed, technology-enabled recruiting strategy designed to remove the administrative burden from the client while delivering faster, higher-quality hiring results.
Hire Velocity’s team used an integrated recruiting technology stack combined with high-touch candidate engagement to deliver a steady flow of qualified, safety-compliant CDL A drivers ready to interview within days. This approach is grounded in Hire Velocity’s proven recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) model, which blends industry expertise, data insights, and streamlined process management.
Timeline Highlights
- Kickoff: September 16, 2025
- First candidate submitted: September 22, 2025
- Interviews scheduled: within 1–2 days of submission
- Offers extended at interview, with onboarding initiated immediately
- First CDL A driver hired: October 7, 2025
This accelerated process ensured hiring momentum while relieving internal staff from time-consuming tasks such as candidate outreach, screening, and interview logistics.
The Results: Faster Hiring and High-Quality CDL A Talent
The partnership delivered meaningful, measurable results in a short period of time:
- 4 CDL A drivers hired within three weeks
- Fastest time-to-submission: 5 days from kickoff
- Fastest time-to-offer accept: 21 days
- 40% faster hiring cycle than the client’s internal averages
- 100% interview rate for qualified candidates submitted
These metrics demonstrate the power of a fully managed recruiting solution—especially in a hiring landscape where speed and candidate quality directly influence operational performance. With Hire Velocity managing the recruiting process, the carrier stabilized route coverage, met performance expectations, and reduced the strain on internal resources.
What This Means for Amazon Relay Carriers and Transportation Companies
For transportation companies—especially Amazon Relay carriers—fast, reliable access to qualified CDL A drivers is essential. Missed routes, delayed deliveries, or performance score dips can have immediate financial and operational consequences.
Hire Velocity’s CDL driver recruiting services offer several critical advantages:
Speed and Efficiency
Technology-enabled workflows accelerate every stage of sourcing, screening, and scheduling, allowing carriers to move qualified CDL A drivers from interest to offer in significantly less time.
Scalability Without Additional Internal Burden
Hire Velocity manages sourcing, outreach, screening, and interview coordination from end to end. This allows carriers to support growth, seasonal surges, or new contracts without adding internal recruiting headcount.
Deep Industry Expertise
Hire Velocity’s recruiters understand compliance, safety requirements, qualification standards, and Amazon Relay expectations. That expertise helps ensure that only qualified, aligned CDL A drivers are presented to hiring managers.
Visibility and Insight
Hire Velocity provides transparent metrics around submit-to-interview speed, time-to-offer, and hiring conversion rates, giving operations and HR leaders the data they need to make informed workforce decisions.
When combined, these capabilities help carriers improve hiring outcomes, protect route reliability, and maintain high service standards—even in a challenging labor market.
Conclusion: From Vacancy to Velocity
This case study demonstrates how a strategic recruiting partnership can transform hiring outcomes for transportation companies. By deploying a fully managed, technology-enabled solution, Hire Velocity helped this Amazon Relay carrier reduce its hiring cycle by 40% and secure multiple qualified CDL A drivers within just three weeks.
In the midst of a nationwide quality driver shortage, the ability to hire fast—and hire well—gives carriers a powerful operational advantage. Hire Velocity delivers that advantage through expertise, technology, and a proven approach to CDL A driver recruiting.
To learn more about how Hire Velocity helps carriers accelerate hiring, explore Hire Velocity’s CDL driver recruiting services.
