Large U.S. Truckload Turnover Hits High, LTL Fleets See Low

Large U.S. Truckload Turnover Hits High, LTL Fleets See Low
Posted: Oct 7, 2013 12:26 PM | Last Updated: Oct 7, 2013 12:26 PM

ARLINGTON, VA. — Annualized turnover rate at large U.S. truckload fleets climbed two points to 99 percent in the second quarter of 2013, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) reported.

The increase pushed the rate to its highest point since Q312, and just above the annual rate of 98 percent in 2012, ATA noted.

The ongoing turnover shows that the market for qualified, experienced drivers is extremely tight, said Bob Costello, ATA's chief economist.

“The continued improvement in the freight economy, coupled with regulatory challenges from the changing hours-of-service rule and CSA will only serve to put a further squeeze on the market for drivers.

“A tight market for drivers will push costs higher for fleets as they work to recruit or retain quality drivers,” Costello said.

Meanwhile, turnover at truckload fleets with less than $30 million in annual revenue held steady at 82 percent while turnover at less-than-truckload fleets dropped nine percentage points to 6 percent — the lowest level in two years, said ATA.

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Best Fleets to Drive For Contest Brings Pride, Unity and Money

Best Fleets to Drive For Contest Brings Pride, Unity and Money
Posted: Sep 5, 2013 03:35 PM | Last Updated: Sep 5, 2013 04:10 PM

ALEXANDRIA, VA. — The Truckload Carriers Association has opened up nominations for their popular Best Fleets to Drive For survey once again.

The survey-slash-contest requires owner-operators and company drivers to nominate the fleets they drive for — that's not only a good way to get on your boss's good side, it could also be good for your paycheck as the annual driver pay at past finalists has risen by at least 10 percent over the past five years.

But it ain't no pick-a-winner-out-of-the-hat type contest.

After a company is nominated and chooses to continue with the survey and contest, its "policies and processes are scrutinized, from benefits and professional development, to driver and community support, to safety record and company culture," TCA explained.

Last year's Best Overall Fleet for Company Drivers was Grand Island Express out of Nebraska. According to Grand Island President Tom Pirnie, the competition "forces a carrier to examine, in depth, its recruiting, HR policies, procedures and benefits. A review of maintenance and safety practices and results is also necessary."

And that's a good thing, even if you don't win. "The whole process will give you a benchmark as to how you compare to your competition. It will bring positive change to your company," Pirnie said. "The competition can supply renewed energy and focus on company improvements. Setting goals and working on improvements can upgrade the communications and morale of all the associates, including the drivers themselves. Winning or placing in the top 20 creates company pride and unity."

The deadline to nominate your company is November 1, 2013, and you can get the forms here.

And don't forget about the all-Canadian version of Best Fleets to Drive For, expected sometime in 2014. 

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Things I've Learned About Production and Processes in Cleaning Fleets of Vehicles

Prior to retirement, I ran a mobile truck washing franchising company, and about a dozen years ago, I went in with 4 of our franchisees in the greater Phoenix AZ area to secure an account with the big water and power company there to negotiate a contract to clean all of their vehicles. It turns out the utility company already had a nationwide fleet washing company cleaning their vehicles. In fact they were doing the vehicles for only $2.80 each. You might think that price is far too low, and so did we at the time, at least my franchisees did, but I was more than happy to undercut my competitor.

One thing you need to understand when cleaning fleets of vehicles is the money is in the time, not the job. And when you have 100 work vans, "all the row" and all the same size, it's really easy to clean 60 to 100 vehicles in an hour with a small crew. We should've taken that account, but we didn't. Later we ended up with a cable company with about half as many vehicles and our crews bid only three dollars per vehicle and made a lot of money because they had the production process, and system down to a science, similar to an assembly-line.

Later, they went back to bid on the contract for the utility company, but by then the utility company had signed a three-year agreement, renewing the old agreement with a competing company. A lesson learned I suppose.

Another thing I have learned about cleaning fleets of vehicles is to always have long hose reels for both the fill up tank, a 300-400 feet long 1-inch industrial hose, and 250 to 350 feet or more of high pressure hose with quick disconnects every 50 to 75 feet. This will allow you to fill up with water while your washing is under full production. If you keep the team moving while you are cleaning, it is amazing how many vehicles you can do per hour.

Indeed, you must think about fleet vehicle washing in terms of production, assembly lines, and systems, and not look at each vehicle as a separate entity to be cleaned. Further you should care more about the time you spend on the job to adequately do quality work, than the price per vehicle that you will be billing. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and learn some of the lessons that our company learned the hard way. If you do this, I believe in the end you will make more money.

Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, http://www.truckwashguy.com/ and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes writing 24,222 articles by July 22, 2011 at 2:22 PM is going to be difficult because all the letters on his keyboard are now worn off now..

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