CCJ profiles a fleet each month for deploying – and in many cases, developing – innovative strategies and/or technologies that improves the operation of their business in some area (or areas); be it in recruitment and retention, maintenance, back office technologies and anything (and everything) in between. Below is a round up of CCJ's 2022 Innovators. Pittsburgh flatbed carrier JLE was CCJ's 2022 Innovator of the Year. CCJ Innovators profiles carriers and fleets that have found innovative ways to overcome trucking’s challenges. If you know a carrier that has displayed innovation, contact CCJ Chief Editor Jason Cannon at [email protected] or 800-633-5953. The CCJ Innovators program is brought to you by Comdata, Freightliner Trucks, Omnitracs and Valvoline. Texas fleet develops algorithm to drive revenue up, turnover downaifleet bills itself as "a tech-first carrier, rebuilding trucking from the ground up" with advanced technologies and data science routing. Based in Austin, Texas, the 40-truck dry van truckload carrier launched last year taking aim at inefficiencies in the trucking sector, where driver utilization is below 50% and driver turnover is more than 90%. The muscle behind aifleet is a proprietary algorithm that's at the center of all the carrier's operations seeking to eliminate "as much dwell that we can on a driver's journey end-to-end, from home-to-home," said aifleet Founder and CEO Marc El Khoury said. "We need technology and a business model that is obsessed with driver happiness. And so, right now, our technology is very driver-centric. It adjusts based on driver preferences as well. You know, not all drivers want to haul the same kind of freight. Not all drivers want to go to the same cities that other drivers want. So this is what our technology does. It's very focused on our drivers and we'll continue to learn as we hopefully continue developing it and continue investing it." Technology an integral part of diversity and inclusion at U.S. XpressBehind every good diversity and inclusion program is a good bot — or at least that’s some of the story at U.S. Xpress (CCJ Top 250, No. 19), which is enjoying a rise in its Spanish speaking driver population thanks in part to an algorithm dedicated to reaching applicants whose primary language is not English. As a valuable part of the company’s English as a second language program (ESL), the chat bot has so far racked up more than 500,000 interactions and 20,000-plus inquiries since the program kicked off late last summer. “Recruiters are getting flooded with phone calls,” said Sharia Sandoval, operations specialist at U.S. Xpress who helps lead ESL efforts. Woody Bogler Trucking turns to crypto in new age of driver appreciationBitcoin and various cryptocurrency kin like Ethereum or Dogecoin might be the most widely known digital currencies, but one of the more trendy quasi-monetary devices is the non-fungible token (NFT). Hoping to cash in on the trend, 205-truck van and end dump trucking carrier Woody Bogler Trucking is leaping into the metaverse, releasing what is likely the first NFT collection in the trucking industry. "You can think of an NFT as a deed or a token," said Woody Bogler President and CEO Tracy Bogler, adding that NFTs have been a blooming personal interest. "Owning an NFT really provides a sense of belonging to a community, and we thought it would be interesting to create a collection and then offer ownership to our drivers." GP Transco improves transparency, driver retention and the bottomline with OpenRoad TMSGP Transco's (No. 177) OpenRoad TMS first hit the road five years ago and has since yielded an impressive ROI of roughly 480% for the dry van carrier while improving driver retention and building trust among customers. Sergey Bort, GP Transco’s vice president of marketing and strategic business development, said the company saves roughly 1.7% per every dollar of revenue due to OpenRoad TMS. The omniscient feature keeps all interested parties updated on truck location without having to regularly pick up the phone. That’s a nice touch for all concerned, especially drivers. “[OpenRoad] stops brokers and customers from bugging GP and the driver,” said Cody Von Stein, logistics coordinator and carrier compliance manager at Westside Transport in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which frequently partners with GP Transco. Roadrunner overhauls its business to reduce transit timesIllinois-based Roadrunner (No. 100) has made significant changes in its operations to improve its reputation and efficiencies with new leadership, a new network and new technologies, resulting in greater capacity and reduced transit times. The 38-year-old company, which experienced a setback in 2017 following an accounting scandal, has rebuilt itself from nearly the ground up. Roadrunner developed internal proprietary business intelligence tools to better track all facets of a shipment, from quote to invoice – improvements that Hurst said allow Roadrunner to continuously work on building an efficient network with reduced handlings and speedier transit times. Roadrunner also revamped its Haul NOW mobile app to simplify self-service and delivery processes for independent contractor drivers. Roehl Transport reinvents driver pay to compensate for time-consuming workTime is money, but miles have long been the preferred unit of measurement when it comes to charging shippers and paying drivers. That can be problematic for shrinking lengths of haul and an industry that's fraught with delays like traffic snarls and shipper/receiver detention – losses in productivity that don't provide fleets with a lot of incentive to convert to an hourly pay structure. Roehl Transport (No. 60) this year blended the best of both worlds, offering its national, regional and home daily fleet drivers a mileage band pay plan featuring rates per mile based on the length of haul with added activity pay. Even though the company has a per-hour rate benchmark that it's seeking to provide the driver, Norlin said not going to a full per-hour pay model leaves productivity incentives in-play. FreightWorks shines multimedia light on the people of truckingFreightWorks, a 100-plus truck, hazmat, high-security and temperature-controlled freight hauler based in Rutherfordton, N.C., debuted a podcast in September 2021 – just one more podcast trying to stand out in an ocean of more than 2 million worldwide. The bi-weekly series podcasts are purposely absent of recruiting pitches that tout FreightWorks' home time and driver pay, rather its focus is on news and events that affect the industry as a whole, telling the stories of the men and women who keep it moving, and the people trucking touches along the way. "The supply chain stories that became national news only reinforced what people in the industry have known for a long time," said Butch Maltby FreightWorks communications director and host of Life by the Mile, "which is a penetrating look into the obvious – our economy is so dependent on people suiting up and showing up every day and getting in the truck and 24/7 traversing the ribbon arteries of highway." Seattle carrier combines proprietary tech with single-lane relay strategyDriver one, starting in Oregon, will bring a Central California-bound load from Oregon to Northern California. A second driver arrives from Central California with an Oregon-bound load. The two drivers will swap trailers halfway and return to where they started so the loads can carry on to their final destination. That’s how truckload carrier Rollzi operates. "The strategy and the technology go hand in hand; you can't have the strategy without the tech, and the tech is not as valuable without the strategy,” Rollzi Co-founder and CEO Damien Hutchins said. “I get this question a lot where they ask, ‘What tool would you buy to be a tech forward trucking company?’ I think what's missing in that question is, ‘What is the strategy you're going to marry to it?” Show hauler locks in owner-op payCharlie Deull, part of the family that owns and operates the Broadway show-related freight carrier Clark Transfer, experienced the COVID-19 pandemic as an existential business threat. He watched as, quite literally overnight, the entirety of the touring-theater business came an abrupt halt, sidelining a then around 100-unit fleet made up entirely of leased owner-operators. When Broadway began to return in earnest the fleet was essentially half its pre-pandemic size, and efforts to recruit were stymied by a mixture of a booming spot market and the reality that Clark’s business, though above-average in owner-op compensation, is below average when it comes to home time and other creature comforts given the touring nature of its freight. The company did not want to shift to a powered-equipment-purchasing operation and hire company drivers, as “we for years have believed that the people who made this all happen are amazing owner-operators,” Deull said. Clark, rather, adjusted its leased-owner compensation structure to provide a backstop it believed would add a measure of income security that would be particularly attractive to business owners whose memory of the pandemic was fresh. Schneider launches first digital marketplace for bulk shippersCarriers for years have developed or sought out platforms that ease the process of load quoting and booking for their customers, but the complexities and requirements that come with hauling bulk made automating that process problematic. Schneider (No. 9), one of just a few large carriers with bulk capacity – which it has offered for more than 50 years – launched in August a first-of-its-kind digital marketplace and extending 24/7 visibility to bulk shippers. Launched in 2020, Schneider's FreightPower marketplace leverages the strength of the company's pool of more than 11,000 trucks and 37,000 trailers to offer shippers access to capacity. To extend digital marketplace capabilities to its bulk customers, Schneider expanded its FreightPower technology and added "a few more steps that a shipper has to take, and a few more questions that they have to answer – or let's say boxes they have to check" said Schneider Senior Vice President of Bulk Jason Howe. Drayage carrier improves efficiencies for drivers and customers at ports, inland terminalsThe infamous congestion that began last year at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach laid bare the supply chain inefficiencies and system-wide turmoil that exist throughout the nation’s marine and inland terminal network. Peel piles can greatly improve productivity for drayage operations. According to Mason George, IMC Companies’ (No. 59) president of national accounts, peel piles can reduce driver detention by three times and cut dwell time – the time a container sits at a port terminal – from nine days to an average of three days. A driver might make five turns instead of two at the Port of Los Angeles, and seven turns instead of three at an inland terminal like Memphis or Chicago, George said. IMC, the nation’s largest marine drayage company and operating in nearly 50 inland and marine locations, wanted to bring the peel pile concept to more of its customers, with some added efficiencies for its 2,200 drivers. In 2020, Collierville, Tennessee-based IMC began development of a proprietary version of the peel pile concept that it now markets as SmartStacks. As containers arrive at a terminal, those for participating IMC customers are grouped into separate SmartStacks piles for priority service. Unlike a regular peel pile, in which all containers are typically hauled to a single location, containers in a SmartStacks pile could be destined for any number of inland terminal locations. The new age of driver recruitment leans into the power of social mediaMelton Truck Lines (No. 84) launched its new driver influencer program earlier this year as a new-age method of word-of-mouth advertising, said Kennedy Ruley, digital marketing manager at the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based flatbed trucking company. She said word-of-mouth advertising, which has consistently been one of Melton’s top 10 hiring sources, trumps all when it comes to effectively communicating a message, especially in the trucking industry as drivers meet on the road at truck stops across America. But with the pandemic limiting in-person contact, and that becoming more of the norm post pandemic, her team realized the traditional method of referrals was diminishing. “With influencer marketing being such a popular and effective concept, it was surprising to realize much of this method of advertising had not been formally implemented in our industry’s fleets,” Ruley said. https://ift.tt/h9JHoDz
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The truckers in Katherine Lehman’s family are pretty old school in their profession, even to the point of using paper maps to plan routes. The trucking industry has been slower than others to adopt technology, but that is changing with companies like Onfleet – where Lehman serves as director of digital marketing – that offers mapping and route optimization solutions. At Wilson Logistics, all trucks are equipped with onboard telematics that assist with routing and mapping, but it remains the responsibility of every driver to properly plan each trip and make accommodations for delays, said Chief Operating Officer Bruce Stockton. That could mean using a paper map or a navigational system, and though many carriers have upgraded from paper and pen operations, even basic navigational systems aren’t optimal anymore. To drive efficiency, it has become even more important for carriers to invest in route-optimizing technology, which is especially true as the country will soon see the welcomed challenges that come with President Biden’s infrastructure bill, which includes $120 billion in Federal Highway Apportionments for highways and bridges for fiscal years 2022 and 2023 with over 2,800 bridge projects having been launched as of the one-year anniversary of the bill signing on Nov. 15. Its expected impacts – including road closures, freight delays and potential increases in traffic violations, among other things – to the transportation industry is a regular dinner table conversation for Lehman and her family as she sits between truckers and civil engineers. “I think the companies that are going to have the most successful projects and stay on schedule, and stay on budget – and just be more successful and eventually get more contracts – are going to be the ones utilizing tools like Onfleet to make their operations more efficient,” Lehman said. “In this day and age, the more efficient you can be and the happier you can keep your drivers, the more success you're going to see as a business. And one of the ways of doing that is by improving their routes with route optimization. “They want to have nice routes that are planned for them so they can make their day as efficient as possible and make the most money possible,” she added. “So I think these tools that are making that process more streamlined for both the drivers and the dispatchers is bringing improvement to the industry as a whole.” In anticipation of the road projects that will result from the bill, which includes provisions to upgrade transportation and supply chains, Lehman said Onfleet will use its new series B funding to implement more product improvements and expansions to make its systems more efficient. John Elliott, CEO of Michigan-based Load One Transport (CCJ Top 250, No. 176) and chariman of the Truckload Carriers Association, said many modern dynamic systems are already developed using artificial intelligence to adjust for traffic and construction delays. One of those is Trucker Path, which uses mapping systems like Google and Here to provide heavy-duty truck navigation, which includes bridge height and weight limits. But the more complex the roadways – made so by construction projects – the more complex the mapping/route optimization tool needs to be, said Chris Oliver, chief marketing officer at Trucker Path. “A good chunk of the industry uses just those simple mapping tools,” he said, "but as things become more complex, and these work (zones) pop up, you're going to need something that's more robust and more capable than just the basics” – something that goes beyond mapping with bridge heights and weight limits with more real-time information. Trucker Path offers those real-time insights via its “secret sauce” method in which truckers can go into the app and report road closures, reopenings and more. With constant feedback from its wide trucker community, drivers are made aware of issues almost instantly, he said. George Shchegolev, co-founder of last-mile logistics route planner Route4Me, which also uses Google and other mapping vendors to aggregate traffic data, said it generally takes between two to three business days to start accruing data on planned road closures, at which point the model starts slowing estimated times of arrival (ETAs) and offers alternative routes that may yield a better result. Shchegolev said Route4Me doesn’t expect the infrastructure projects to have a major impact on last-mile delivery because of existing technology. “Is it going to slow things down? Yes. But I think … maybe a 5% to 10% decrease in performance in some areas,” he said. “If organizations use route-planning technology that takes into consideration traffic or road closures, nothing really changes because everything will be planned around it.” But delays aren’t the only concern with these road closures. Stockton said it will also have an impact on safety. Route optimization and mapping companies today offer more details beyond those closures with information like severe weather alerts or routing around areas deemed unsafe, for example. There’s also the matter of hours of service regulations. “Safety standards cannot be dropped in spite of these challenges. Safety has to continue to remain priority number one for the trucking industry,” Elliott said. “The situation really, once again, highlights one of the greatest needs the Truckload Carriers Association and the American Trucking Associations have long advocated for: increased flexibility in the hours of service regulations. The industry is not asking for more driving hours. What we are asking for is to allow professional drivers to better manage and use their hours under the existing limits to enhance productivity and at the same time safety." Stockton said Wilson Logistics will rely on assistance from governmental entities and contractors to educate fleets on those temporary changes to help maintain a safe environment for its drivers. Despite its short-term challenges, he said these infrastructure projects are an overall positive. “While those improvements come with construction delays and re-routing requirements, they are expected and worth the investment in our highway transportation system for the long term,” Stockton said. “With improvements come delays, route changes and some impact on overall transit times – all of which can and should be welcomed by our industry as an investment in our futures. Provided we have the information to plan ahead and know of any temporary route and scheduled delays, our customers also understand and accommodate those issues without jeopardizing the safety of our drivers and the motoring public. It’s what we do every day and is accepted as well as expected by our professional drivers.” https://ift.tt/h9JHoDz Trucking news and briefs for Monday, Dec. 26, 2022: FMCSA denies petition to allow hair drug testing reports to ClearinghouseThe Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has denied a request from the Trucking Alliance to "amend the definition of actual knowledge to include the employer's knowledge of a driver's positive hair test, which would require such results be reported to the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse and to inquiring carriers.” Trucking companies who have "actual knowledge" of a driver's positive urine drug test are currently required to report that test result to the Clearinghouse. In its application for exemption, the Trucking Alliance said it believes that because hair testing is more reliable and accurate than urine testing, it is the “appropriate drug testing method for preemployment and random testing protocols.” In denying the petition, FMCSA said it lacks the statutory authority to grant the exemption request to amend the definition of actual knowledge to include the employer's knowledge of a driver's positive hair test. The Department of Transportation, including FMCSA, is required to follow the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Mandatory Guidelines for technical and scientific issues related to testing for controlled substances. Because HHS has not yet issued final guidelines for hair testing, FMCSA cannot grant the exemption. The FAST Act transportation bill, signed into law by President Obama in December 2015, allows for hair follicle drug testing as a DOT-approved method, but not until HHS establishes guidelines for testing. The FAST Act mandated that those guidelines be developed within a year of the FAST Act becoming law, but HHS did not publish proposed guidelines until September 2020. HHS has not yet issued a final version of those guidelines. The Trucking Alliance is made up of a group of large carriers, including Cargo Transporters, Dupré Logistics, Frozen Food Express, J.B. Hunt, KLLM, Knight Transportation, Maverick Transportation, Schneider, Swift Transportation, U.S. Xpress and May Trucking Company. FMCSA denies training exemption requestsThe Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has denied petitions from two truck driving schools seeking waivers from certain provisions of the Entry-Level Driver Training regulations. SBL Truck Driving Academy sought an exemption from the theory and behind-the-wheel instructor requirements contained in the ELDT regs for two of its instructors. SBL specifically requested an exemption from the requirement that instructors have at least two years of experience driving a commercial motor vehicle requiring a CDL of the same or higher class and/or the same endorsement level for which training is to be provided. FMCSA said in its denial that SBL “presented insufficient evidence to establish that not complying with the provisions of the ELDT regulations relating to driving experience requirements for CMV instructors would meet or exceed the level of safety achieved by complying with the ELDT regulations.” A separate request from the Western Area Career and Technology Center (WACTC) also sought an exemption from the theory and behind-the-wheel instructor requirements in the regulations. The provider said in its request it wanted to use an instructor with less than two years of CDL driving experience, adding that it has been difficult to find qualified instructors. WACTC stated in its request that the instructor would meet the ELDT regulation’s requirement for two years of driving experience with a Class A CDL in August 2022. FMCSA said if it allowed “an individual instructor to provide ELDT without the required driving experience, it could open the door for similar exemption requests on a widespread basis,” which would go against the goal of the regulations, the agency added. Additionally, because the instructor in question met the two-year requirement in August, the request is now moot. Volvo recognizes first EV Certified Dealership in OhioVolvo Trucks North America has expanded its network of Volvo Trucks Certified Electric Vehicle (EV) Dealers into Ohio, announcing that Young Trucks, a fourth generation, family-owned dealership, has recently completed the required training and certification program. The designation signifies that the dealership is ready to support customers around its Canton, Ohio, location who are interested in adding Volvo VNR Electric trucks to their local and regional distribution, pickup and delivery, and food and beverage distribution routes. “Adding our 10th state to the Volvo Trucks Certified EV Dealer network is the perfect way to close out a year that has seen significant expansion of the electromobility ecosystem that is necessary to support battery-electric trucks,” said Peter Voorhoeve, president, Volvo Trucks North America. “Our dealerships play a critical role for fleets in every stage of the transition to battery-electric trucks — from selecting the right vehicle configuration to securing incentive funding when available, and then ensuring customers can maximize their uptime once the trucks are deployed.” Two of Young Trucks’ technicians have completed Volvo Trucks’ hands-on training course that demonstrates how to safely maintain and repair electric drivetrains and components. Additionally, the dealership has invested in the necessary diagnostic tools for its maintenance bays, and its service team has been outfitted with the personal protective equipment necessary to work with high-voltage systems. Young Trucks has dedicated one service bay for battery-electric trucks with plans to expand as adoption of the Volvo VNR Electric truck increases in the region. Young Trucks opted to utilize a portable 50 kW Heliox charger to support charging its customers’ Volvo VNR Electric trucks. The portable charger provides the flexibility to move it to other bays, as needed. In addition, the charger has lower power requirements, enabling the dealership to use its existing electrical service and fast-track its infrastructure deployment timeline. https://ift.tt/h9JHoDz Trucking news and briefs for Friday, Dec. 23, 2022: FMCSA issues Regional Emergency Declaration waiving HOS regs for heating fuel haulersThe Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Thursday issued a Regional Emergency Declaration in response to severe winter storms and high demand resulting in difficulty in obtaining heating fuel, including propane, natural gas and heating oil, in 45 states. Motor carriers and drivers providing direct assistance supporting emergency relief efforts transporting the products listed above into the affected states are granted emergency relief from the maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles in the hours of service regulations. Affected states covered by the waiver include: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The declaration is effective immediately and will remain in effect until the end of the emergency, or through Jan. 6, whichever is earlier. FMCSA noted that if President Biden or the governor or authorized representative of the state in which you are providing direct assistance to emergency relief efforts has also issued an emergency declaration relating to this emergency for that state, that declaration may provide additional regulatory relief. Class 8 Tractor Dashboard continues negative trendACT Research in its recently released Transportation Digest reported that the top line on the Class 8 Tractor Dashboard slipped in October to a -3 reading, the seventh moderately downbeat reading in eight months. “Looking at underlying row item behavior, we saw the trucking stock index pull back into negative territory and cancellations move to neutral territory,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s President and Senior Analyst. “Of the 15 variables in the Dashboard, four were at ‘positive’ levels, the most since July, while the number of variables in ‘negative’ territory declined from seven to six.” Veith added that the dashboard offers a three- to six-month look-ahead metric for the tractor market. “We always warn it’s never wise to forecast on the basis of just one indicator, or even an aggregate of indicators,” he said. “That said, the ‘Green Minus Red Tally’ has successfully signaled inflection points in the past, so there is a track record of success.” Shippers’ conditions improved in OctoberFTR’s Shippers Conditions Index (SCI) improved in October to a barely negative -0.3 reading from the previous -3.1 in September. Aside from a large increase in diesel prices during the month, shippers’ market conditions were more positive month-over-month. The greatest improvement resulted from a loosening of capacity utilization to the most favorable climate since May 2020, FTR noted, and freight volume and rates were marginally more favorable in October. The outlook is somewhat volatile but should be mostly negative. “A trend toward weakening diesel prices will aid shipper conditions in the months ahead along with weakening truck utilization which should allow for additional capacity to open up and help stabilize shipper conditions for at least a period of time before things turn negative again in 2023,” said Todd Tranausky, vice president of rail and intermodal at FTR. Southeastern Freight Lines opens two new service centersSoutheastern Freight Lines (CCJ Top 250, No. 36) announced this week the opening of two relocated service centers in Texarkana, Arkansas, and Corpus Christi, Texas. The new Texarkana service center, located at 4100 East 19th Street, consists of 37 dock doors and 25 associates. Its state-of-the-art interior finishes and the addition of more than a dozen dock doors allow for future growth and will streamline transit times and cross-dock operations. “Our new facility will empower all associates to continue the execution of best-in-class operations, cultivate financial strength and serve our customers in a greater capacity,” said Michael Groover, service center manager. “It’s been a pleasure to watch our service center grow over the years, and I look forward to being a part of this next chapter.” Previously located at 3201 East 50th Street, the Texarkana Service Center opened for business in 2007 with 18 dock doors. The new Corpus Christi service center, located at 5717 Bear Lane, opened Dec. 5 and consists of 50 dock doors. “Since we first opened our doors, the Corpus Christi associates have always prioritized completing efficient and timely deliveries,” said James Carman, service center manager. “We look forward to utilizing the new and improved facility to further this long-standing mission and continue implementing Quality without Question services throughout Texas.” Previously located at 533 Navigation Road, the Corpus Christi Service Center opened for business in 2003. https://ift.tt/9SaD5md Talk to those in the know and it’s easy to see why trucking industry titans keep pushing hard to recruit military veterans to become diesel technicians particularly at a time when competition for their skills and discipline is probably as keen as ever. “Veterans are wired for success and bring a strong foundation of employment fundamentals and skills,” said Zach Clark, human resources manager at Daimler Trucks North America. “Vets exude critical thinking skills, unique problem-solving aptitude, and agile thinking when approaching problems or tasks.” Clark, who also serves as the national chair for the Community Aiding Military within the Organization (CAMO), also pointed to another important attribute veterans bring to the table that shops long for: unbiased team building. “They come from all walks of life and are therefore acclimated to working with people of diverse backgrounds,” said Clark, a former Marine. “They’re team players that know how to both provide direction and follow it. Vets excel at finding common ground and building relationships to get things done.” Recruiting vets, however, is easier said than done. Ed Coull, national director of military admissions at Universal Technical Institute, travels three weeks each month to U.S. military installations to recruit servicemen and women into UTI’s technical schools. Interest in UTI’s medium and heavy-duty diesel repair training programs is strong, Coull said, and so is the competition for the talent and skills that veterans bring. In addition to other trade schools, OEMs and a long list of companies, one of the biggest competitors is the military itself. Coull, an Air Force veteran who’s worked at UTI for the past 15 years, pointed out how all the branches of the U.S. military are falling short of their recruiting goals and are doing what they can to boost reenlistment numbers. “Unfortunately, in today's environment, everybody's hiring and everybody's going after the same workforce,” Coull said. “We have some installations that as of late, they're hurting. They don't want to release their folks. So they're not even allowing us on the base to make to share [recruiting information]. We are starting to receive more resistance on the installations.” Raul Zapedda, a mobile diesel technician at Cox Automotive Fleet Servies, recalled how his plans to transition to civilian life were met with resistance. He had been undergoing chemo treatments for cancer when he told his superiors that he was looking to transition to civilian life. “One day I had a talk with one of my sergeants and we talked for like five hours and he convinced me to stay in and give it another try. So I stayed in,” Zapedda said. With his cancer in remission, Zapedda’s thoughts turned back to leaving the Army which he did after serving for over three years. He became an HVAC technician but after struggling to support his family, he set his sights on other work with better pay and benefits. With experience in the Army as a truck mechanic, Zapedda posted his resume online for diesel tech positions. Cox reached out to him and soon enrolled him into their FleeTec Academy in Phoenix, Ariz. Following graduation and an apprenticeship, Zapedda hit the road for Cox as a mobile diesel mechanic in Tennessee. He also serves as a mentor and helps Cox with their veteran recruiting efforts. Zapedda credits Cox for fostering a family-like atmosphere that’s helped him and his family to transition to his new career. “They've definitely made it a lot easier,” Zapedda said. “I mean, that's why I love working for Cox. It's been great.” Coull views the Army’s efforts at retaining Zapedda and other veterans as a necessary tactic to help keep their numbers up. “Don't get me wrong. The military has a calling. They have a duty. They have a mission, and that mission is to be ready at a moment's notice and be the best of the best at what they do,” Coull said. “They have to maintain that force structure. They have to have a certain percentage of folks that are deployable at any given time.” Appealing to veteransRecruiting efforts among veterans is not only strained by competition, it’s also complicated by a knowledge gap. In other words, some veterans may not realize that they’re a good match for a shop. “Overall, the majority of military technicians don’t think about skills they have learned being transferable into civilian employment, and the industry overall could do a better job to find separating veterans and letting them know that there are living wage jobs available today after military service. Part of this is because it is not easy for civilian employers to reach the separating workforce,” said Jamin Woody, director of service operations at McCandless Truck Center. Woody, a former Marine, added that, “Recruiters are not a requirement to reach separating veterans, but because some have spent the time to understand the military’s separation systems and make the relationships with base separations, they can sometimes provide benefit.” That benefit includes understanding military jargon. Each branch of the service has its own acronyms and other ways of communicating that are crafted for efficiency. Knowing the lingo when talking with a transitioning veteran, particularly one just leaving the military, can be a big help. “A lot of them don't understand how to translate their military experience into the civilian world,” said Methella Green, a military recruitment coordinator at Cox with over 30 years of experience in helping service men and women transition to the private sector. “A lot of military personnel don't know how to really sell themselves,” Green continued. “So I would suggest that [employers] find somebody who understands [military jargon] or get registered with all these different organizations to teach them how to speak the military language because that is a disconnect. They can tell you ‘I'm a petty officer,’ or ‘I'm 11 Bravo’ and you may just be looking at me like, ‘Okay, what is that?’” Jay Rasmussen, senior vice president of admissions at Lincoln Tech, said helping veterans to understand that they have skills that will translate to a technician’s job is vital. “The biggest part for me when I was leaving the service was that I was leaving the only full-time job I've ever had,” said Rasmussen, an Army veteran. “I think a lot of our veterans are nervous about that transition, and it makes it more difficult when you have a skillset that doesn't align.” However, when given opportunities to train, veterans are quick to respond. “Because [military personnel] train all the time, when they leave, they're great,” Rasmussen said. “They're great within our training environment and many of them actually will end up in leadership roles within the class just based on their nature towards leadership and directing a team to go in a certain direction and do perform a certain task.” Shawn Nunley, vice president of training at WyoTech, said that most vets “seem to grasp the concepts of training easier” and added that training helps play an important role as they adapt to life outside the military. “Technical training keeps them moving and their minds occupied, keeping them involved as much as possible helps with the transition from military life to a civilian lifestyle,” Nunley said. “Our 9-month programs also make it attractive for the opportunity to get into the workforce earlier. The structured 8-hour days make it a real-world learning environment which helps better prepare them for the workforce, and our veterans also add on additional courses due to veteran educational benefits that can aid them in getting into other career fields.” Following recruitment, making veterans feel more comfortable in their new civilian roles should be an ongoing goal. “We have a community support center for the veterans at each location,” said Kevin Clark, Cox’ senior vice president of shop operations. “And as a matter of fact, I prefer some veterans as employees as well. We afford them the opportunity to go inside our veterans lounge where we normally have a veteran on staff that works that lounge. And when they do have their individual issues, problems or concerns, we'll kind of help guide them the best we can.” https://ift.tt/9SaD5md Nailing down sources for a story is often hit and miss — and more of a miss around the holidays. Through the years, I’ve had some interesting rejections. Some are completely understandable like, “We’re entering our quiet period” which means no one at that company better so much as sneeze in the direction of the press or investors until nap time is over. This typically happens before quarterly investor reports. Any public disclosures are closely governed by the feds during the quiet period so I totally get that. No one wants to rock the boat during that critical time. Some rejections come as a total surprise. What you see as a great opportunity for both that company and CCJ readers others see as a bad fit and may respond with something like, “Thank you for thinking of us, but we’ll have to respectfully decline.” Who knows? Maybe the pitch wasn’t quite on target or maybe a swamped PR agent sees it as another late night at the office. The shortest rejection I’ve gotten yet is “Pass” which is a wee bit longer and a tad more graceful than “No” but still has a dating app sting to it as if I’ve been swiped clean off the screen. [Related: J.B. hunt honors veterans with Wreaths Across America] At the end of the day, it’s no big deal. You shrug it all off and keep rolling along buoyed by the notion that you’ll eventually be fueled by enough yesses to get the next story done. And sometimes you’ll be blown away. That was the case with one of my more recent articles which focuses on recruiting veterans for truck technician jobs. I counted ten sources for the story. Ten. I’ve never had so many for one story. It was like an early Christmas present of sorts and reminded me of how important veterans are perceived in the industry. And I don’t have to look too far. Both my dad and stepdad were Marines and had served in Southeast Asia during the turbulent 1960s. After leaving the military, my dad had a long career managing truck service and parts while my stepdad remained in the Corps and went on to lead efforts to maintain equipment including trucks and tanks. Both men had a big appreciation for military service and for heavy-duty transportation realizing full well the vital roles each played in protecting and promoting civilizations around the globe. Sadly, both men died much too young of cancer and never had a chance to see me reporting on topics that impacted them in some way nearly every day. One of course would be working with veterans. I’ll never forget my dad telling me how World War II veterans turned out to be the best group of people he had worked with given their tenacity to focus on a task at hand and get it done come hell or highwater. There was also the time my stepdad gave me a tour of 1st Maintenance Battalion at Camp Pendleton, which he led in the 1980s. I was impressed not only by the sheer size of the building where they serviced and rebuilt trucks, tanks, communications equipment and God knows what else but also by a distinct and encouraging esprit de corps that you just knew would win the day again and again. I saw signs and heard lingo that made absolutely no sense to me but were of course essential to keeping this hardworking team on task. Methella Green, a military recruitment coordinator at Cox with 30-plus years of experience in helping service men and women transition to the private sector, reminded me recently of the military’s esoteric languages—yes, it varies depending on the branch, etc.—which doesn’t always translate so well when a young veteran is trying to market him or herself at a job fair. “A lot of them don't understand how to translate their military experience into the civilian world,” Green said and added that they “don’t know how to really sell themselves.” That’s where companies in the trucking industry can step up to help bridge the gap by either learning that lingo or hiring someone who knows it well like Green. That will definitely help at a time when the task of recruiting veterans has become a lot more competitive given shrinking enlistment rates. Google ‘U.S. military enlistment numbers’ and you’ll quickly see what I mean. One of the top stories on Thursday from the U.S. Naval Institute reads “Tough military recruiting environment is about more than low unemployment, experts say.” Ed Coull, national director of military admissions at Universal Technical Institute and an Air Force veteran, told me he doesn’t fault the military for trying to hold onto their servicemen and women. “They have to maintain that force structure,” he said. “They have to have a certain percentage of folks that are deployable at any given time.” But still, there will be those who are ready to transition and Green, Coull and other recruiters will be more than happy to sign them up. “Military is my passion,” said Green who’s married to an Army veteran. “That's my love. That's my life.” https://ift.tt/9SaD5md Texas epitomizes big. This fact preoccupied me driving the seemingly endless roads from Austin to El Paso. Somewhere just to the west of San Antonio on Interstate 10 — what seemed like only halfway across the map of Texas — I noticed that the green mile marker sign read 500. Meaning I still had 500 miles to go to El Paso and the border with New Mexico. Meaning no affront to Texans that live out there, there is a lot of nothing between San Antonio and El Paso. At one point on my journey, the Texas Highway Department kindly mentions that the next availability of gas is 87 miles away. That gas is two lonely stations on opposite sides of an overpass in Bakersfield. No, not the one in California. A few miles more and you hit Fort Stockton. These two lonely fuel stations are indicative of future electric truck station needs in big expanses like Texas. The geography lesson here is that distances between cities in Texas typically exceed 250 miles, and 250 just happens to be that magic number currently associated with maximum range of most of the commercially viable Class 8 electric tractors. By commercially viable, I mean they still can carry sufficient paying payload to make the same number of trips as the diesel truck they are replacing would make. The graphic below highlights my point on distances between major cities in the south-central U.S. Getting closer to El Paso, I got to the point where I-10 and I-20 merge. It was Sunday, a lighter traffic day, so I could count trucks. I had a lot of time to count trucks. The eastbound lanes were averaging about 10 Class 8 trucks of various vocations per mile. The electronic map program says mileage between El Paso and Dallas is 635 miles, and El Paso to San Antonio is 551. The eastbound trucks I was counting were likely going to one of those cities. Simple math says 600 miles of trucks at 10 trucks per mile is 6,000 trucks, and 600 miles is also about right for miles achievable in an 11-hour driving day. At 2 kWh/mi energy use typical of current Class 8 battery electric trucks, that means these routes need at least 7.2 GWh of electricity per day on this segment of road. I’ve lived in Texas a fair while, and know that the energy grid here has been strained both in winter and summer, operating at capacity repeatedly. So, this new load for electric vehicle transportation suggests new generation and distribution are needed. Some other “back of the envelope” conclusions are that at 250 miles per charge — that magic number that battery electric trucks seem to be targeting — means at least two stops to recharge per truck on these routes. Assuming fast megawatt level chargers are able to recharge vehicles in under an hour, that still adds a couple hours to the driver’s day. That suggests that changes to the hours of service rules for operating battery electric trucks may be needed, just as the government has increased overall gross vehicle weight limits to 82,000 lbs. for them. Let’s not forget little Bakersfield, Texas. The electric vehicle future will likely see new Bakersfields showing up on these routes because truck stops with sufficient power and parking space will be needed in areas that currently don’t have any towns. In the mid-1800s, in the old west, routing the railroad lines or the stagecoach lines inevitably required situating new towns along the way. The electric future for trucks will likely see a similar real estate frenzy as the infrastructure builds out. Don’t think just about the charging points, which might be unstaffed, but restaurants, maintenance and repair facilities, workspaces, hotels, and power generation facilities, and support infrastructure to build and maintain those. Boulder City, Nevada, is a great example of what one of these stops could turn into. Boulder was a desert prior to the Hoover Dam being located in the nearby canyon. It was created to support building the dam. Today, it is a thriving city powered by hydro-electric power from the Hoover dam, and also power from massive nearby solar farms. The building of towns across the “wild west” tended to follow laying track for steam trains. Steam trains needed water and fuel frequently. As train technology matured the distance between fuel and water stops stretched out. Diesel-electric trains that entered the market in the 1940s eventually made long distances the norm between fuel stops, but the national highway system that came into being in parallel introduced long range trucks as well, also needing fuel stops. Predicting infrastructure locations is still a gamble as no one really controls the future of transportation. The long road to the electrification of trucking will see new cities start, some will later become ghost towns or isolated spots like Bakersfield, Texas. Others may become new versions of Boulder City, Nevada. The point is that the investment has to occur. Those predictions have to start with breaking ground. The risks have to be taken. Paper studies can only go so far, and no one knows the future. We have to live it. The U.S. has endless success and failure stories, but we are where we are today because investment risk was taken. https://ift.tt/9SaD5md Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022: Truck tonnage fell 2.5% in NovemberThe American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 2.5% in November after slipping 1.2% in October. In November, the index equaled 114.7 (2015=100) versus 117.6 in October. “For-hire truck tonnage saw the largest single monthly decrease in November since the start of the pandemic and a total drop of 3.7% in October and November,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “The decreases match anecdotal reports of a soft fall freight season, as well as a slowing goods-economy generally. Housing-related freight is particularly weak.” Compared with November 2021, the SA index increased 0.8%, which was the 15th straight year-over-year gain, but the smallest over that period. In October, the index was up 4% from a year earlier. Year-to-date through November, compared with the same period in 2021, tonnage was up 3.7%. The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 114.6 in November, 4.6% below the October level (120.2). In calculating the index, 100 represents 2015. ATA’s For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot market freight. Winter storms prompt HOS relief for fuel haulersRecord winter storms and cold temperatures in many parts of the country have prompted four states out West to issue emergency declarations, waiving hours of service regulations for certain heating fuel haulers. Governors in North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah, along with police in Colorado, are waiving certain regs to make sure their residents are able to receive heating fuel to deal with the freezing conditions. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum declared an emergency, waiving Parts 390 through 399 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for drivers hauling heating fuel, including propane, natural gas and heating oil, to provide direct assistance to the emergency relief effort. The order is effective as of Dec. 19 for 30 days. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem declared an emergency, exempting drivers transporting propane and heating fuel into or within South Dakota from Parts 390-399 of the federal regs, effective as of Dec. 16 through Jan. 15. Additionally, Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox issued a declaration “for the limited purpose of facilitating an exemption to the rules and regulations that limit the hours of service for drivers of commercial motor vehicles delivering propane.” The waiver is effective for 30 days as of Dec. 16. Finally, the Colorado Department of Public Safety, in conjunction with surrounding states, approved a temporary exemption from the hours-of-service regulations for haulers of consumer heating fuels, propane, and natural gas through Jan. 31. ContainerPort Group expands sales team to accelerate growthContainerPort Group (CCJ Top 250, No. 81) this week announced several key appointments, marking an expansion of its commercial team that will support the company’s strategic growth across every port and every rail. To better serve its customers, CPG has aggressive strategic plans in place to accelerate its available capacity solutions by building a nationwide network, giving customers the ability to work with one carrier for all their capacity needs. CPG currently operates more than 1,500 trucks and has a widening presence due to its recently announced acquisition of Pacific Cascade Transportation in the Pacific Northwest. The expanded commercial and sales teams will be a significant component of the business, the company said, and essential to achieving CPG’s goal of being the national drayage provider of choice for today’s biggest and best brands. "We are coming off a huge year for CPG and want to continue the momentum towards having a presence at every rail and port across the country by appointing exceptional individuals to work with our customers," said Joey Palmer, CPG’s President. "These new additions to our commercial teams demonstrate our deep commitment to our customers and will help us align on becoming a one-stop-shop for all of their drayage needs." CPG’s new appointments include: Josh Cushman, Vice President of Sales – National Commercial Team Previously serving in a commercial capacity for CPG's Truckload division from 2019 to 2020, Cushman will oversee the company's national commercial sales operations and will lead CPG’s effort in strategic account development. Previously, he was Vice President of Enterprise Sales at Dart, focused on truckload brokerage. Calvin Easley, Director of Sales – Gulf Region For the last five years, Easley has overseen handling regional drayage sales with a focus on the Dallas and Houston regions. He previously held the position of Director of Sales at Dunavant Enterprises and has a degree in supply chain management from Texas A&M. Marty Musialowski , Vice President of Sales – Southeast Region With more than 30 years of experience in international logistics and a solid foundation in both sales and operations, Musialowski provides a wealth of sales knowledge from his prior employment in sales management positions with Horizon Lines, Old Dominion Freight Lines, and DCLI. USPS adding battery-electric vehicles to delivery fleetThe United States Postal Service announced this week that it expects to acquire at least 66,000 battery-electric delivery vehicles as part of its 106,000-vehicle acquisition plan for deliveries between now and 2028. The vehicles purchased as part of this anticipated plan will begin to replace the Postal Service's aging delivery fleet of more than 220,000 vehicles. The Postal Service anticipates at least 60,000 Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDV), of which at least 75% (45,000) will be battery-electric. As part of this plan, a total of 21,000 additional commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) vehicles are also expected to be battery-electric, depending on market availability and operational feasibility. The Postal Service also anticipates including internal combustion vehicles necessary to meet immediate vehicle replacement needs. Unlike the vehicles they are replacing, the new vehicles will feature air conditioning and advanced safety technology, and are more suited to modern day operational requirements, USPS said. For any COTS vehicles purchased, the Postal Service will include a preference for domestic manufacturing. The Postal Service will continue to evaluate and procure vehicles over shorter time periods to be more responsive to its evolving operational strategy, technology improvements, and changing market conditions, including the expected increased availability of BEV options in the future. https://ift.tt/1nSzaMo El Paso, Texas-based truckload carrier Outwest Express on Wednesday was acquired by Cox Transportation Services, based in Ashland, Virginia. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Servicing the Southwestern U.S., Outwest Express (CCJ Top 250, No. 187) specializes in managing Mexican cross-border logistics – one of the fastest-growing transportation marketplaces in North America thanks to near-shoring by manufacturers and the relatively lower cost of shipping finished goods from Mexico versus overseas. The company was founded in 2010 by Michael Puzio and Zachary Chilson, operates a fleet of more than 400 tractors and 1,200 trailers and services more than 300 customers across retail, medical, manufacturing, automotive and electronics industries with terminals in Kansas City, Missouri and McAllen, Texas. Puzio and Chilson will continue to lead the Outwest Express business, report to Cox CEO Jay Smith, and retain "significant" ownership in the combined company. The company will continue to operate under the Outwest Express brand. Puzio said he and Chilson felt the time was right time to align Outwest Express with a strong truckload carrier like Cox. "Cox and Outwest have similar customer- and driver-centric cultures that inspire world-class service," he said. "Both companies have proven teams of experienced employees who can benefit from the enhanced career prospects of a larger organization. Zach and I will continue to be deeply invested and focused on ensuring great outcomes for all our employees and customers." For his part, Smith said he was "delighted" to join forces with Puzio and Chilson and the Outwest Express team. "We admire the business they built and view it as a perfect complement to ours," he said. "By combining Outwest's capacity and expertise with Cox's, we can better serve our customers and enhance our role as a trusted and critical supply chain partner. This acquisition represents an important first step in our ongoing efforts to broaden and deepen our ability to serve our customers across truckload transportation and brokerage." There have been at least 31 deals among CCJ's Top 250 for-hire carriers since the beginning of June, and 35 Top 250 fleets have struck 40 deals this year. https://ift.tt/1nSzaMo Autonomous truck developer TuSimple, once viewed as a leader in the expanding self-driving industry, announced Wednesday it will lay off 25% of its staff as part of a restructuring plan following a series of setbacks that includes a truck crash and a federal investigation. Roughly 350 employees will lose their jobs. TuSimple President and CEO Cheng Lu, who rejoined the company last month to replace fired CEO Xiaodi Hou, blamed the layoffs on a "difficult" economy. "I returned to TuSimple as CEO to help address a number of challenges and set the company up for long-term success,” Lu said. “This required evaluating our entire workforce and making tough decisions. It's no secret that the current economic environment is difficult. We must be prudent with our capital and operate as efficiently as possible. While I deeply regret the impact this has on those affected, I believe it is a necessary step as TuSimple continues down our path to commercialization. This is part of our overall strategy to prioritize investments that bring the most value to shareholders, and position TuSimple as a customer-focused, product-driven organization." CCJ reached out to the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association, whose members include Aurora, Embark, Ford, TuSimple and Waymo, for comment on TuSimple's financial woes and if they might signal troubling times ahead for the nascent, cutting-edge autonomous truck industry in 2023. “AVs continue to make steady progress in delivering the technology’s safety, mobility and efficiency benefits," said AVIA executive director Jeff Farah. "Like all sectors of the economy, there have been and will continue to be changes as the country faces economic headwinds and as the AV industry evolves. What has not changed is the industry’s commitment to ensuring AVs benefit the public.” [Related: Knight-Swift gets its first autonomous truck] TuSimple reports that its layoff leaves 80% percent of its remaining staff in research and development, which includes engineers critical to hardware and software resilience, reliability, safety and information security. Most of the company's restructuring will impact its U.S. operations and not its business interests in Asia. TuSimple's stock value has dropped 77% over the past six months. In the last few years, several CCJ Top 250 fleets have made financial investments in TuSimple, including U.S. Xpress, Schneider and Werner. Navistar and its parent organization Traton also have an interest. In an effort to improve its prospects, TuSimple plans to scale-up its autonomous technology with key shipping partners while throttling back on freight expansion, which includes unprofitable freight lanes and trucking operations that use previous generation autonomous software that the company says provides limited value. Lu had previously led TuSimple from September 2020 to March 2022 when he stepped down to assume an advisory role. After returning as CEO last month, Lu committed to set the company on the path towards stability and long-term success. Lu has plenty of work ahead. Ongoing challenges have continued to hamper TuSimple’s place among a growing market of autonomous truck players which seek to improve delivery times and safety over trucks driven by people subjected to hours of service regulations. In April, an autonomous TuSimple truck crashed into a concrete barrier on Interstate 10 in Tuscon. There were no injuries in the wreck which the company blamed on human error. [Related: Behind the wheel of an autonomous truck] Amid a federal investigation into the accident, TuSimple pushed ahead in an effort to maintain its leadership in the Class 8 autonomous market and in June announced a hiring campaign on social media. However, in October then-TuSimple CEO Xiaodi Hou was fired after a Wall Street Journal report alleged TuSimple was being investigated by the FBI, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commission on Foreign Investment about the company’s ties with Hydron, an autonomous startup founded by TuSimple co-founder Mo Chen earlier this year. In the past 30 days, TuSimple has named three independent directors to the board, reconstituted its board committees, including an independent audit committee in compliance with Nasdaq requirements, and stabilized the management team, including naming its interim CFO, Eric Tapia, as permanent CFO. In addition, Mike Mosier, one of the new independent board members, was named as TuSimple's Security Director – a position which required review and a notice of non-objection from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. TuSimple did not respond to an interview request. https://ift.tt/1nSzaMo |
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