09/08/2019 It’s National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, the time of year when motor carriers and others connected to trucking make a special effort to recognize the professionals who keep the freight moving. Throughout the week, special events will take place to honor them, and many of those events will feature food. Lots of it. So let’s hope the industry’s drivers have a hearty appetite! Of course, companies can, should and do show appreciation for their drivers throughout the year, but a designated week gives fleets a focal point around which to plan and make a splash. [...]

-08/22/2019 If you’ve ever enjoyed nachos or a hot dog at baseball game, you have a truck driver to thank for transporting it. On Sept. 13, American Trucking Associations will do just that as it honors truck drivers during a major league baseball game on Trucking Day at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. The event is part of Sept. 8-14 National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, which recognizes the hard work and accomplishments of members of the trucking industry. “It’s an important time to celebrate everybody, to give them a pat on the back and to let them know how appreciated they are,” said Elisabeth Barna, chief operating officer and executive vice president of industry affairs for ATA. “It’s a good time for the [...]

-08/02/2019 A detailed, thoughtfully written business plan is more than just an outline from which to start a business. It’s the guide you use to be successful.  Following is a list of solid reasons why a trucking company needs to have a business plan. Set specific objectives. To correctly and successfully manage any business—in particular a trucking operation—it’s imperative you, the owner, establish defined and specific objectives with the means to track the success and failure of those objectives. You probably have a mental list in your mind; let’s get it down in writing so you can better organize the priority of each objective and how it’s going to be accomplished. Having it on paper provides the means to evaluate, twe [...]

-07/24/2019 Anyone even loosely involved in the transportation industry is familiar with the increased demand and rapid growth of the last few years. For example, motor carriers are busier than ever. The booming economy has increased the amount of freight needing to be transported, so transportation companies report they are constantly in need of more drivers and, specifically, drivers willing to spend more time on the road. Drivers are benefiting from this booming industry as competition to hire them increases, and motor carriers offer more pay and better benefits. Unfortunately, this increase in demand has resulted in more accidents occurring on the road that involve commercial motor vehicles. In May 2019, the Federal Mo [...]

Not to be outdone by their more numerous light-duty siblings, medium-duty trucks covering Classes 4-6 have been the object of a flurry of development and experimentation the last few years. They're often on the job with upfit bodies of various kinds serving trades and utilities or handling last-mile and metro/urban-area deliveries and distribution, and they have the benefit of not requiring a commercial driver's license to operate. That adds to their appeal, since fleets can hire drivers from a much larger potential employee pool. Not only do these trucks have impressive capabilities, their typically shorter-range duty cycles have also made medium-duty trucks good candidates for electric power.