Expedite Expo: Where Everybody Knows Your Name
Take this as totally unsolicited advice from someone who has, on multiple occasions, enjoyed what the Expedite Expo brings to the table. Not only in the world of expedite, but for the entire transportation society as a whole. Trust me, you want and need to be a part of this annual summertime trucking shindig!
My first experience at the Expedite Expo trips all the way back to 2008, when my recruiting career was in its infancy. But the Expo had already been going strong for the...
A Swing and a Drive!
Finally, it appears as though someone is willing to step up to the plate and take a healthy cut on behalf of the American trucker. On April 14th, U.S. Rep. Andy Levin of Michigan introduced legislation for commercial drivers called the Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act. Whether this swing is going to connect, remains to be seen. However, if solid contact is made, this act could turn into a homerun for truck drivers across the country.
Where's the Protection?
Since 1938, ...
Regulators: Mount Up
Just when you thought the gap-widening driver shortage can't get any more difficult to maneuver, the new entry-level driver training (ELDT) rules quietly went into nationwide effect back on February 7th of this year. Making what was once a simple obligation, for many carriers, to fully train and onboard their newly hired commercial drivers, a now fully regulated and flat-out legally licensed procedure.
For some, the new entry-level driver training rules will seem like a petty...
Let's Get Engaged!
Ready to get engaged?! Okay, I'm not talking about actually getting hitched or running away on a weekend elope journey to Sin City. Although, that second option sounds like some good stories could come out of an adventure such as a Vegas destination wedding. However, I digress. What I'm referring to is simply an invitation for our readers to submit and express their thoughts, feelings, and emotions about the state of the expedite industry in its current form.
An engagement, o...
Raising Pay: A New Trend?
Walmart, the third-largest private carrier in North America, recently committed to increasing driver pay and instituting an integrated training program. What this means is that new hires can make upwards of $110,000 per year, and they'll even train current company associates and help them earn their truck driving certificates. In a sense this keeps employment opportunities enticing for potential new hires and allows current employees the potential to significantly increase th...
New TCA Chairman Announced
Congrats to John Elliott, CEO of Load One, on his appointment....
Passing the Torch
Whatever your beliefs are about the driver shortage, the fact remains that every industry, including trucking, needs to replace workers as they cycle out and also add new workers to help the industry grow. Each year as an industry, trucking grows and there is a real need for qualified drivers to fill those vacancies....
Maintaining Protocols to Avoid Violations
Recently, the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) released what were found to be the top four violations for fiscal year 2021. These violations are often mistakes that drivers seem to be unaware of, or are simply negligent to the fact that they can do harm to their companies as well as their own financial livelihood.
Take a look at the list provided by FMCSA. If you're a driver, consider what your current standing is in relation to the violations listed. If yo...
Driver Treatment: An Underlying Issue
In today's volatile employment economy - the same atmosphere many of us are accustomed to traversing on a daily basis - it's not out of the realm of possibility that we all have experienced similar plights and pitfalls to what our country's drivers are frequently facing day-in and day-out.
Driver treatment is something that we should all be more aware of. Especially when it comes to the notion that there are increasingly less drivers to pluck from the trucking pool, and it se...
Making the Business YOUR Business
Whether you're the owner/operator of your own truck or cargo van, or perhaps you're simply wanting to drive as an independent contractor, here are some general rules that can be followed and adhered to for both the novice and the seasoned vet. The following are suggestions to help jumpstart your business either as a burgeoning expediter or as a longtime logistics professional.
For the Owner OperatorsThe first thing to keep in mind is that you are the master of your own truck,...