New Truckload Office Recruiting Manager-Shannon Gentry

Here is a note from our new Recruiting Manager:

I am so very excited about being your new point of contact for your recruiting efforts. For those of you who do not know me, I’ve been with the recruiting team for almost three years. I want to be sure that there is an open line of communication between us, so please do not hesitate reaching out to me with any questions or concerns in regards to recruiting/interviews/new hires. I would like to set up a time to meet with each of you to learn about your department, what you look for in candidates and what your expectations from me will be. Also, if it is available I’d love to set up a time to shadow someone on your team so I am fully knowledgeable about your positions to make sure I am bringing in the best candidates! I will be coming by your desk or giving you a call in the next week to schedule those with you!

Thank you all for your time and I look forward to working with each of you!

Productivity Losses with New HOS

It seems like there is a new report every other day on the effects of the Hours of Service (HOS) rule.

The most notable so far has been a survey from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), where more than 80% of drivers surveyed said there has been a loss of productivity. The Transportation Intermediaries Association has also testified that its members report a 3% reduction in capacity.

The ATRI study also estimates that there is a loss of between $1.6 billion and $3.9 billion in driver wages a year. OOIDA has also released a report with similar findings.

The rule is increasingly under the microscope, including a hearing on November 21, in which a House subcommittee questioned FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro on whether or not the FMCSA’s rulemaking process was based on flawed data. Ferro defended the agency’s analysis and said that the impact is not as significant as reported.

How Has HOS Impacted Carrier Rates?

Since July 1, I have been keeping a close watch for effects of HOS on truckload freight rates, and here are two of the most notable trends I detected. Data are excerpted from the spot market rates database in DAT RateView, which is based on more than $24 billion in actual market transactions.

1. Rates Increase, But Don’t Keep Pace with Productivity Loss: Rates have increased from 1.6-1.7% since July 1, when the HOS rule took effect, after seasonal adjustment. In comparison, the industry-wide loss of productivity for carriers is estimated in the 3-5% range. That means the carriers will be “eating” about half of the revenue loss, at least until they can negotiate new contract rates for 2014. Shippers typically conduct annual procurement early in Q1, and new rates go into effect in early Q2.
   
2. Intermodal Competitive Lanes Hit Even Harder: Carriers who run on lanes where there is competition from intermodal rail are seeing even smaller rate hikes in order to stay competitive. An analysis of the lanes that face the most rail competition shows that rates have actually dropped 1.2% in those lanes since July 1.
   
   Rail intermodal has been increasing market share significantly in 2013, and really picked up in Q3; it is now projected to close 2013 up 4.8%. In Q1, it grew at a 3.6% clip, then slowed down in Q2 to 2.1%, followed by 4% in Q3, and now it is growing at 9.9% in Q4 (through December.
   

Based on these findings, HOS may not bode well for the carriers’ long-term profitability – which explains why it would be the top concern in ATRI’s Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry.
In addition to the financial impact of the rules change, there are concerns about its impact on safety, which was the intent of the rule in the first place. Two-thirds of respondents to the ATRI study said increased levels of fatigue and scheduling difficulties could lead to unsafe driving habits.
Moving forward, evidence is mounting against the new HOS rules, and legal challenges are arising, as well. I’ll add more to the mix soon with a detailed, five-month rate and capacity analysis, so be sure to keep an eye out for that report.

We're J.B. Hunt Truckload

Truckload Wordle

What is a Wordle?  Wordle is a toy for generating "word clouds" from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. The words in our USA map showcase the content you provided us regarding issues in our Truckload division that need our focus.  Here are categories ranked by the survey data you generated:

 

Trailers-Tracking, DCS Shared Pools, Management of immediate trailer need

 

Advancement Opportunities-knowledge of openings on the floor and company wide

 

Equipment Plans   PCS & Truckload/EOY & 2015/Size of Truck

 

PCS-Rates to carriers/Mty Mile Pay/Truck is a Truck

 

Driver Turnover/Driver Pay/Competitor Information

 

Time Off Change - Office Employees

 

Driver Recruiting Costs and Budget

 

Rates

 

Fleet Management-Career or Entry Level

 

Areas of Opportunity around staffing levels

 

 

All these are great issues and it is obvious that the trailer issue is large and complex.  The rally did not provide the amount of time (35-40 minutes) to go deep into every one of these opportunities.  It is extremely important that we get the right teams together to help us improve the areas you told us about in the survey last week.   

 

We also need to make sure our employees in Truckload know what our growth plans are for Asset and PCS.  This growth means opportunities on our floor and within the entire J.B. Hunt complex as we march forward to accomplish $10B by 2020.

 

We should start on the Trailer Project quickly.  It aligns with our utilization goals and our driver's ability to make more money.  It also helps improve job satisfaction on our floor and enables us to be more profitable.

 

We have an open spot for our next auditorium meeting.  A trailer initiative with involvement from PCS, Asset operations, Planning, etc would be extremely powerful.  If you have a strong desire to help in this effort, please let your supervisor know.  We have a lot of work to do and can use all the floor intelligence that you offer.

 

     

 

 

 

 



Truckload Shared Values--Asset and PCS

We are excited to announce a new Truckload initiative for both PCS and Asset folks. The goal is to have the 400/300 initiatives accomplished by August 31, 2014. The asset goal is to have 400 miles utilization for our Professional Drivers and the PCS goal is to have 300 Working Network Carrier capacity.  

Truckload Asset is also working diligently through the 3rd and 4th quarter to add 300 trucks to our existing capacity, so we have dual ownership of our 300 goal.

More details will be shared with our floor concerning the plan, but we want our floor to understand why the smaller flags are being placed at each desk and our middle aisle is now proudly flying our black and yellow checkered flags. 

Truckload Region of the Quarter

Brad Mccarley proudly holds the Q2 Region of the Quarter award

 

 

Congratulations to PCS1 Pop-Up Group for achieving our Truckload Region of the Quarter! 

 

This team has dispatched over 35,000 loads since March 1st!   Key accounts include Home Depot, Family Dollar, Wal-Mart, and C&S, to name a few. Many late nights and weekend work took place to make this all happen. This team brought $1.9m of Operating Income to our bottom-line.

Special thanks our night and weekend crew (Heather Johnson, Jon Davis, Zeb Undernehr and Cedric Dockett).  We could not have done this without them.

Pictured below (left to right-Eric Woodward, Candice Anderson, Matt Walton, Lance Davis, Josh Nix and Kyle Atwood-- (Not Pictured) Chris Collins and Greg Smith

Goodyear Fleet-Service Attaboy

 

I received this note from our friends in sales about our CCF folks who are taking care of Goodyear.  I wanted to share the wonderful thoughts about Jared and Lauren with all of you:

Steve,

If we were an academic institution, you and your team would be honored "magna cum laude" for the work we have achieved in execution of a challenging service expectation from Goodyear.

I just want to let you know that Lauren Green is a real rockstar in managing this account. She is great at communicating directly to the customer before a load is missed. We are running at a high level of on-time service.

Jared, you are doing an outstanding job hiring the right drivers and facilitating this capacity fleet.

Great job !

Dan Ross

Truckload Driver All-Stars Q2 Rally

We had a proud group of drivers at our Q2 Rally on July 22, 2014 in Lowell, Arkansas:

Shelley Simpson, our President of Truckload, welcomes our Q2 Drivers of the Month.  Our guests included Drivers of the Month  Larry Freel-May 2014, Walter Hill June-2014, Dave Reda April-2014  and Rodney Collins, our 2nd Place Sleeper Division driver in the Arkansas Truck Driving Championship.

Professional Drivers represent 82% of our workforce here at J.B. Hunt and we are ecstatic to have all this talent in one room as we recognize our teams performance over the past 3 months.

Truckload Driver of the Month-June 2014 Walter Hill

Shelley Simpson,President of our Truckload Division, helps to congratulate our Driver of the Month Walter Hill at our Q2 Rally in Lowell, AR.

 

 

We are proud to announce Walter Hill as our Truckload Driver of the Month for June 2014.  Walter drives out of the Southwest Region and boasted the following performance:

 

100% On-Time Service

No Collisions

No Work Comp Events

12,381 Miles

7.11 MPG

6.08 Variance 

 

Walter resides in Houston, Texas and has been married to his wife Donna for 17 years.  He and Donna have three sons (Kyrone, Travis, and Jay).  We are extremely proud of Walter and his fantastic results.   

 

 



Congratulations to the Govers

Stan Gover, our Truckload Senior Financial Analyst, is a proud new Papa!  The Gover clan (Stan and Nicole) is now 3 strong with the addition of Allison Elizabeth.  Allie Beth weighed 6 lbs, 7 oz and was 19 inches long at birth. 

Westbound and Down

Rodney Collins is headed west to come see the team in Lowell, Arkansas.  He will be our special guest for our 2nd Quarter Truckload Rally.  We have a suprise---Rodney has a passenger in his truck.  No, it is not Mike Taylor.  This time it is his daughter Gracie.

 Gracie is belted up and ready to go on her first day with Dad.

 Gracie arrives at 5701 W Kiest in Dallas, Texas.  This is our terminal location.

 Lots of equipment on the Dallas Yard, but no empty trailers are available.

Thompson Major Transportation

It was a shame he was only passing through, but it gave us a chance to shake Charlie Major's hand and say hello and show a little appreciate for his hard work and dedication. It was truly a pleasure to meet Charlie and visit for a little while. Larry has often talked about Charlie's good nature and friendly spirit. His dedication to providing the best possible service while always keeping safety first.

 

Charlie was Larry Roberts' Top Carrier for the month of June.

PCS fleet managers select a monthly 'Top Carrier' for their fleet... We send a certificate along with a $25 Wal-Mart gift card to all 16 top carriers.

The PCS team selects 2 drivers for carrier of the month, one for Network and PopUp. We mail a certificate and a $250 check to the carrier of the month.

The Trucking Industry Moves America

You must be on your computer to see this video about the Trucking Industy.

Arkansas Truck Driving Championship - J.B. Hunt Wins!

Rodney Collins is awarded the trophy for his second place finish in the Sleeper competition.  Rodney finished #9 overall in the Truck Driving Championship with 318 points. 

 Our Professional Drivers had a great day at the award ceremony.  We had 5 drivers recognized for their performance and Jefferey Helmick was recognized as the Rookie of the Year.

Craig Harper, our Executive Vice President and COO, and our Professional Drivers pose with their  hardware.

Arkansas Truck Driving Championship

 The Arkansas Truck Driving Championship Rodeo was held on July 12, 2014 in Rogers, Arkansas.  Our equipment was front and center during the competition.

 Greer Woodruff, our Sr. VP of Safety, was interviewed by the ATA media team for our company perspective on risk management and the competition during the 2 day championship.

 Rodney Collins and Brad Huston enjoy the festivities.

 Our driving team proudly sports the red, white and blue of our prize winning uniforms.

 Mike Agnew looks over the competition from the J.B. Hunt tent.

Check out this week's Truk Talk Hotline at 844-588-8785

Please call into our Truk Talk Hotline at 844-588-8785.  Steve Rogers, our Vice President of Operations will be discussing the following items:

Safety for the week

Arkansas Truck Driving Championship

Freight Outlook for the Weekend

Time Off-Honoring your dates

The Right Truck for our driving jobs

The Right Pay for our driving jobs

 

Thank you for supporting our Hotline.  We appreciate you!

 

Truckload Rates Rise At End of Quarter

Rates shot up in major markets last week, and then on Monday they rose some more. Timing was a big factor. Monday, June 30 was the last day of the quarter, as well as the last chance to move perishable goods to market before the Fourth of July. That last little spike pushed national average rates for June to $2.09 for van, $2.43 for reefer and $2.44 for flatbed on the spot market. Rates for vans and reefers added a penny per mile between Saturday, June 28 and close of business on Monday, June 30.

Freight availability and rates usually peak in June on the spot market for both vans and reefers , and this year's flatbed volume was elevated in June, as well. As depicted in the Hot Market Map, below, load availability was high and truck capacity was tight throughout the country, yielding high load-to-truck ratios -- dark red areas on the map -- on DAT Load Boards. The Midwest and Southeast are very hot, but truckload rates rose last week in major freight markets across all regions of the U.S. The regional trends were exemplified with sharp increases on outbound van rates from L.A., Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia and Atlanta.

Thank You For Driving

This is a note that came from Stan Hampton, our Vice President of Corporate Driver Personnel:

 

This past weekend a group of us traveled to IL to meet with the Illinois Department of Veteran Affairs and to the NHRA Drag Races.  Both were efforts to recruit drivers. Dave Harrison was instrumental in getting us selected for an ILDVA trial program to get Veterans funneled directly to JB Hunt from their database so we can be the first ones to talk to them about driving jobs and our Hunt's Heroes program.. ! What a success.. !
 

During the NHRA event, we spoke directly to over 350 Class A drivers in a very relaxed atmosphere.. something happened here though..something greater than just driver recruiting.. as drivers were showing us their CDLs and entering our drawings, etc, we started 'thanking' each one of them for being a driver. Not necessarily asking where they worked or whether or not they were happy with their jobs..we just 'thanked' them for being a driver and doing a very hard job. They were very appreciative.. several told us they'd never been 'thanked' before just for being a driver..ESPECIALLY at what is typically a 'recruiting' event.
 

That brings me to our first CDP *ALWAYS*-
 

- When we are talking to a driver for the first time..no matter what role you play in our process, we will ALWAYS THANK THEM FOR BEING A DRIVER- for being in our industry and choosing this tough profession. Do this up front, first thing.. before we have to deliver potentially bad news..do it in a heartfelt way.. don't make it a punch line. It is very important. Even the driver's that do not currently qualify for our positions need to be thanked up front for choosing this industry..and advised what they can do to help themselves qualify.
 

　

The NEVER to this is that we will NEVER be condescending toward any driver...



3rd Quarter Safety Training

Folks,

We've added safety training classes at the terminal at non-peak times to try to reduce the impact on our drivers ability to pick up and deliver freight during peak hours.  This is being tested in July and can be duplicated if we show that we will use these slots.  The terminals that feature the classes during early evenings are as follows:

 

 

 

SATURDAY Classes are offered at the following locations:

 

Chicago       0800

Southgate    0800

Dallas          0800

Atlanta        0830

Columbus    0800

Louisville    0830

EB NJ          0900

 

These classes are for the benefit of our drivers and their paychecks.  We must use these available slots in July or they will not be duplicated. 



Removing Busy Work

This is an example of a drastic reduction of busy work (noise) that has been removed from our Fleet Managers and Drivers work load:

 

 

These are errors that were causing us to do busy work to remove them from our workspace.  The Stop Number Does Not Match Next Available Stop accounts for a 35% reduction in workload week over week!

 

Our team of Jean-Claude Boattini and Brad Garrard continue to deliver great results! 

Anthony Pueblo - 2 Million Mile Safe Professional

Anthony Pueblo made a suprise visit to the home office and left with a great looking jacket.  We know he will be proud to sport this jacket when the weather turns back to cooler temperatures in the fall.  Congratulations on your achievement! Anthony has been a proud member of our driving team since 1989. 

American Patriot

I am a huge Thomas Jefferson fan. He was a constant learner throughout his life and made an imprint on the United States. Look at his life:

• At 5 he began studying under his cousin's tutor.
• At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French
• At 14, studied literature and additional languages
• At 16, entered the College of William and Mary. He could write in Greek with one hand and Latin in the other.
• At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe
• At 23, started his own law practice
• At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses
• At 31, wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America?"
• At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress
• At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence
• At 33, revised Virginia's legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom
• At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding Patrick Henry
• At 40, served in Congress for two years
• At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations alongside Benjamin Franklin and John Adams
• At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington
• At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society
• At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of the Republican Party
• At 57, elected the third President of the United States
• At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase doubling the nation's size
• At 61, elected to a second term as President
• At 65, retired to Monticello
• At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine
• At 81, single-handedly created the University of Virginia and served as it first president.
• At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence along with John Adams.

A voice from the past to lead us in the future:

John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the White House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement: "This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

"When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe."
-- Thomas Jefferson

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
-- Thomas Jefferson

"It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world."
-- Thomas Jefferson

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."
-- Thomas Jefferson

"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government."
-- Thomas Jefferson

“No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
-- Thomas Jefferson

"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."
-- Thomas Jefferson

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
-- Thomas Jefferson

"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."
-- Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson said in 1802: "I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.

If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."

What July 4th Really Means

 

Most of us will celebrate July 4 by taking part in various activities, like parades, picnics, concerts, and watching fireworks, all while outdoors with friends and family.

But as we take the time to enjoy these fun events, it is also important to understand what Independence Day truly stands for. It is a day that represents the moment in American history when the Declaration of Independence was considered to be the next big step in claiming ourselves as our own nation.

Chapel Hillian and veteran of the United States Army, Fred Black, says that the Fourth of July is unique in relation to other similar national holidays, and that it is important to acknowledge what a significant step it was for the United States to celebrate our newfound freedom.

“Independence Day is one of our only real national holidays that was designed to be a celebration,” says Black. “I think we have instilled in our DNA as a nation that this was a day of celebration when we created a new nation. I think we celebrate the Fourth of July as one of those kinds of holidays that is unlike any other.”

Black also discusses his military history and the value that Independence Day had for him and his community during that time in history.

“Fourth of July was just always a big day,” says Black. “There were big events for the community because the community rallied around it, and that was big in the military because it was very parallel to what we as military folks took as an oath: we are going to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. Well, we couldn’t have a Constitution until we declared ourselves free.”
In the celebration of Independence Day, Black says that he sees a distinct difference in the way that these national holidays should be observed.

“I think one of the key differences in my mind is Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day celebrate people. The Fourth of July celebrates a concept, that here we were willing to declare ourselves free and independent, and fight to preserve that independence.”

Black also says he encourages that, as we celebrate this Fourth of July, we should remember to stay safe and stay smart.

“Since we are celebrating our independence and our freedom, we shouldn’t do stupid stuff and overindulge,” says Black. “This is the worst day for accidents in our nation’s calendar, and we should conduct ourselves accordingly and not make this a day of national tragedy.”

Hotline Available 844-588-8785

The J.B. Hunt Driver Hotline has been updated early this week due to the July 4th holiday.

Call 844-LUV-TRUK (844-588-8785) to hear straight talk from a J.B. Hunt director. Find out what's going on and what's coming up. And, there is a special guest speaker this week.

Jean-Claude Boattini, Director of Information Services, talks about PeopleNET outages and how they impact you.