Trailer pool is underwhelming----older ones need to undergo major checks, especially door closures and air bag systems.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Elevation Idea #3-The View From The Driver's Seat
This was submitted by one of our Professional Drivers yesterday:
Trailer pool is underwhelming----older ones need to undergo major checks, especially door closures and air bag systems.
Trailer pool is underwhelming----older ones need to undergo major checks, especially door closures and air bag systems.
Elevation Idea #2- The View From The Driver's Seat
This idea was submitted by a Professional Driver today:
Detention pay needs to be radically improved----as our trailer pool has shrunk and more of our customers seem to be grocery warehouses or places acting in a similar action----we need to revamp the sitting time pay or eliminate those customers----I recommend 2 hours free then $20 an hour for every hour after---plus have detention actually call and request movement on load status.
Detention pay needs to be radically improved----as our trailer pool has shrunk and more of our customers seem to be grocery warehouses or places acting in a similar action----we need to revamp the sitting time pay or eliminate those customers----I recommend 2 hours free then $20 an hour for every hour after---plus have detention actually call and request movement on load status.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Elevation Idea #1- The View From The Driver's Seat
I am posting ideas from our drivers that paint a picture on items we can make better now. We don't need a 4 month plan to make the job more attractive on these ideas:
Idea-"Due Home Dates need to be honored. This is especially important if someone stays out more than a couple of weeks. Being 2 to 3 days late home is just wrong."
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Driver Hotline Update
Please call 844-588-8785 to hear the latest updates on the following subjects:
April Risk Management
Freight
Elevation
Drivewyze
Operational Goals for Truckload
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Truck Tonnage Up In March
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Tonnage has increased in five of the last six months and has gained 5% compared with March 2014. For the quarter, tonnage was flat compared to the previous one but was up 5% compared to the first quarter of 2014.
Without being seasonally adjusted, the index equaled 139.7 for the month which was a 17.2% increase from February’s mark. The non-seasonally adjusted index represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by fleets that month.
While the increases were slight, ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello believes that it is a positive indicator for the economy. He also cautioned that the next few months would be telling for truck freight going into the spring freight season.
“While tonnage did not fully recoup the loss from February, it increased nicely in March,” said Costello. “I’d say that tonnage was one of the better indicators for the month which is a positive sign for the broader economy.”
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Turnover Analysis-2014 TMW Study
The 2014 TMW Transportation & Logistics Study analyzed results from three online surveys conducted between July and August last year, polling 131 companies in the irregular route and dedicated truckload sectors as well as brokerage/non-asset firms.
Some of the highlights:
TMW’s poll found that 68% of fleets with fewer than 30 tractors or drivers per fleet manager reported less than 75% turnover, while 83% of fleets with less than 21 tractors per fleet manager reported a sub-75% turnover rate – with many achieving 50% or lower.
“This pattern is significant in an industry where 41% of participants reported driver turnover of 75% or higher,” the company noted in its report.
There’s also a very strong correlation between utilization and driver retention, according to TMW’s survey data. In a measure of seated truck utilization, respondents with driver turnover below 75% also averaged 100 more revenue miles per tractor per week than those with higher turnover, the company pointed out.
“The connection is clear: if OTR [over-the-road] drivers aren’t getting enough miles, they’ll seek work elsewhere,” TMW emphasized. “Until a fleet can raise the bar on utilization, it could risk a downward cycle of increased turnover, more unseated trucks, and lower revenues.”
TMW also noted that in its 2013 survey, per-mile pay rates seemed to matter less than higher average driver miles – and its 2014 survey confirmed that trend.
“It also appears that while driver miles are a factor in higher retention, this gains more significance when paired with other variables,” the company added.
“One of those additional variables appears to be fleet size, as just one fleet with more than 500 tractors reported driver turnover of less than 75%,” TMW noted. “While there are several strong relational factors that appear to impact driver turnover, there are nearly as many exceptions. For example, many respondents with higher tractor to fleet manager ratios reported lower driver turnover but also coupled with either longer LOHs or top-end driver wages.”
One reason longer LOH seems to help with retention is that it means fewer dispatches and stops to coordinate, which theoretically gives fleet managers more time to focus on driver needs, the company surmised.
That also means “drivers also have fewer docks to bump and perhaps reduced stress around finding a load or managing detailed pickup/delivery requirements,” TMW added.
“Perhaps the key takeaway is that irregular-route TL carriers with lower tractor to fleet manager ratios are more likely to achieve better than average driver retention,” the firm noted. “The life of a driver in an irregular route environment is marked by long periods of isolation and more attentive fleet managers may offer valuable relief from that burden.”
Those three factors -- tractor-to-driver-manager ratios, utilization and LOH – also affect turnover and retention in the dedicated segment, but not always as strongly, TMW found:
Some of the highlights:
- More than 60% of the trucking respondents reported an operating ratio (OR) of 94% or lower, compared to 48% in 2013, with 16.7% reporting sub-90% ratios, as compared 3.2% in 2013.
- Net rate per mile improved by 7%, or 10 cents per mile, while utilization increased 2%, or 54 miles, per seated truck per week.
- Utilization remains a critical factor in fleet profitability, TMW discerned, as those reporting an OR of 96% or lower averaging 2,387 revenue miles per seated tractor per week while fleets reporting ORs higher than 96% averaged just 1,864 miles.
- TMW’s poll also reinforced the obvious connection between wages and driver turnover. For example, no respondent in the TL irregular sector with annual driver earnings below $50,000 reported turnover of less than 50%. (Note though that average driver turnover in 2013 hovered at 51%).
- Only irregular-route TL fleets reporting average driver pay above $55,000 achieved turnover rates of 25% or less.
- Yet only one responding TL fleet in the dedicated sector with driver wages averaging below $50,000 reported less than 50% turnover.
- But TMW also discovered “no consistent relationship” between wages and turnover in the dedicated sector. In fact, some of the highest paying fleets experienced particularly severe retention challenges in 2014 versus 2013.
TMW’s poll found that 68% of fleets with fewer than 30 tractors or drivers per fleet manager reported less than 75% turnover, while 83% of fleets with less than 21 tractors per fleet manager reported a sub-75% turnover rate – with many achieving 50% or lower.
“This pattern is significant in an industry where 41% of participants reported driver turnover of 75% or higher,” the company noted in its report.
There’s also a very strong correlation between utilization and driver retention, according to TMW’s survey data. In a measure of seated truck utilization, respondents with driver turnover below 75% also averaged 100 more revenue miles per tractor per week than those with higher turnover, the company pointed out.
“The connection is clear: if OTR [over-the-road] drivers aren’t getting enough miles, they’ll seek work elsewhere,” TMW emphasized. “Until a fleet can raise the bar on utilization, it could risk a downward cycle of increased turnover, more unseated trucks, and lower revenues.”
TMW also noted that in its 2013 survey, per-mile pay rates seemed to matter less than higher average driver miles – and its 2014 survey confirmed that trend.
“It also appears that while driver miles are a factor in higher retention, this gains more significance when paired with other variables,” the company added.
“One of those additional variables appears to be fleet size, as just one fleet with more than 500 tractors reported driver turnover of less than 75%,” TMW noted. “While there are several strong relational factors that appear to impact driver turnover, there are nearly as many exceptions. For example, many respondents with higher tractor to fleet manager ratios reported lower driver turnover but also coupled with either longer LOHs or top-end driver wages.”
One reason longer LOH seems to help with retention is that it means fewer dispatches and stops to coordinate, which theoretically gives fleet managers more time to focus on driver needs, the company surmised.
That also means “drivers also have fewer docks to bump and perhaps reduced stress around finding a load or managing detailed pickup/delivery requirements,” TMW added.
“Perhaps the key takeaway is that irregular-route TL carriers with lower tractor to fleet manager ratios are more likely to achieve better than average driver retention,” the firm noted. “The life of a driver in an irregular route environment is marked by long periods of isolation and more attentive fleet managers may offer valuable relief from that burden.”
Those three factors -- tractor-to-driver-manager ratios, utilization and LOH – also affect turnover and retention in the dedicated segment, but not always as strongly, TMW found:
- Respondents in the range of 19 tractors per fleet manager averaged less than 50% turnover, while those averaging 25 tractors or more per fleet manager reported turnover higher than 50%.
- Yet the LOH connection in the dedicated segment is less clear-cut as a two-day LOH will typically put a driver at least four days out, whereas a shorter-haul dedicated route often allows for increased home time per week.
- About eight out of 10 fleets that averaged less than 500-mile LOH reported lower than 50% driver turnover.
- As the reported LOH average rose to 663 miles, TL dedicated segment turnover spiked to as much as 75%. Higher LOH averages pushed driver turnover rates to between 75% and 100%.
- As in the TL Irregular segment, TMW found a strong correlation between utilization and operating ratios, yet also noted hours-of-service (HOS) rule changes creating a “daunting challenge” with 65.6% of respondents reporting a negative impact on utilization of as high as 10% from the new HOS requirements.
- Yet TMW’s poll also found dedicated fleets are combatting the impact of HOS with new technologies. For example, fleets using planning optimization software averaged 142 more revenue miles per seated truck per week over the preceding 12 months – a 6.3% upswing in utilization.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Welcome to Lowell - Daniel Birdsey
Daniel Birdsey visited Lowell today and was welcomed by Fleet Manager Sarah White. Daniel started with J.B. Hunt on January 26, 2015. Daniel is from Farmington, New York and has approx 2.5 years driving experience. Daniel is one of those new drivers that everyone wants as he's eager to learn and is a pleasure to work with.
Putt Up or Shut Up Competition Champions
Our Truckload Team of Kyle Rockett, Kyle Chappell, Dan Blocker and Toran Menifee represented our floor and brought home the championship in the
Dallas, Texas Terminal Visit 4-10-15
Welcome to the Dallas Terminal. This is a facility that has been in use since 1989.
These trees were tiny when we first moved into the facility.
5701 W. Kiest Drive, the home of some great driving employees over the past 20+ years.
The offices of Julie Jones and Joyce Wade.
The modern version of a scan station. We still prefer our drivers use the Transflo app for quicker receipt of a POD.
The employee breakroom.
Our tractor shop.
The Dallas 3 bay fuel island.
A nice touch at the Dallas fuel island.
Our Truckload internal advertising still looks good at the Dallas Terminal.
No state has more pride in their flag than Texas. Our terminal proudly displays the Lone Star Flag.
Our safety and reception area.
Our Dallas trailer shop.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Attracting The Next Generation of Truck Drivers
There’s much talk of late about trucking’s next generation of drivers.
And with the current generation of truck drivers quickly nearing the age of retirement, carriers have placed an emphasis of late on attracting a new, younger pool of drivers to the industry — though with varying success.
A report in recent months from ATRI shows the median age for truck drivers to be around 45, well above industries like construction and service and the U.S.’ total workforce.
So why aren’t those in their 20s — who have a much higher rate of unemployment than the national average — interested in driving a truck?
CCJ sister site Overdrive’s Senior Editor Todd Dills talked in February with a longtime driver now working in retention at a mid-sized carrier about the issue, who subsequently pitched it to one of a twenty-somethings, Bruce Jenkins, who’s in a non-driving role at the company.
Here’s what Jenkins had to say about millennials’ potential issues with the industry and what carriers can do to recruit them:
An occupation in truck driving is not generally considered a successful achievement and has a lot of bad stigma. We grew up with stories of truck driving being dangerous and dirty. We grew up being told to go to college before we even knew the word education. If you don’t continue your education you cannot be successful: This is the idea we grew up with. And it’s partially true — 300 million people is a lot of competition, and even the most basic jobs now require post-grade-school education.
Truck driving is associated with long, lonely days and poor hygiene and health.
Our parents grew up knowing local police, while we avoid law enforcement whenever possible. This makes driving a vehicle that requires this type of interaction unappealing.
Driving sucks. When have you ever made it through a day without hearing about traffic, accidents, or commutes?
We are over-sheltered and spoiled and that doesn’t end when we leave the nest. Our parents were out of the house at 18 and struggled to make life work for them– they don’t want to do that to their kids.
Trucking is hard and we don’t have to work hard. We have parents and a government that will give us everything we claim we can’t achieve on our own. Don’t want to work? Unemployment. Can’t afford an apartment? Your parents want you to stay home. Can’t pay your phone bill? That’s OK because your parents are probably paying it anyway. Don’t want to work to raise your kids? Government support literally pays out more money than you could make at a 40-hour job, covers your child care, and they will actually tell you that at the office where you get it.
What would it take to get our generation to want to be truck drivers?
Compete. You are not just competing with other trucking companies; you are competing with every job obtainable by a potential employee with the same skill level. Retail, fast food, beverage/hospitality, maintenance, admin. Why is driving a truck better than working in a climate-controlled environment where I can be clean and sociable, while working fewer hours?
Advertise. Our generation does not know anything at all about truck driving. Not its requirements, lifestyle, or importance. Advertising that you need truck drivers with CDLA or military experience will make anyone under 30 years old pass by. My generation does not know what “dedicated miles” and “home time” mean. Most ads cater to drivers that are already drivers. If I didn’t have the confidence that I have, I would look at these signs and ads and see “you cannot do this.” Advertise in malls, on light rail, at sports events, entertainment venues — places our generation frequents. Advertise in color, with real incentives that matter to a generation that generally doesn’t believe it can accomplish anything without college experience.
Recruiting. It looks to me like the industry is just sitting around waiting for drivers to show up. When they do go out and seek drivers, they are looking for veterans and old-school drivers. I don’t see young people being actively recruited.
Technology. No one today has to go without current tech. We live in an age where there is a new iPhone every six months and the idea that old tech is taboo. To an extent, it is. Technology today becomes outdated almost as soon as it is introduced to the public. Up-to-date technology not only shows, but is required, for success. Show off what we have and why it matters to them and not just to the industry.
Money. We are all in debt. Or just flat-out poor. Cents per mile doesn’t mean anything to us. If I see “50 cents per mile,” all I can think is how much I have to drive and the equation I have to do in my head to know how much money I can make. If I see $1,000 a week, I’m ready to get dirty. Seeing a new-hire bonus is a good incentive, but seeing a scheduled payout over several months (for a job I’m not even sure I can do) is not attractive.
Programs to acquire a CDL. There are affordable programs and trade schools that actively advertise how easy it can be for young people to become nurses, practitioners, and technicians (granted they care little for the success of their students and more about bringing in money). My generation cannot even afford to get a class C license, let alone purchase a dependable vehicle. We can’t afford the money or the time. Acquiring the skills for a new profession means taking time away from when you need to be working to pay your bills. No one wants to study for tests, especially on their own. It would be a good idea to provide financial support or reimbursements for licensing. In-house prep classes with a low student-teacher ratio. The equipment to accommodate the number of students in each class.
If the industry is losing our generation, it should invest in education. Take responsibility and guide them to become what is needed. Mentoring and training dependable drivers from the beginning is a lot easier than teaching old dogs new tricks.
Benefits. I never see or hear anything about the benefits, rewards, or positive aspects of truck driving. Four out of five people I know haven’t had insurance for years and are doing everything they can to avoid the requirements of the Affordable Care Act. Insurance policies are hard to understand, acquire and pay for. Let people know that we offer benefits and a team that can help them understand and process them. Let people know what’s good about the industry and why they want to be a part of it.
Image. Show your target group something that is relatable. I don’t see anyone my age driving a truck. I don’t see anyone my age in trucking ads. I don’t see anyone my age in trucking news or politics. I don’t see anyone my age involved in this industry, anywhere, except in an office. Our generation either went to college and doesn’t want a truck-driving career, or they didn’t go to college and don’t see truck driving as something they can do. Show interest, don’t just expect it. I don’t know how many times I have mentioned an interest in obtaining a CDL or just learning about driving and expanding my knowledge — even those of us who are interested are passed by.
And with the current generation of truck drivers quickly nearing the age of retirement, carriers have placed an emphasis of late on attracting a new, younger pool of drivers to the industry — though with varying success.
A report in recent months from ATRI shows the median age for truck drivers to be around 45, well above industries like construction and service and the U.S.’ total workforce.
So why aren’t those in their 20s — who have a much higher rate of unemployment than the national average — interested in driving a truck?
CCJ sister site Overdrive’s Senior Editor Todd Dills talked in February with a longtime driver now working in retention at a mid-sized carrier about the issue, who subsequently pitched it to one of a twenty-somethings, Bruce Jenkins, who’s in a non-driving role at the company.
Here’s what Jenkins had to say about millennials’ potential issues with the industry and what carriers can do to recruit them:
An occupation in truck driving is not generally considered a successful achievement and has a lot of bad stigma. We grew up with stories of truck driving being dangerous and dirty. We grew up being told to go to college before we even knew the word education. If you don’t continue your education you cannot be successful: This is the idea we grew up with. And it’s partially true — 300 million people is a lot of competition, and even the most basic jobs now require post-grade-school education.
Truck driving is associated with long, lonely days and poor hygiene and health.
Our parents grew up knowing local police, while we avoid law enforcement whenever possible. This makes driving a vehicle that requires this type of interaction unappealing.
Driving sucks. When have you ever made it through a day without hearing about traffic, accidents, or commutes?
We are over-sheltered and spoiled and that doesn’t end when we leave the nest. Our parents were out of the house at 18 and struggled to make life work for them– they don’t want to do that to their kids.
Trucking is hard and we don’t have to work hard. We have parents and a government that will give us everything we claim we can’t achieve on our own. Don’t want to work? Unemployment. Can’t afford an apartment? Your parents want you to stay home. Can’t pay your phone bill? That’s OK because your parents are probably paying it anyway. Don’t want to work to raise your kids? Government support literally pays out more money than you could make at a 40-hour job, covers your child care, and they will actually tell you that at the office where you get it.
What would it take to get our generation to want to be truck drivers?
Compete. You are not just competing with other trucking companies; you are competing with every job obtainable by a potential employee with the same skill level. Retail, fast food, beverage/hospitality, maintenance, admin. Why is driving a truck better than working in a climate-controlled environment where I can be clean and sociable, while working fewer hours?
Advertise. Our generation does not know anything at all about truck driving. Not its requirements, lifestyle, or importance. Advertising that you need truck drivers with CDLA or military experience will make anyone under 30 years old pass by. My generation does not know what “dedicated miles” and “home time” mean. Most ads cater to drivers that are already drivers. If I didn’t have the confidence that I have, I would look at these signs and ads and see “you cannot do this.” Advertise in malls, on light rail, at sports events, entertainment venues — places our generation frequents. Advertise in color, with real incentives that matter to a generation that generally doesn’t believe it can accomplish anything without college experience.
Recruiting. It looks to me like the industry is just sitting around waiting for drivers to show up. When they do go out and seek drivers, they are looking for veterans and old-school drivers. I don’t see young people being actively recruited.
Technology. No one today has to go without current tech. We live in an age where there is a new iPhone every six months and the idea that old tech is taboo. To an extent, it is. Technology today becomes outdated almost as soon as it is introduced to the public. Up-to-date technology not only shows, but is required, for success. Show off what we have and why it matters to them and not just to the industry.
Money. We are all in debt. Or just flat-out poor. Cents per mile doesn’t mean anything to us. If I see “50 cents per mile,” all I can think is how much I have to drive and the equation I have to do in my head to know how much money I can make. If I see $1,000 a week, I’m ready to get dirty. Seeing a new-hire bonus is a good incentive, but seeing a scheduled payout over several months (for a job I’m not even sure I can do) is not attractive.
Programs to acquire a CDL. There are affordable programs and trade schools that actively advertise how easy it can be for young people to become nurses, practitioners, and technicians (granted they care little for the success of their students and more about bringing in money). My generation cannot even afford to get a class C license, let alone purchase a dependable vehicle. We can’t afford the money or the time. Acquiring the skills for a new profession means taking time away from when you need to be working to pay your bills. No one wants to study for tests, especially on their own. It would be a good idea to provide financial support or reimbursements for licensing. In-house prep classes with a low student-teacher ratio. The equipment to accommodate the number of students in each class.
If the industry is losing our generation, it should invest in education. Take responsibility and guide them to become what is needed. Mentoring and training dependable drivers from the beginning is a lot easier than teaching old dogs new tricks.
Benefits. I never see or hear anything about the benefits, rewards, or positive aspects of truck driving. Four out of five people I know haven’t had insurance for years and are doing everything they can to avoid the requirements of the Affordable Care Act. Insurance policies are hard to understand, acquire and pay for. Let people know that we offer benefits and a team that can help them understand and process them. Let people know what’s good about the industry and why they want to be a part of it.
Image. Show your target group something that is relatable. I don’t see anyone my age driving a truck. I don’t see anyone my age in trucking ads. I don’t see anyone my age in trucking news or politics. I don’t see anyone my age involved in this industry, anywhere, except in an office. Our generation either went to college and doesn’t want a truck-driving career, or they didn’t go to college and don’t see truck driving as something they can do. Show interest, don’t just expect it. I don’t know how many times I have mentioned an interest in obtaining a CDL or just learning about driving and expanding my knowledge — even those of us who are interested are passed by.
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Elevation - Patrick's Truck Ride (Speed of Execution Testimonial)
Patrick Selvy, our Truckload Cost Elevation Catalyst teammate, decided that he needed to do a ride-along to understand our processes and procedures. We located a Truckload delivery in the Northwest Arkansas area and Patrick met our driver at the Lowell Terminal this morning.
Our assignment was a drop and hook delivery at Walmart in Bentonville, AR. This is what it looks like in our system (yes, I used the host):
Notice this load shows two drops at the same DC.
Our team left the Lowell yard at 0903 A.M.. They drove on I-49 north to their delivery. They experienced one collision mitigation alert due to a tanker truck that slowed down and we encroached on our existing space cushion.
We arrived at the gate in Bentonville at 9:29 a.m.. We had one driver in front of us (JB Hunt). Our team was instructed to drop their loaded trailer in zone E. The driver was asked to show his drivers license and produce the Walmart delivery number. Our driver was stressed out that he did not have the right number and ran from the guard shack back to the truck to write down the information from his tethered Peoplenet unit. Does this sound archaic?
Our team logged on-duty not driving and proceeded to the drop zone. We successfully dropped our trailer in 8 minutes. Our challenge now is to find an empty trailer. Our driver told us that he normally looks for trailers that start with 66 so he can locate a newer box that will be more reliable and also has the technology that drivers desire (tire pressure sensor light, better door locking systems, etc). Our team located an older trailer (#51786) and the doors would not successfully close. Our driver had already swept out the unit and invested time in it, but knew if he picked it up he would have to go get it repaired. We spent 13 minutes on this box, but surrendered it for better selection. The bad part of this trailer story---the next driver who hooks up to this box now gets to deal with this issue. We need an easy way for a driver to communicate a problem trailer in the field without having to spend great amounts of time on a box that does not make them any compensation.
So, the team drove to another area and found box #661700. This is a new trailer and the pick-up process was seamless. This second trailer took another 10 minutes of time to locate and hook up. Now that we had secured an empty, our driver entered the data from the two drops (need to understand why it shows two drops instead of one?). The two drops forces the driver to enter two unload calls and take time out of their clock. During this process he educated Patrick on this issues around the constant rebooting issues and pop-up information that takes you off the entry screens and makes you have toget back to the data entry point you were already in.
So, at 10:23 am we were finally finished with our unload call and had 1.2 hours invested in a drop and hook in Bentonville, AR that was 10 miles away.
Here are some other talking points that we can use to educate ourselves:
- Our driver was in a gently used International truck. The other J.B. Hunt Truckload driver was in a new Freightliner. These two drivers conversed and compared tenure. Our driver had almost a year of experience with our company and the other driver had only 4 months with our company. This created a conversation around truck assignment.
- Our driver loves his fleet manager. The manager met our team when they returned to the terminal. Our driver shared that he had an interest in driving for our Georgia Pacific fleet, but feared losing his fleet manager.
- Our driver mentioned that the last 2 b-services he experienced took 3 days to complete. He lost wage ability due to not having another option (truck) to work with during the downtime.
- Our driver is a rehire. He experienced a very dirty truck during his first stint with J.B. Hunt. He got tired of waiting for his truck to be presented to him and went back to a competitor. One of our recruiters worked tirelessly to get him back to the company and so kudo's to our recruiters for getting this driver back to our company.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Driving Wiser
PeopleNet is a leading provider of fleet mobility technology platforms that serve more than 2,000 fleets and 250,000 vehicles to increase safety and efficiency while reducing cost per mile by integrating connectivity across an organization's entire fleet. Drivewyze, now accessible through the PeopleNet platform, has quickly become the largest provider of weigh station and mobile site bypass services in North America, currently offering 545 service sites in 34 states.
"J.B. Hunt drivers will experience increased bypasses and time savings as a result of Drivewyze's geographical presence, as well as PreClear's many inspection sites. In-depth analysis has supported a data-driven decision to adopt the Drivewyze service," said Greer Woodruff, Senior Vice President of Safety, Security and Driver Personnel at J.B. Hunt Transport. "Delays affect both the driver and the fleet, having a significant impact on drive time, operational costs, and productivity. PeopleNet and Drivewyze offer us a simple, fully-integrated solution with a 98 percent bypass rate, all while eliminating the costs and management of transponders."
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Hair Testing Picks Up Support
Greer Woodruff said J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. looked at all options when it considered adding hair testing to its drug-screening program for drivers.
Among them was the test -- which wasn't required as part of the mandatory drug-screening process established by the U.S. Department of Transportation -- which could shrink J.B. Hunt's pool of prospective drivers in an industry battling a severe shortage.
"We had to talk about that," said Woodruff, who is the Lowell-based company's vice president of safety and security. "It was, 'Hey guys, it's going to cut some drivers out of coming to work here. Are we OK with that?' Our discussion was, if they're using drugs, we don't want them working for us. So those are the right people to turn away."
J.B. Hunt became the first major transportation company to adopt hair testing as part of its drug screening nine years ago and is hoping the proactive approach, along with the efforts of a growing number of trucking companies that have followed suit in years since, like Maverick USA in North Little Rock, will finally be recognized on the national level.
J.B Hunt and Maverick support companion bills recently introduced in Congress that would make hair testing an acceptable method of drug screening for trucking companies. The bill also would allow flagged hair tests to be part of a national database shared by trucking companies. Urinalysis is the only form currently recognized by the Transportation Department, which has taken its direction from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The bills would not make hair testing mandatory but would provide trucking companies with more flexibility when conducting drug screens in hopes of keeping habitual users off the road. Currently, companies that elect to test hair as part of their drug-screening programs are required to conduct urine tests as well, shouldering the costs of both exams.
Hair tests are regarded as harder to adulterate, and they provide a longer look at a prospective driver's past. Hair tests typically detect drug use as far back as 90 days, while urine tests typically span the previous two or three days.
Ten years ago, two J.B. Hunt drivers were involved in fatal accidents. Both drivers tested positive for drug use.
The company has since conducted hair and urine drug screens on more than 82,000 drivers between May 2006 and December 2014, according to data provided by J.B. Hunt. Of those, 3,845 drivers went undetected for drug use in the urine exam but tested positive in the hair test. Woodruff said prospective drivers fail the hair test 6 ½ times more than those flagged by urine tests.
None of J.B. Hunt's drivers have tested positive for drug use since 2007, Woodruff said.
"That's absolutely huge," said Kyle Hicks, who is a regulatory affairs specialist at Omega Laboratories. "Post accident, in any industry, that's traditionally where you find someone has been using despite having gotten through the pre-employment test.
"You're just creating a safer workplace overall by insuring that people who are choosing a lifestyle of drug abuse are not entering that system and hoping to not have an accident."
Omega Laboratories, a hair-testing facility based in Ohio, processes hair tests for several motor carriers. They receive samples of hair cut as close to the skin or scalp as possible. The laboratory tests a segment of hair about 1½ inches in length.
Hicks said hair tests are gaining traction in the trucking industry largely because of the drawbacks associated with urinalysis. A 2007 Government Accountability Office study found the Transportation Department's testing program was "vulnerable to manipulation by drug users."
"The majority of these motor carriers believe that the urine testing program as set forth by the DOT is no longer effectively catching drug users," Hicks said. "So we do have companies actually reaching out to us and contacting us. I know that's true of the other two major hair-testing labs as well."
After recognizing the success of J.B. Hunt's program, Maverick began hair-testing its drivers in August 2012. Schneider National Inc., Gordon Trucking and C.R. England are among other major trucking fleets conducting hair tests on drivers.
Jeff Lester, executive vice president and chief risk officer at USA Truck, said the Van Buren-based company is exploring the possibility of hair testing as well. He said USA Truck supports anything that will improve highway safety as long as it's "reasonable, fair and consistent."
Groups like the Trucking Alliance, the American Trucking Associations and the Arkansas Trucking Association support the legislation. Lane Kidd, managing director of the Trucking Alliance, said he didn't detect much resistance even though a similar bill never gained much traction two years ago.
"While drug use is not noticed for being the cause of a lot of the accidents, we do find that when truck drivers are involved in highway accidents and under the influence of drugs, the accidents do tend to be much more severe and they do tend to be accidents in which people are injured," Kidd said. "So the severity of the accidents is enough reason to try to make sure we don't have truck drivers under the influence or behind the wheel. It just seems like such an obvious thing to support."
But the push to make hair testing acceptable for drug screens doesn't sit well with everyone.
Scott West, a truck driver who declined to say which company he worked for when interviewed in Springdale last week, said he removed himself from consideration from a driving position after discovering the company required a hair test. West believes that an industry already suffering from a severe driver shortage will lose even more if hair testing is approved.
"I don't believe anybody ought to be out there in that truck drinking and smoking dope," West said. "But this is the way I look at it: What I do with my time when I get home, that's my business."
Undrac Weaver, a driver for Little Rock-based Thompson Transportation, said a 90-day window may not tell the complete story about a driver's history with drugs, either.
"Let's say you used to do it, you've gotten yourself clean and you've been clean for about 90 days," Weaver said. "You get a hair test, and it still comes back positive. You still can't get a job. It doesn't matter one way or the other to me because I don't do drugs. But I don't think that would be fair."
The only drawback for a company like J.B. Hunt is the cost of conducting both tests, although the push to make hair testing acceptable isn't merely about boosting the bottom line.Woodruff said J.B. Hunt plans to put any money saved by the elimination of duplicative testing into other safety initiatives "intended to reduce accidents and work-related injuries."
For now, urine tests cost between $35 and $40. Hair tests are between $50 and $60. If a trucking company conducts 10,000 hair and urine screens for drivers on an annual basis it would cost an additional $500,000 to $600,000 for both tests.
Woodruff called it a deterrent to companies that are on thin margins to begin with, but believes that more carriers would likely adopt hair testing more quickly if given the choice by the Transportation Department. And for those still unable to shoulder the extra cost, Woodruff said, the ability to share flagged results in the clearinghouse should solve the problem. It would be harder for drivers who failed a hair test at J.B. Hunt to slide into a truck by passing a urine test at another company.
"We're willing to spend a little bit more money to go through more candidates to find one that's drug-free than to hire people who are drug users and then have all the ill effects of that within your workforce," Woodruff said.
Friday, April 3, 2015
February Tonnage Index
Compared with February of last year, the seasonally adjusted index increased 3% but the ATA pointed out that this was the smallest year-over-year gain since June 2014 and below the 2014 annual increase of 3.7%. Without being seasonally adjusted, the index equaled 118.9 which was 6.4% lower than in January.
“The February drop in truck tonnage was not a surprise,” said Bob Costello, ATA chief economist. “Retail sales, manufacturing output and housing starts were all off during the month so the tonnage decline fits with those indicators.”
Costello indicated that winter had impacted a large portion of the country in February negatively impacting truck tonnage and industries that drive tonnage.
ATA calculates the tonnage index based on surveys from its membership and has been doing so since the 1970s. The report includes month-to-month and year-over-year results, relevant economic comparisons, and key financial indicators.
Survey Says!
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) collected over 800 driver surveys on the topic of truck parking at last week’s Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) in Louisville, Kentucky. ATRI’s latest survey cross-references driver perceptions of truck parking availability with the viability of truck parking reservation systems and exactly how truck drivers put a “value” on truck parking availability.
This latest ATRI data collection initiative was driven by the selection of truck parking as one of the top priority research topics for 2015 by ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee (RAC). Additionally, truck parking continues to rank high in ATRI’s annual Top Industry Issues Survey; in the 2014 survey Truck Parking ranked 6th overall but among truck drivers in the survey it ranked 2nd, eclipsed only by the challenges associated with the Hours-of-Service regulations
Turnover Looms Large For Trucking Companies
Turnover at large truckload fleets actually fell a percentage point to an annualized rate of 96% for the quarter. Small truckload carriers making less than 30 million in revenue saw a 1% increase, for a rate of 95% turnover.
For the year, large truckload turnover was down 1% from 2013 to 95%. But turnover was up more than 11% at small carriers, bringing the rate to 95%. A five-point gap between the two rates is the smallest since 2000.
The narrow gap between turnover levels at small and large carriers is an uncommon occurrence and likely the result of larger fleets increasing pay, offering bonuses and attracting more drivers from smaller fleets, according to Costello.
“These figures show us that the driver shortage– which we now estimate to be between 35,000 to 40,000 drivers– is getting more pervasive in the truckload sector,” Costello said.
“Due to growing freight volumes, regulatory pressures and normal attrition, we expect the problem to get worse in the near term as the industry works to find solutions to the shortage," he added.
J.B. Hunt receives 2014 Sam's Club Carrier of the Year Award
In a letter of commendation to J.B. Hunt, Chris Kozak, senior director of carrier relations at Walmart Corporate Transportation, and Kevin X. Jones, vice president of Walmart inbound transportation, wrote: “J.B. Hunt has consistently provided Walmart with exceptional service, maintained excellent safety standards, and is a foremost leader in the transportation industry… We look forward to continuing to grow our transportation alliance.”
John N. Roberts, III, president and chief executive officer of J.B. Hunt, said in a response, “We are proud to continue cultivating this valued partnership and evolving with Walmart’s vision. We strive to be dynamic and flexible for any transportation challenge or requirement.”
J.B. Hunt has partnered with Sam’s Club and Walmart for more than three decades, providing a suite of flexible, scalable transportation solutions to accommodate their shipping needs. Our Truckload team supports Sam's Club with PCS and Asset solutions in Taylor, Pennsylvania. Our office team consists of Byron Munden, Ryan Roark, Beth Tompkins, Trissa Telesky, and Mark Mastrine. We have a great core of drivers and carriers that deliver impeccable service to our client.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Mid-America Truck Show - Louisville, Kentucky
Our Truckload team participated in the MATS show this year in style. We sent Chad Dewey, Ryan Ardary, Sarah White and Professional Driver Gary Carthon to help staff our booth and compile competitor information. This year's theme was The Price Is Right and featured a plinko game and a putting competition. We reached our goal of 1000+ leads!
March Madness-Truckload Style!
Our Truckload team participated in a great function today. We hosted a 3 on 3 tournament behind our corporate building. Thanks to all our employees who gave their time and intensity to the event. Remember--sore muscles mean they still work!
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