Recruiting For J.B. Hunt - Atlanta Motor Speedway

Our deck sported an 80 foot banner promoting our jobs site.  As you can see, everyone was at the edge cheering on their favorite drivers. 

All About T-Bone

Our race car sported a J.B. Hunt logo decal with T-Bone Scott's name on both sides of the vehicle.  T-Bone is an Intermodal driver and was thrilled to share his experience with his wife as his vocal cheerleader at the Folds Of Honor race this past Sunday.

Hotlanta Here We Come!

During our trip we made a visit to our Forest Park, Georgia facility.  It was great to see the investment we made in improvements being enjoyed by our Professional Drivers on a Saturday afternoon. 

Christina Spurgeon and Jacob Parker introduce themselves to Johnny White and Jesse Thompson. 

Six of our eight washer/dryers were being used during our visit. 

Signage is greatly improving the knowledge of our amenities. 

 Our improved bathroom area and showers looked great. 

 We met a driver in the Driver Lounge on his 3rd week.  Wayne loved J.B. Hunt and could not believe how helpful our people are in every department.

 Our newer sofa's were being used during our visit.

 Our kitchen area still looked great and is being well-cared for by our staff.

Richard Petty Experience - Atlanta Motor Speedway

 Our Professional Drivers loved the access to the pits.  Looks like they were having fun, huh? 

The driver of the #43, Aric Almirola, spent time before the race signing items for our entire team. 

The deck on turn 2 was full of our special guests.  We had 30 Professional Drivers from Intermodal, Dedicated, and Truckload that were chosen to represent our company at the race.

Our driver was involved in a pile-up at the end of the raee.  Aric was safely removed from the car and finished at #15. 

Fortune Magazine Most Admired Companies

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. , one of the largest transportation companies in North America, was selected by Fortune magazine as one of the most admired companies in the world for 2016.

“We are honored to be listed as one of the world’s most admired companies,” said J.B. Hunt CEO John Roberts. “Every day, the J.B. Hunt team works their hardest to execute a top-notch service in our industry. We value our people and it is their enthusiasm, devotion and talent that makes J.B. Hunt exceptional. Our company made this list because our team is unwavering in their commitment to quality, innovation and customer service. We thank Fortune magazine for this distinction.”

Three hundred and forty companies made the list. Companies were divided between 54 industry categories. J.B. Hunt was ranked number five overall in the industry, which includes trucking, transportation and logistics companies. This is the second consecutive year the company has made the list. Last year, J.B. Hunt ranked number six in the same category. J.B. Hunt was also present on the list from 2006 to 2011.

Black History Month Celebration - Sherman Tate

We were thrilled to host Sherman Tate as our keynote speaker for our inaugural Black History Month Celebration here at J.B. Hunt.  Mr Tate shared great stories about his upbringing, professional life, and lessons on the importance of diversity in our nation's history.  I especially loved one qoute he made during his presentation :

"As you promote within an organization never forget that the people who work with you are the folks that can make you look good or make you look bad." 

We should make a commitment to host this event every year.  Mr Tate was an excellent choice for our keynote speaker.  He inspired me to be a better father, husband and employee.  Great stuff!   

Truck Tonnage index off 1.4%

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index fell 1.4% in January 2016, following no change during December 2015. In January, the index equaled 132.8 (2000=100), down from 134.7 in December, an all-time high (along with November 2015).
Compared with January 2015, the SA index was flat, which was down from December’s 0.8% year-over-year gain. For all of 2015, compared with 2014, tonnage was up 2.6%.

ATA recently revised the seasonally adjusted index back five years as part of its annual revision.
The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 127.1 in January 2016, which was 5.2% below the previous month (134.1).

“Clearly, 2016 started soft for truck tonnage,” said Bob Costello, ATA chief economist. “There was a deceleration in freight volumes during the second half of 2015 which continued into the first month of 2016.

“The winter storms that hit in January likely suppressed volumes some, but by falling 1.4%, I doubt tonnage would have been positive without the storms,” he said. “So that tells me that the inventory situation continues to weigh on truck freight volumes. The sooner the supply chain cleans out the excess stocks, the better for trucking.”

Serving as a barometer of the US economy, trucking represents 68.8% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled just under 10 billion tons of freight in 2014. Motor carriers collected $700.4 billion, or 80.3% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.

Commitment to Development

This week we welcomed Byron Munden to Lowell, Arkansas.  Byron visited the home office from Tannersville, Pennsylvania to be a part of Foundational Leadership Training.  This four day course is the foundation of our Training Road Map for J.B. Hunt Truckload.  Byron joined other Truckload employees Justin Guy, Andrew Heim, Betty Ann Kisor, and Denise Vinsant in the Training and Development building with thirty-nine total employees from Intermodal, ICS, DCS, CDP, Adminstrative departments and IT.  What a great group of people from across the enterprise to network and engage with for a week.

Our company has been dedicated to training our people as a core philosophy of developing our talent. This is extremely important as we march towards our $10b/$50b revenue goals as an organization.

Weigh My Truck Update-Truckload Tally

We are adding Professional Drivers in J.B. Hunt Truckload as fast as possible.  We want our team to derive the benefits of this tool as quickly as possible.  We currently have 368 of our folks using the benefit with the aid of a virtual card number and their personal smartphones.  That equates to 24% of our Truckload Professional Drivers receiving the benefits of "Weigh My Truck."  

Weekly Market Demand Index 2-23-16

Weigh My Truck Feedback

Weigh My Truck is the best thing ya'll have come up with yet!!!!!.........................Rodney Collins

Lowell Driver Experience Continues

Lowell Driver Experience Session 9:

We are 9 weeks in and approximately 54 drivers have attended The Lowell Driver Experience, the benefits we are seeing from spending quality time with our drivers is proving to be priceless. 

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Area Safety Manager Deb Beecher showing she is not afraid to get under the trailer to teach our drivers what a proper pre-trip looks like.

Even Justin Norman and Kenneth Kelly decided to join in and get under the trailer to make sure they see what they were looking at.

Even though we were focused on learning, it was hard to not enjoy the great company and the weather. Just ask Henry McCoy, Josiah Rockafeller and Oscar Bowman, pictured here with Deb Beecher our Safety Manager.

Safety Director Todd Davis spent the enter afternoon in the sun helping our drivers navigate the course.

On boarding Manager Deb Brown spent a little quality time out on the course with Driver Kenneth Kelley as they watched fellow drivers complete the course. 

The Lowell Driver Experience not only bridges a gap between our Drivers and Front Line Managers, it offers a moment to touch on our safety culture. The day also provides an opportunity to instill a new found respect and appreciation of safety in our employees, the impact is across the boards. The difference in how a fleet can run when Managers have the opportunity to get to know our drivers on a personal level is remarkable. Each week the groups are larger and the experience even better. We truly have the best drivers here at J.B. Hunt. 

Coercion Rule In Place

A new federal rule that implements large fines for carriers, shippers and brokers caught pressuring drivers to operate beyond federal safety regulations, such as when they’re out of hours, is now in effect, as is a new system for truckers to file complaints for alleged coercion instances with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The rule is intended to protect truckers from “threats of economic harm,” the rule states, such as loss of business, pay, miles, loads and the like, if drivers don’t comply with entities trying to push them to operate when they legally can’t.

The rule, which took effect Jan. 29, sets hefty fines for entities caught coercing drivers — $16,000 a pop, a price the agency hopes is a coercion prevention measure in and of itself, beyond the federal rules actually prohibiting coercion.

However, though FMCSA says the “burden of proof” in coercion claims made by drivers is on the agency itself, truckers — the victims of such coercion violations — are the ones responsible for providing the “critical evidence needed to sustain the action against a carrier, shipper, receiver or [broker],” FMCSA writes in the final rule’s notice.

Truckers must also know the rule they’re being coerced to break and must object to a request for the coercion claim to be valid. From FMCSA’s explanation of the rule: 

“Motor carriers, shippers, receivers, and transportation intermediaries cannot commit coercion under the final rule unless and until they have been put on notice by the driver that he or she cannot meet the proposed delivery schedule without violating the HOS limits or other regulatory requirements. The purpose of that notice is, of course, to ensure that the driver is not coerced to commit such violations.”

The agency also isn’t in a position to remedy such coercion instances if proven. It only can fine the coercing entity, not order things back wages or punitive damages. But, the agency says, it plays to work with the Department of Labor and its Occupational Safety and Health Administration on coercion claims. The DOL does have the authority to do more than simply issue fines.

Our People Getting Closer

Doris Miles, one of our Independent Contractor Fleet Managers, shared this note about her experience with one of our contractors and our largest ERG groups within the company. 

RTLA-Ride, Talk, Listen, Act

We have a history of asking our J.B. Hunt Managers to perform RTLA's with our Professional Drivers.  RTLA's are simply riding in the passenger seat of one of our trucks and using the time to talk, listen and act on the opportunities you see.  We gain numerous benefits from this practice.  We gain an appreciation of the Professional Driver's job on the road.  We see how we influence drivers with our poor driving habits in and around big trucks.  Finally, we build trust.   Check the post from Susie Weeks on her Facebook page:      

Susie is an Account Representative with the Truckload Team.  She spent the day riding in Northwest Arkansas with one of our DCS drivers.  This is utilizing the true benefits of being a large enterprise.

Fifth Wheels Aren't Round?

Ever wonder why we call them fifth wheels?

The term fifth wheel comes from a similar coupling used on four-wheel horse-drawn carriages and wagons. The device allowed the front axle assembly to pivot in the horizontal plane, to facilitate turning. Basically a wheel was placed on the rear frame section of the truck, which back then only had four wheels; this wheel that was placed on the frame was the "fifth wheel", hence the name. The trailer needed to be raised so that the trailer's pin would be able to drop into the central hole of the fifth wheel.

Fifth wheels were originally not a complete circle and were hand forged. When mass production of buggy parts began in the early 19th century, fifth wheels were among the first products to be made. There were a number of patents awarded for fifth-wheel design. Edward and Charles Everett of Quincy, Illinois patented a type of fifth wheel in 1850, followed by Gutches' metallic head block and fifth wheel in 1870 and Wilcox fifth wheel in 1905.

The invention of the fifth wheel for motorized trucks is often credited to US inventor Charles H. Martin of the Martin Rocking Fifth Wheel Co. who invented the device in 1915

The Fruehauf Trailer Corporation helped to make the Martin Rocking 5th Wheel a success by installing them on their popular new semi-trailer design. August Fruehauf invented the semi-trailer in 1914 with their own 5th wheel hitch. They adopted the Martin Rocking 5th wheel in 1916. By 1916 Fruehauf was producing semi-trailers in tandem with Federal Truck. These two Detroit companies also contracted with the military in WWI sending a convoy of supplies, men and equipment from Detroit to Norfolk, Virgina shipyards for travel to the front in Europe.^[2]

Exceeding Expectations the IC Way!

The Truckload Independent Contractor Team is proud to announce we are ahead of schedule. The team has successfully secured 250 contracts and we do not expect to slow down any time soon.

Not only are we in growth mode, but we are hearing nothing but positive feedback about our support team as well. One example is the compliment that was called in about Louis Thompson,  a traditional Independent Contractor with J.B. Hunt.  The caller said it was nice seeing a professional on the road who maintained their lane, did not tailgate, maintained a safe speed. For the general public to take the time to call in and share positive insight with us is rare.  We are very proud of our growth, but more importantly the safety culture exemplified by our contractors.

The 2016 Goal for Independent Contractor capacity is 390 trucks.  Good progress report for our team as we have eclipsed our second month's growth goal.  Onward and upward! 

Check Out Our Newest Training

Our latest training content was produced by our video team with the help of Heath Graham.  The content of this training is "Coercion Regulations Training."  You will learn a great deal of information about the what is the meaning of coercion.  Thanks to Heath and the group of professionals in Training & Development for putting together meaningful materials to help each one of us to continue to develop our skills and knowledge. 

Weekly Market Demand Index 2-16-16

How Are We Marketing to Professional Drivers?

Notice several items that are bullet-pointed in the e-blast.  We emphasize our automated manual transmission tractors and our Truckload specific pet policy.  It is imperative that our operations and planning folks know how we advertise to potential drivers so we feel comfortable in our truth in advertising about our jobs.

Saving The Date

Our Truckload Team is starting to look forward to the NASCAR Sprint Race on Sunday, February 28th in Atlanta, GA.  We will be hosting up to 30 Professional Drivers at this event.  Check out the gear we have designed:

 

Trucking 101 : What is a Jersey Barrier?

A Jersey barrier or Jersey wall is a modular concrete or plastic barrier employed to separate lanes of traffic. It is designed to minimize vehicle damage in cases of incidental contact while still preventing the crossover case of a head-on collision. Jersey barriers are also used to reroute traffic and protect pedestrians during highway construction, as well as temporary and semi-permanent protections against landborne attack such as suicide vehicle bombs.

The Jersey barrier, also called New Jersey wall, was developed at the Stevens Institute of Technology in the 1950s (introduced in current form in 1959),^[1] New Jersey, United States, under the direction of the New Jersey State Highway Department to divide multiple lanes on a highway.

Let Us Share Your Story

With your help we would like to share the stories of our Truckload Drivers.

Like most groups in the company, the Driver Personnel Advertising team wears many hats. They’re part recruiters, cheerleaders, counselors and most importantly, liaisons between drivers in the field and happenings at Corporate.

In 2015, Driver Personnel Advertising continued to assist their department in recruiting the safest and most professional drivers, while also engaging with current drivers on J.B. Hunt Drivers’ social media accounts including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, as well as the driver blog.

The team features videos, Drivers of the Month, achievements of maintenance shops, human interest stories, and quarterly features like T. Bone’s. They’re also one of the first places J.B. Hunt drivers go with issues or complaints, and they work with the J.B. Hunt Experience team to get them resolved as quickly as possible.

Year after year, the advertising team has seen continual growth and interactions on its pages, but they need your help. Do you have achievements, milestones, or great stories you think should be featured on our J.B. Hunt pages? Email cdpadv@jbhunt.com and don’t forget to follow driver social media channels @J.B. Hunt Drivers.

                                                 

Help show all drivers, both those driving with J.B. Hunt and those who aren’t here yet, that not only do we have America’s safest and most professional driving fleet, we spend a lot of time acknowledging and celebrating them, too.

Restart Suspension Needs Redo

Congress didn’t just roll back the restart provision of the hours of the service (HOS) rule; language in the recently passed highway bill could eliminate it altogether. But truckers are being urged to carry on business as usual until a resolution to the apparent new loophole in HOS can be worked out.
Basically, because the Department of Transportation has interpreted that the restart clause in the FAST Act appropriation package “contains no language to direct our industry on a restart provision, then there is no restart provision to abide by,” according to an “urgent” notification emailed late Saturday by the Truckload Carriers Assn. to its members.

“As discussions around this issue remain fluid, we are instructing our carrier members to keep their fleets operating as they have always been as members of Congress seek to reach an agreement on the best way to proceed,” says the TCA notice, signed by Chairman Keith Tuttle and President John Lyboldt.

The alert comes after the American Trucking Assns. informed TCA of the matter last week. An ATA white paper on the issue explains that, at the end of January, ATA was approached by “key members” of Congress who had been informed by Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx that DOT interprets the highway bill language “in a troubling way.”

At issue are the “bolt-on” provisions to the HOS restart (the two consecutive 1-5 am off-duty periods and the 168 hour restriction) added by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to the 2013 overhaul of HOS. ATA had lobbied successfully in the spring of 2014 that the “bolt-ons” actually had an adverse impact on safety and productivity by forcing trucks onto the road at peak morning traffic hours. The resulting suspension and rollback to the pre-2013 restart, included by Congress in the DOT’s 2015 budget, also called on FMCSA to produce a study comparing the effectiveness of the two systems.

However, because the study had not been completed by the end of the fiscal year, Congress continued the suspension with language in the highway bill. But, by DOT’s interpretation of the recent legislation, if the study finds the 2013 changes do not meet the standards set by Congress, “the entire restart provision would have to be vacated,” according to the ATA summary.

So ATA has been working with trucking interests to come up a solution to provide “clear guidance and parameters on negotiating positions.”

“If successful, a compromise could limit maximum hours in any 7 calendar days while retaining industry flexibility through use of an unrestricted restart-type provision,” the ATA white paper says. “The Executive Committee took this action with the understanding that while such a compromise could result in some operational challenges for a portion of the industry, it would help ensure the future existence of sufficient weekly work hours to meet freight demand.”

ATA emphasizes that the daily work rules—11 driving hours, 14 on-duty hours, 10 off-duty hours, and the 30-minute rest break—are not affected by the highway bill language and are not “on the table for discussion” as part of any ‘restart-related’ solution.

Additionally, some members of Congress and people in the administration remain concerned about the total possible hours a driver can work in a 7-day period under the simple restart rule. That theoretical 81-hour limit was a major point of objection cited by opponents of the restart suspension.
“ATA and the trucking industry does not want to lose the scheduling flexibility afforded by the simple restart,” the white paper says. “Any compromise solution must not be overly restrictive, but would likely restrict total weekly hours to a limit below that which is currently possible.”

As for the most likely legislative course of action—if a compromise solution can be reached—Congress hopes to append the new HOS provision to the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization bill now being debated in the House, or to any extension of the current FAA authorization. If a compromise solution cannot be reached in the very near term, ATA says the organization “is prepared to engage in a fight” to retain the simple 34 hour restart provision.
TCA advises that “it is important to note that as of today, we are continuing to operate as we did yesterday.”

“Please disregard any rumors or misinformation that are currently circulating in the industry,” the TCA notice to members says. “Only when we, as an industry, are provided instructions with which to operate differently will our operations change.”

Who Remembers Our 4th Quarter Training?

FREDERICKSBURG, Pa.  –  A massive pile-up on Interstate 78 involving at least 56 cars shut down the highway in Lebanon County for most of the day Saturday.  At least three people died in the wreck and dozens more were hurt, several of them seriously.

At least 56 cars and tractor trailers slammed into one another, most saddled in the median between east and westbound lanes.

“You couldn’t see anything,” said truck driver Juanita Barron. “The snow, all of sudden, it started blowing really hard and you couldn’t see anything.”

Barron stopped her 22,000-pound cargo short of the pile. Her big rig skidded into the median a few hundred feet back. She ended up as one of the dozens needing a tow.

“You never think you’re not going to stop,” said Barron, of Jacksonville, Fla. “You never think you’re not going to be OK.”

J.B. Hunt Goes To Washington

 A group of J.B. Hunt Professional Drivers and Safety Representatives visited Washington D.C. last week to talk to 5 U.S. Senators concerning proposed legislation concerning meal and rest break laws.

 Fred, Daniel, and Mike cleaned up very nice for the capital city

Senator Tester's (Montana) office. 

Our drivers enjoying the sites of our nation's capitol. 

Fred McIntire is dwarfed by the Lincoln Memorial.