16 DC VELOCITY NOVEMBER 2019 www.dcvelocity.com
newsworthy
The CEOs of some of North America’s largest trucking
companies are developing new strategies in a bid to cope
with the most volatile business conditions the industry
has seen in a decade, according to panelists speaking at
the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’
(CSCMP) Edge conference in Anaheim, California.
Volatile conditions peaked in 2018 and the first half of
2019 as a shortage of drivers—and therefore, capacity—
helped push freight rates to historic highs, Derek Leathers,
president and CEO of Werner Enterprises Inc., said in a
session titled “A Look Down the Road—Carrier CEOs
Speak.” In response, many fleets boosted their spending by
raising driver wages and replacing vehicles and technology. But then, demand began to ease, leaving truckers with
excess capacity on their hands. That led to a sharp drop in
spot-market rates, forcing the bankruptcies of dozens of
trucking companies.
That wild ride is now pushing many trucking lines to
demand higher productivity and better performance from
their drivers in return for the bump-up in pay, said Jim
Fields, chief operating officer at Pitt Ohio. “One of the
most vulnerable times for small carriers is when things are
going pretty well, because their costs are going up,” Fields
said. “Safety devices are great, but they come at a cost, so
companies need to offset that with reduced accident histo-
ry and insurance rates.”
Even if they survive those challenges, trucking com-
panies now face an array of new hurdles, including the
transition from outmoded AOBRDs (automatic on-board
recording devices) to the newer ELDs (electronic logging
devices), legalized marijuana and the potential need for
increased drug testing, and a turbulent international trade
market, Leathers and Fields said.
Trucking companies seek new
strategies in a turbulent age
The nonprofit organization Women In Trucking (WIT)
is preparing for a change at the top, announcing in
September that it had chosen transportation industry
veteran Deborah Ruane Sparks to succeed current WIT
President and CEO Ellen Voie upon her retirement. The
timetable for the transition was not disclosed.
Voie started the group
in 2007 to promote
careers in trucking for
women and to dismantle the barriers that keep
more women from joining drivers’ ranks, she told
this magazine in a recent
interview.
Sparks is now set to join
the Plover, Wisconsin-based group in January
in the newly created role
of vice president. Her experience in the industry
includes her current role as director of transportation
and community outreach at Wreaths Across America,
a nonprofit that coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies at veterans cemeteries, as well as past leadership
positions at the Truckload Carriers Association and
American Trucking Associations (ATA).
Sparks will be charged with leading WIT in its mission of encouraging the employment of women in the
trucking industry, promoting their accomplishments,
and minimizing the industry obstacles they face, the
group said. She will start her role at WIT with new
projects like establishing a driver ambassador and
managing WIT’s U.S. and Canadian “Image Teams.”
Women In Trucking prepares
for change at the top
TVH Parts Co., a distributor of spare parts for industrial trucks and agricultural vehicles, has selected TGW
Logistics Group to automate its distribution center in
Olathe, Kansas. … Refrigerated transportation specialist C.R. England has deployed SmartDrive Systems’
SmartDrive video-based safety program across its entire
fleet following a successful pilot program. … Airfreight
and air-express company Air Menzies International has
contracted with software developer BluJay Solutions
to use BluJay’s new supply chain software across its
global operations. … DriverReach, a mobile-enabled
recruiting management system for hiring CDL drivers,
has been recognized as a preferred partner of the Iowa
Motor Trucking Association. … Home furnishings man-
ufacturer Hillsdale Furniture has selected Blue Ridge
Global’s supply chain planning solutions to streamline its
inventory planning. … Chassis-rental company American
Intermodal Management LLC has installed I.D. Systems
Inc.’s PowerFleet chassis-tracking technology across its
entire 11,000-unit fleet. … Systems integrator Slate
River Systems Inc. has joined Honeywell Intelligrated’s
network of integration partners.
alliances
