The Local Trucking BlogWelcome to the online community for local trucking, cartage, and P&D companies in North America

There was an interesting question posed by Deborah Lockridge, editor at Heavy Duty Trucking, early this week, which sparked a discussion thread:

http://www.linkedin.com/groups/What-tips-do-you-have-134135.S.107106598?qid=44123cd7-93fa-474f-9c4e-55590cc41bbd&trk=group_most_popular-0-b-ttl&goback=.gmp_134135

While some people commented on fuel efficiency, reducing accidents caused by sloppy backing up, and so on, we feel strongly that having the right TMS is the #1 way to cut costs in local P&D, by reducing bottlenecks and redundancies in the office environment and by making drivers more productive.

If your staff never had to put people on hold to answer a POD request, how much time would that alone save you, not to mention how much your customers would appreciate it?

As one person commented in the replies:  “The wrong software is wrong, even if free, and the right TMS is golden, no matter the cost. The money spent is insignificant compared to the personnel savings and increased productivity of the drivers.”

—The Editors

Read More

The driver shortage continues to make headlines.

http://www.dcvelocity.com/articles/20120213-solutions-to-driver-shortage-elusive/

We have a local angle on the situation, in case you missed it:

http://www.jsysoftware.com/blog/?p=191

Local driving takes some real skills, as our earlier blogpost says. The HOS and pay-per-mile issues that plague OTR carriers, as well as the quality-of-family-life issues so often mentioned, are less applicable on the local scene.

Keep your local drivers safe and busy and you will not have a driver shortage!

–The Editors

Read More

The IRS is announcing a “voluntary reclassification” program that would provide partial protection for businesses that agree to prospectively treat workers, who had been formerly treated as contractors, as employees.

Click here to read the full article.

Food for thought!

–The Editors

Read More

Everyone is complaining about the driver shortage. But don’t make the mistake of hiring unqualified drivers.  As we have said previously, it is always worth waiting for the best driver to hire instead of panicking and taking the best available candidate on hand at the moment.  Your company will be rewarded with lower turnover, lower claims, and higher productivity.

In local pickup and delivery work, what are the top 5 reasons you would not want to hire a driver?  Here’s our list of best practices:

• Reason #5:  Securing freight. If a driver can’t use e-track or logistic straps, that driver shouldn’t work for you.
• Reason #4:   Liftgates.  Your drivers need to show you — not just tell you — that they can take a skid up and down.  Make every candidate do this in front of you.
• Reason #3:  Math.  Every driver must be able to count the number of pallets in a shipment, with no mistakes.
• Reason #2:  Hazmat. Don’t just look at the endorsement!  Make the driver take a written test.
• And the Top, #1, Most Important Thing in local P&D that a driver needs to do to make you money:  Backing and Spotting.  Make the driver show you his/her speed and accuracy.  When you’re making 20 stops a day, you can’t afford drivers who are slow at this.

Do the right thing.  Be patient, and be tough.  If you flunk between half  and 3/4 of your applicants, you have a good test.

–The Editors

Read More

We thought this was worth your consideration:

California Supreme Court Decision

Check it out.

–The Editors

Read More

We here at the Local Trucking Blog have been hearing about increasing difficulty hiring qualified, experienced local CDL drivers.  Everyone agrees the CSA initiative (click here to see more) helps in weeding out unsafe candidates, but that is only part of the equation.  Certain skills are much more important to a local operation.

It is no big deal if a truck takes 15 minutes to spot a trailer after traveling five days cross country.  It is a very different story when you expect productivity of 20 stops a day.  This is why your test drive should include plenty of backing and spotting exercises.

Do you carry hazardous materials? Don’t count on the Hazmat license endorsement to tell you anything about what the candidate knows.  You should have a written test.

Same for other important skills, such as routing and emergency procedures.  A few math questions will help determine if they can accurately count a multi-pallet shipment.

Liftgates? Make them take a skid up and down.

E–track or logistics in your trucks?  Make them secure some freight.

Expect at least 50%, and possibly 80% of your driver candidates to flunk the test.  This is good.  It is always worth waiting for the best driver to hire instead of panicking and taking the best available candidate on hand at the moment.  Your company will be rewarded with lower turnover, lower claims, and higher productivity.

Read More