Five Canadian carriers named in Top 20 Best Fleets to Drive For

by Truck News

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The Truckload Carriers Association together with CarriersEdge announced the 2016 Best Fleets To Drive For today.

According to the companies, the 8th annual Best Fleets To Drive For  program recognizes 20 for-hire trucking companies across North America for their outstanding workplace experience and professional drivers. One quarter of the Best Fleets to Drive this year for were Canadian carriers.

The 20 Best Fleets to Drive For in 2016 are:

  • Bay and Bay Transportation, Eagan, Minnesota
  • Bison Transport, Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • Boyle Transportation, Billerica, Massachusetts
  • Central Oregon Truck Company, Inc., Redmond, Oregon
  • Challenger Motor Freight Inc., Cambridge, Ontario
  • Erb Group, New Hamburg, Ontario
  • Fremont Contract Carriers, Inc., Fremont, Nebraska
  • FTC Transportation, Inc., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  • Grand Island Express, Inc., Grand Island, Nebraska
  • Halvor Lines, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin
  • Interstate Distributor Co., Tacoma, Washington
  • Kriska Holdings Ltd., Prescott, Ontario
  • Landstar System, Inc., Jacksonville, Florida
  • Melton Truck Lines, Inc., Tulsa, Oklahoma
  • Motor Carrier Service, LLC, Northwood, Ohio
  • Nussbaum Transportation, Hudson, Illinois
  • Paramount Freight Systems, LLC, Ft Myers, Florida
  • Prime Inc., Springfield, Missouri
  • TLD Logistics Services, Inc., Knoxville, Tennessee
  • TransPro Freight Systems, Ltd., Milton, Ontario

In addition, five companies have been identified as “Fleets to Watch” (honourable mentions) for demonstrating innovation in their driver programs:

  • Boyd Bros. Transportation Inc., Clayton, Alabama
  • Brenny Specialized, Inc., St. Cloud, Minnesota
  • Crete Carrier Corporation, Lincoln, Nebraska
  • Maverick Transportation, LLC, North Little Rock, Arkansas
  • Trimac Transportation, Calgary, Alberta

To be considered for the contest, a company must be operating 10 trucks or more and one of its company drivers or owner/operators must nominate it.

Once nominated, CarriersEdge then interviews human resources representatives and executives of the nominated fleets about their corporate direction, policies, and programs. Nominated fleets were evaluated against a scoring matrix covering a variety of categories, such as total compensation package (base pay, bonuses, vacation, sick days, etc.), health benefits, pension plans, professional development opportunities, career path/advancement opportunities, and more. Drivers are also interviewed as part of the selecetion process. Responses are tallied and eventually, winners are chosen.

“For 2016, we’ve noticed a trend toward the theme of ‘flexibility’ in job structure and routing, as well as team communication,” said Jane Jazrawy, CEO of CarriersEdge. “From within the Top 20 winner pool, it seems that many companies are creating different types of jobs so drivers have more options that suit their lifestyles.  We’re seeing more and more communication going out on Facebook, meetings via web or conference call, and similar things that just generally make life more convenient for professional drivers. Fleets are also moving more of their business into mobile apps or websites, and, in many cases, are providing devices directly to their drivers.”

She noted that the majority of Best Fleets winners are participating in new entrant training. Most companies are hiring drivers fresh out of school now, or starting their own schools directly.

“It is very helpful for the rest of the trucking industry to study the trends that come to light with the Best Fleets contest and survey, as these ideas can help everyone to improve their workplace environments. Anything we can do collectively to attract qualified employees – and keep them – is a positive thing,” added John Lyboldt, TCA president.

Phase two of the contest will be to divide the highest scoring fleets into small and large fleet categories, from which two overall winners will be selected. These awards will be sponsored by EpicVue of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Bose Ride of Framingham, Massachusetts.

 


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