Perspective

When searching for cost-cutting opportunities executives often overlook established, industry-common practices that, if better managed, could greatly improve bottom line results. For the trucking industry, here are four common practices worth a second look: suggestions on how to estimate the profit opportunity associated with each and one common solution.

National Truck Driver Appreciation Week was Sept. 11–17 last year here in America. It is recognized as a time to honor and acknowledge the nation’s truck drivers for their dedication and hard work and for putting up with extraordinarily challenging working conditions throughout the year.

You don’t have to be a diesel mechanic to know that extended idling is bad for business. Frequent or prolonged idling increases emissions, wastes fuel and puts unnecessary wear on your engine. That’s why, due in large part to increasingly strict emissions standards, the trucking industry has seen a dramatic increase in idle-reduction technologies.

They say that information is as important as the freight, as if that’s a recent idea. It isn’t.

There has been a great amount of media attention with the first delivery by autonomous truck by Otto Transportation, which recently took place on Interstate 25 from Fort Collins to Denver in Colorado. While this trip was made with a convoy of State Patrol and Colorado DOT vehicles around it, this event still represented quite an achievement.

In truck and rail tankers and beyond, chemically bonded phosphate ceramics can stop corrosion, improve safety, extend equipment life and minimize maintenance and downtime.

In a time of business growth, trucking companies may find themselves trying to keep up with increasing demands, including fleet management needs. Regardless of whether the business grows organically or through a merger or acquisition, you need to find a way to manage the needs of your business and customers. However, simply adding more vehicles to your fleet isn’t always the right answer. Sometimes, it comes down to “addition by subtraction.”

Yes, incident footage can protect against litigation, but it also can serve as a training resource and improve driver accountability and safety.

Brexit is a term used a lot these days, but what is it really? How could it affect the forwarding community? The answers to those questions are only just beginning to surface.