Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) and CarriersEdge of Markham, Ontario, have selected 20 trucking companies from across North America as the 2015 Best Fleets to Drive For.
The seventh annual survey and contest identifies for-hire trucking companies that provide the best workplace experiences for their drivers.
This year’s winners are:
- Bay and Bay Transportation of Eagan, Minn.
- Bison Transport of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
- Boyle Transportation of Billerica, Mass.
- Central Oregon Truck Company, Inc. of Redmond, Ore.
- Erb Group of New Hamburg, Ontario, Canada
- Farm2Fleet of Chattanooga, Tenn.
- Fremont Contract Carriers, Inc. of Fremont, Neb.
- FTC Transportation, Inc. of Oklahoma City, Okla.
- Grand Island Express, Inc. of Grand Island, Neb.
- Halvor Lines, Inc. of Superior, Wisc.
- Interstate Distributor Co. of Tacoma, Wash.
- Kriska Holdings Ltd. of Prescott, Ontario, Canada
- Landstar System, Inc. of Jacksonville, Fla.
- Liberty Linehaul Inc. of Ayr, Ontario, Canada
- Motor Carrier Service, Inc. of Northwood, Ohio
- Nussbaum Transportation of Hudson, Ill.
- Paramount Freight Systems of Ft Myers, Fla.
- Tennant Truck Lines, Inc. of Colona, Ill.
- TransPro Freight Systems Ltd. of Milton, Ontario, Canada
- WTI Transport of Tuscaloosa, Ala.
In addition, five companies have been identified as “Fleets to Watch” (honorable mentions) for demonstrating innovation in their driver programs:
- Challenger Motor Freight Inc. of Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
- Drive Logistics of Windsor, Ontario, Canada
- Veriha Trucking, Inc. of Marinette, Wisc.
- Melton Truck Lines, Inc. of Tulsa, Okla.
- Raider Express of Ft. Worth, Texas
To be considered for the Best Fleets program, a company operating 10 trucks or more had to be nominated by at least one of its company drivers or owner operators. CarriersEdge then interviewed 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 – including base pay, bonuses, vacation, and sick day allotment
- Health benefits
- Pension plans
- Professional development opportunities (training, coaching programs, etc.)
- Career path/advancement opportunities
- Commitment to employee personal growth, including work/life balance, driver family support, and employee-directed charitable contributions
- Commitment to continuous improvement, including dispute resolution processes and inclusion of driver feedback in policymaking
- Team building and driver community development activities
- Annual driver turnover rate
- Fleet safety record
A selection of each fleet’s drivers was also surveyed, with their feedback compared to management’s and incorporated into the final score. The responses were then tallied, resulting in the selection of this year’s winners and honorable mentions.
“This year, we saw a large increase in the number of companies with retirement plans that included a company match, like a 401(k),” said Jane Jazrawy, chief executive officer of CarriersEdge. “We also noted that many companies are providing mobile devices to their drivers, often with custom mobile apps to go with them. New for this year, we saw a few fleets offering guaranteed pay for their drivers, similar to the base salary that sales reps or consultants might receive.”
When examining the list of winners and Best Fleets to Watch, Brad Bentley, president of TCA, said, “I’m pleased to see that four of these companies were flagged as Fleets to Watch in the past and five are also finalists in TCA’s National Fleet Safety Awards. Clearly, these fleets are doing something right, and their efforts are paying off on multiple levels.”
The next phase 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 Marsh, Inc., of New York, NY and Bose Ride of Framingham, Mass.
The overall winners’ names will be announced at the March 10 awards ceremony during TCA’s Annual Convention at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee, Fla.
Between Febr. 24 and March 5, clues about the winners’ identities will be posted with the hashtag #BestFleets15 to TCA’s Twitter account (www.truckload.org/Twitter) and Facebook page (www.truckload.org/Facebook).
For more details about Best Fleets to Drive For, visit www.BestFleetsToDriveFor.com.
