Seventeen motor carriers have been named as a “Best Fleet to Drive For” by the Truckload Carriers Assn. (TCA). The association determined the results via annual survey and contest of North American for-hire trucking companies that provide the best workplace experiences for their drivers.
The top winners in two special categories, “Best Fleet for Owner Operators” and “Best Fleet for Company Drivers,” will be announced at the TCA Annual Convention, to be held Feb. 28 to March 3 at the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas.
“This is the second time the survey has been conducted, and the data that has emerged from it has been very useful to the industry in terms of identifying trends and where things are headed,” said Chris Burruss, TCA president.
The survey was conducted by CarriersEdge. To qualify, carriers had to operate 10 or more tucks and had to be nominated by one of their drivers or owner-operator. Each carrier was evaluated on range and depth of offered programs, the overall effectiveness of those programs across key metrics, and the responses of surveyed drivers, TCA said.
The 17 named “Best Fleet to Drive For” are:
- Bison Transport, Winnipeg, MB
- Boyd Bros. Transportation, Clayton, AL
- Brian Kurtz Trucking, Breslau, ON
- CalArk Trucking, Mabelvale, AR
- Central Hauling, Mabelvale, AR
- Coastline Transport, Fowler, CA
- Con-Way Truckload, Joplin, MO
- Dart Transit Company, Eagan, MN
- Don Hummer Trucking, Oxford, IA
- Kennesaw Transportation, Rydal, GA
- Laidlaw Carriers Van, Guelph, ON
- MacKinnon Transport, Guelph, ON
- Melton Truck Lines, Tulsa, OK
- MSM Transportation, Bolton, ON
- Schneider National, Green Bay, WI
- Shulist Trucking, Maple, ON
- Yanke Group of Companies, Saskatoon, SK
The survey also cast light on several industry trends. “For example, the survey reveals that fleet sizes went down overall last year, but a number of the ‘Best Fleets’ actually grew in size,” said Mark Murrell, CarriersEdge president. “Many of the ‘Best Fleets’ also took advantage of low prices and interest rates to invest in new equipment.”
The survey indicated that the biggest area cut from last year was 401(k) programs, with many fleets dropping an employer match option altogether. Green initiatives are also on the rise, drivers said. “More and more bonus programs seem to be tied directly to environmental initiatives like fuel efficiency and idle time,” Murrell stated.
