Here is a quiz for sustainability executives. How can you save money while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by over 20%? The answer: run your transportation fleet on CNG or LNG fuel. Companies with private fleets and contracted fleets can enjoy the savings of CNG and LNG while doing their part for sustainability and environmental stewardship.... Read More

This post was written by Bill Kistner for Duff Swain and Trincon Group.

Extensive research by Michigan State University has shown that traditional hiring methods only provide a 14% likelihood of a successful hire. This means that more than eight out of ten times you will not get the right person for the job. That gives you, if you are lucky, two good drivers out of the ten you hired.... Read More

Diesel fuel prices are going higher because the Department of Energy told us so last week. A few days after the DOE said diesel fuel prices were going higher, your oil friends and mine, OPEC, raised the 2011 oil demand forecast. Just a month ago, OPEC had said growth would be slow and $70-$80 would be the right price for a barrel of oil (making diesel fuel prices around $2.95 a gallon). OPEC has now changed their tune, saying the economy is growing much faster than they thought. Common sense would say no problem; they'll just produce more oil to keep fuel prices at around $2.95 a gallon.... Read More

There always seems to be some "expert" or "guru" proclaiming they know the best and newest way to profitability, employee retention, or how to get another 15 miles out of a tank of fuel.

I will be the first to point out that industry issues need to be addressed and information disseminated for the benefit of everyone. This is part of what I do, and the lack of current and up to date information about industry issues can be scary.... Read More

For as long as anyone can remember, until recently that is, diesel fuel was always less expensive than gasoline, which made things easy for fleet fuel managers. Why then have diesel fuel prices risen to the point of being higher than gasoline?

There are many factors that have contributed to this significant price rise. Certainly the evolution of efficient, small and medium duty diesel engines has increased demand for diesel. The acceptance of diesel powered automobiles, and light and medium duty trucks worldwide, with the exception of the United States, has also lead to an increased demand for diesel fuel. The tide has changed from a gasoline powered world economy to a world economy powered by diesel fuel. Diesel powered cars in the U.S. have not been accepted as it has in other parts of the world, in particular Europe, even though these engines are more efficient that their gasoline powered cousins. This rejection in this country can be attributed to the fact that Detroit has never pursued the development of diesel power and have concentrated more on the development of hybrids and electric powered cars. This may be due in part to the debacle of the Cadillac diesel in the 80's - a converted gasoline engine that was plagued with problems. Couple these factors with the higher price of diesel relative to gasoline and the public perception that diesel power for everyday commuting is a no win proposition.... Read More

Part V: A Call to Action

Using Labor Efficiency to Master the Next Trucking Frontier

You get what you measure. Surprisingly, although fleets track time and delivery, they seldom have a method of measuring, or understanding, how the actions of the labor force directly influence profitability. Now that customers have squeezed productivity from their supply chains, fleets are looking for ways to further increase competitiveness. Identifying ways to help the workforce become more productive affords that next big opportunity.... Read More

Part IV: Moving from Administering Human Resources to Measuring the Workforce Investment

What Employee Optimization Can Tell Managers

Managers in the trucking industry have invested in workforce management tools, but until recently most money was spent to manage human resources from an administrative point of view. The true power of employee optimization is its ability to show cause and effect. It identifies problems that cut into profitability and shows how investments in human resources pay off.... Read More

Our industry runs on miles. Drivers are primarily paid by the mile, the rates we charge shippers are based at least in part on miles, and we pay some of our taxes based on miles. Yes, there are other financial metrics that are analyzed, but controlling the cost to operate per mile is the main goal of most trucking companies. Mileage is a common denominator that is not only familiar to us, it represents the pulse of our industry.... Read More

Part III: Achieving an Effective Workforce

Asset utilization and efficiency does not have a comparable cost metric — and for good reason, as fleet equipment generally has predictable costs, such as depreciation and scheduled maintenance. Adding a labor element to an operation brings in three dimensions of variable costs.... Read More

This blog entry was originally posted by Herb Schmidt, president of Con-way Truckload, on their Public Policy & Sustainability blog site.

The driver shortage affecting the truckload industry is certainly no surprise to anyone who's paying attention. Freight volumes are starting to come back, slow but sure, which is a good thing … but it's getting tougher and tougher to find the drivers to move it. How did we get here?... Read More