PrivateFleets.com

Two years ago, a 64 year-old driver for Linde Gas received a safety award for 3 million accident-free miles. Soon afterwards, a manager noticed a sudden change in the driver’s behavior.
The driver had two rapid deceleration events in the same month, signifying a behavior problem with vehicle spacing. The concerned manager had an idea: ask […]

As a private fleet, everyone understands the risk–whether perceived or real–that an outside carrier can do the job for less. Rather than letting this fear demoralize the company, savvy fleet managers know how to use this to their advantage. Drivers and other employees already know their roles; they just need a little education now and then on what they can do to help save money. 
Stationed […]

Having just finished some research and writing for a “white paper” about private fleet metrics that I’m doing for LaneLinks, I wanted to share what I consider to be some of the more interesting topics.
All of the private fleets I interviewed said that customer service (specifically, on-time delivery) is their most important metric. While this came as […]

Last month, I published a research paper on private fleet backhaul. The research was based on a survey that more than 50 private fleet managers took the time to complete. One of the most interesting findings was that 77 percent of private fleet managers would like to increase the share of company freight that is hauled by their fleet.
The question […]

I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but to understand just how painful fuel prices have become, let’s consider a 500-truck fleet that averages 2,000 miles per truck per week at 5.75 mpg. The fleet consumes 173,913 gallons per week. Using $4.33 for the average retail price of diesel on May 12, at this […]

At the National Private Truck Council’s annual meeting on April 23, one of the educational sessions was about the difference in strategy between private fleets that operate as a cost center versus a profit center. In case you were not able to attend the meeting, below is a summary of the topics that the presenters discussed, and […]

One of the common denominators among private fleets is the need to continually justify their existence against other would-be transportation and logistics providers.
First and foremost, a private fleet must service the needs of its primary customer. Because of this unique structure, private fleets do not set out to change their operations to compete for freight […]

Last year, Steve Goulding attended an educational session at the National Private Truck Council’s (NPTC) annual conference. It was here that he learned, for the first time, about a unique certification program. 
 
Among the many benefits offered by conferences and professional associations in the trucking industry, Goulding believes there is nothing equal to what he learned by going […]

As the cost of fuel continues to set new records, I continue to sense something very distressing happening to many fleets I’ve talked to recently. The root cause of their troubles, generically speaking, is the same economic problem that is facing consumers: inflation is rising faster than business growth and income. 
 
Amazingly, one private fleet I […]

Recently, I interviewed some private fleets about what I consider to be a very interesting topic: activity-based pay for drivers. In the truckload world, paying by the mile is the standard. Private fleets typically have dedicated schedules and runs, and therefore hourly pay is more common. Among private fleets, activity-based pay for drivers is becoming more common. The definition of activity-based […]