Why is Truck Driving an Essential Service

 We all have been through the Covid-19 pandemic and know how every aspect of life got divided into two main categories - essential and non-essential. Even the governments divided jobs into these two categories. Jobs like doctors, police officers, nurses, pharmaceuticals, and firefighters played important roles during the pandemic. 

Not so apparent industry, trucking industry, is equally crucial for keeping the country moving. The trucking industry, during the Covid-19 pandemic, moved essential items for first responders or the general public. The trucking industry also comes under essential service because it supports nearly all other sectors through the delivery of:

• Groceries - fruits and vegetables, eggs, milk, etc.

• Medical supplies, medical devices, and medicines

• Cleaning supplies - tissues, toilet paper, soap, disinfectants, etc.

• Electronic appliances

• Fuel - gasoline, diesel, natural gas, etc.

Trucking and transportation as essential service

The trucking industry is necessary for the transportation of goods and for shipping containers at ports to your local store. The US Department of Homeland Security defined truck drivers as “critical infrastructure workers.”

Essential services regulation changes

The FMCSA or Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has reduced rules and regulations for commercial truck drivers. The new set of rules and regulations suggests that the truckers can drive for more extended hours when moving essential goods like groceries, medical supplies, and fuel. When other industries are reducing hours of service and laying off their employees, truck driving jobs are witnessing a sharp rise in demand.

Truck drivers come under essential workers

The United States’ infrastructure, without any doubt, is held up by truck drivers. Almost every country needs the transportation industry to remain active in order to maintain the basic needs of citizens. Truck drivers haul goods to grocery stores, hospitals, restaurants, pharmacies throughout the day, seven days a week. Nowadays, truckers are getting the praise and recognition they have always deserved.

Is becoming a truck driver worth it?

Truck drivers in the United States have come a long way to be defined as essential workers. Even after this recognition, the United States is witnessing a very huge shortage of truck drivers. The trucking companies are adding more and more benefits day by day to attract truck drivers. Shippers are unable to find drivers to haul their goods from point A to point B. Becoming a truck driver can help you experience a lot of benefits. If you have a CDL-A driving license, you can easily apply for truck driving jobs across the United States and get many opportunities to grow personally and from a financial point of view.

By now, you must have understood why truck driving comes under essential service. Truck drivers have been continuously driving on the roads, delivering essential goods across the country. It is time to really appreciate the efforts of each and every driver out there who has been driving even during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

We hope this article, helped you understand why truck drivers are also known as essential workers. To read more such articles, please keep yourself updated with this section on our website.

5 Ways to Do Truck Fleet Management Smarter

 

There are plenty of fleet management systems out there on the market but how many are actually suitable for fleets running heavy-duty trucks? The reality is not many are actually suitable for running heavy-duty trucks, so make sure when you are looking for a truck fleet management system that meets the uniqueness of your trucking fleet. 

Nowadays, truck fleet management is now easier - all thanks to technological advancements. We are witnessing improvements in a number of areas that benefit fleet owners controlling and managing heavy-duty trucks. This post will walk you through the five ways truck fleet management software can help you to run a more profitable and productive fleet. 

1. Paperless compliance 

Most truck drivers struggle to keep up with the paperwork, which is indicated by the DOT or the Department of Transportation. HOS logbooks and DVIRs to improve reporting, reduce admin costs, and maximize uptime. ELD or Electronic Logging Devices paperless logbooks can be set to automatically collect driving data, allowing truck drivers to maximize driving time by recording in single-minute units.

2. BYOD or Bring Your Own Device

The BYOD revolution is significantly lowering IT costs for fleets as drivers can use their own iOS (iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch) or Android device. Benefits include lowered hardware costs, minimized training requirements, zero software licensing costs, and improved user adoption.

GPS vehicle tracking solutions offer a growing range of mobile apps to cover compliance, navigation, driver behavior, vehicle inspections, and work order management. The applications can be installed without any hassle and do not require any hardware to be fitted to the vehicle.

3. Built-in telematics with trucks

Traditional telematics used to be fitted with aftermarket GPS tracking hardware before they could be managed. It meant unwanted downtime, extra administration, and additional costs. Built-in telematics is changing all that by delivering new trucks direct to the buyer with all the necessary hardware installed - you simply need to activate your account online and you have instant truck fleet management.

4. Preventive maintenance to maximize uptime

Advanced telematics is coming with fleet maintenance managers with a wide array of new diagnostic data on the mechanical health and performance of their trucks. Combined with the exclusive OEM data provided from mid-size and heavy truck manufacturers such as Hino, Volvo, and Mack, fleet owners are getting a far more accurate picture of how their work trucks are performing, as well as early indicators of upcoming maintenance.

This advance notice feature helps fleet service centers with some time to order necessary parts, schedule the work and correct any minor issues before they become a problem.

The extra vehicle health data is also helping companies analyze their fleets to help plan for vehicle lifecycles or when developing best practice guidelines.

5. Geofence alerts 

A geofence is like a virtual perimeter that surrounds a specific location. Using GPS tracking, allows you to detect when a vehicle, employee or mobile asset enters or exits the area, and has a lot of exciting applications.

Geofences can be used to automatically confirm a delivery, especially when a GPS-tracked truck exits the delivery location the job is electronically tagged as completed. 

These were the five ways to do truck fleet management the smarter way. We hope you liked this post and it helped you learn these five best ways to ensure better truck fleet management.

7 Ways To Find More Loads For Your Trucking Business

 

Finding loads to haul is a daunting task for most trucking dispatch companies. When you

 work as a professionalin a trucking business, you can find how challenging and competitive

 the process has become nowadays. Youcan make the process easy with the use of the right

 tools only. 

In this post, we will help you learn how to keep rolling with more and more truck dispatch

contracts and make more money. Now let’s start with the seven surefire ways to get loads

for your trucking dispatch company and make more money.

1. Look for freight brokers

For independent fleet owners and contractors, freight brokers can be of great help

 in finding loads tohaul. With their assistance, the shippers can get connected with

 truckers easily. Moreover, brokers make the process of finding quality loads

 hassle-free and quicker for the truck drivers as they are already connected with the

 shippers.

2. Ask for dispatch assistance

Contact a dispatcher who can help you connect with shippers and brokers to get trucking

 dispatch assistance. There are a few trucking dispatchers who provide administrative 

assistance like accounting,billing, etc. These dispatch management companies make sure

 that the shippers pay invoices within the estimated time frame. In simple words, when

 you take help from a professional dispatcher, your job of finding loads becomes easier.

3. Register as a govt.-authorized contractor

When you register your trucking dispatch company as a government contractor, the

 chances of getting loads increase. The provincial and federal governments often

 outsource their transportation needs due to a lack of government-authorized

 transportation companies nearby. If you become a registered partner of a

 company that handles government contracts, it will be a lot easier for you

 to get more loads.

4. Research thoroughly

It is important for you to do thorough research about the shippers around your

 area. Make sure you have a keen review of what shipper around you are shipping

 and to where. You can contact the people who are in charge of shipping and 

introduce yourself to get things started. Doing this on a regular  basis will help 

you see more opportunities for your trucking dispatch company. Be consistent 

and you never know when you will get to meet your new prospects.

5. Don’t underestimate networking

Go to Google and search for the leading associations in your industry.

 Connect with them in order to get referrals from the people who work

 in your niche. Make sure you attend the events that the shippers around

 you are attending and practice networking. Networking is an imperative

 part of  every industry to find new customers and improve business.

6. Have a look around auctions

You will often come across auto auctions where there is a need for drivers

 to move automobiles from one place to another. Building relationships with

 the people who are in charge of such auctions can help you get truckload on

 a regular basis and ensure stability in your trucking dispatch company.

7. Be an early bird

There is an old saying - “The early bird catches the worm.” You need to work

 on this saying if you are trying to find the best truckloads. Finding loads is not

 enough for you if you want to maximize your profit. You have to look for the

 loads that are offered at the right price and bring benefits to  your company.

Starting early every day will help you have a better possibility to find the best loads.

Try out the aforementioned options to find out what works best for your trucking dispatch

 company. Have a bullet-proof strategy and be consistent in your efforts. You can even look

 for other options to get top-paying loads for your small trucking company. We hope you

 liked this post. For more interesting posts, please follow this section closely.