Brace for a wild ride in 2022
Last year was the best of times for truckers. It was the biggest freight boom in over two decades and every shipper in town was your new best friend. Most […]
View ArticleMoving from the C-Suite to ‘see ya’
As trucking leaders age, many aren’t prepared to retire or sell, even when they can see it’s time to pass the reins to the next generation. My magic moment came […]
View ArticleSupply chain M&A activity will continue with a few twists
Based on sheer deal volume, last year was a record year for supply chain M&A. According to industry specialists Left Lane Associates, there were 53 announced deals that involved Canadian […]
View ArticleIt’s the right time for ‘Choose to Truck’
By all accounts the Canadian Trucking Alliance’s Choose to Truck campaign is knocking it out of the park. Image problems have plagued our industry for decades. I remember getting routinely […]
View ArticleIs the economic tide turning for trucking?
Truckers have been riding an epic wave of demand. But the tide is turning. Are we in a freight recession? Are we reverting to pre-pandemic supply chain patterns? Opinions are shifting fast. No […]
View ArticleStaying safe out there is harder than ever
I was touring a big distribution center recently and saw something that made me question whether I’d ever feel safe getting back on the highway. I watched someone who was […]
View ArticleIt’s time to end pay by the mile
No conversation about safety would be complete without a look at how we pay our drivers. Yet pay and safety are rarely mentioned in the same sentence. Many stakeholders, including […]
View ArticleLegacy carriers and newcomers have created two trucking industries
Earlier this summer I accepted a speaking gig at the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario’s annual conference. The session, “Making cents (sense) of our industry,” was intended to be […]
View ArticleCustomers trace shipments when they don’t trust carriers
When you’re a columnist, public relations folks send you emails pitching topics to write about. Most are quickly routed to the junk folder. Lately my inbox is filling up with […]
View ArticleToday’s spot market includes unique dynamics
For a long time “spot” was the dirtiest four-letter word in freight. Loads went to load boards and brokers after every carrier in the shipper’s routing guide had given them […]
View ArticleReasons to be happy after another year in trucking
What a roller-coaster ride the last 12 months have been. Let’s welcome 2023! At this time last year, the trucking industry was riding the tailwinds of the biggest freight boom […]
View ArticleTrucking executives offered some words from the wise
As 2022 came to an end, TruckNews.com asked some of the country’s top trucking executives to list the biggest challenges they’ll face this year. My pal Scott Tilley, president of […]
View ArticleWhat’s eating Canada’s trucking CEOs?
The TruckNews.com survey about the biggest challenges facing Canadian trucking executives in 2023 is a rich menu of column ideas. In the last issue, I covered two of them—people problems […]
View ArticleDriver Inc. fight may be a lost cause
When I sold my trucking business in 2012, a one-page filing mistake landed me a seven-figure headache. Eleven years and three court dates later, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) finally resolved […]
View Article2023 is a buyer’s market in trucking M&A
This has not been a banner year for the trucking industry. Economic conditions have erased the gains in tonnage and profit since the start of the pandemic. We are in […]
View ArticleProtect your fleet from double brokering scams
Even a freight recession can bring new opportunities, new markets, new services, and new customers. But no one group is hustling harder right now than the scammers who use load […]
View ArticleRemembering the Yellow Corp. of days gone by
Count me in as another Yellow Freight alumnus who painfully watched the 99-year-old icon close its doors for good. Yellow hired me as a sales representative in 1983, fresh out […]
View ArticleGame planning for a successful sales team
You know business is soft when you see carriers playing the sales equivalent of a neutral zone trap. They’re on their heels, protecting existing customers and slashing costs. Bye-bye, Winnipeg […]
View ArticleThe boys’ club is getting old
Not long ago the only women at the Toronto Transportation Club’s annual dinner were the significant others of local trucking company execs. That’s changing. Last year, 35% of the attendees […]
View ArticleWhen shiny toys like Convoy don’t quite work
Convoy, the darling digital broker that promised to disrupt the supply chain, has closed its doors. It looks like eliminating the middle man isn’t as easy in trucking as it […]
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