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“WE ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO ACHIEVE FOR OUR COMPANIES AND THERE IS A


CAMARADERIE HERE. PLUS WE CAN MAKE DECISIONS AROUND A TABLE. WE DON’T HAVE COMMITTEES THAT MEET TWICE A YEAR. WE SEE THE PROBLEM


AND WE TACKLE IT.” —STEVE WILLIAMS,


CHAIRMAN & CEO, MAVERICK USA CHAIRMAN, THE TRUCKING ALLIANCE


“You can’t back out,” agreed


Salisbury. “You can’t stop now, it’s just too critical. And I believe in it. That’s been a learning curve and our guys are embracing the program. As they work through the myths and the truck stop talk, they start to embrace the idea of EOBRs. They realize they can be pro- ductive and efficient and make money doing it. Now a lot of guys come in and request it. It’s slow, but we’re getting there.” Williams said he believes one of


the long-term benefits of The Alliance’s push for mandatory EOBRs will be a payoff in the area of Compliance - Safety - Accountability (CSA) scoring. And he thinks it’s one that both drivers and companies will be on the winning side of. “Now they say, ‘Hey look, I like it. It


makes my life easy. I know how to work within it,’” said Williams. “You hope that when the mandate comes in, there should be advantages to those who chose to make the commitment early.” Knight weighed in, calling the push


for mandatory EOBRs “the best thing about the Alliance, from my perspec- tive.” But there were still regulatory issues that need to be tackled. “We also need FMCSA and our


agencies to work with us, because I can tell you, since we deployed ELDs, we’re safer. Since we deployed hair testing instead of urine testing, we’re safer,” Knight said. “But there are other regula- tions we’ve been required to deploy that are not making us safer, so instead of


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agencies getting headstrong, we need them to sit down and listen and work with us.” Williams commented that The


Trucking Alliance has made strides in working with FMCSA because The Alliance vowed not to sue simply because it didn’t like a proposal. “I think taking the high road is a nice road to be on. It’s not hard to defend the high road. That priority list is what’s in the best interest of our country, the best interest of our industry and finally the best interest of our individual com- pany.”


THE TRUCKLOAD MODEL IS HISTORY To Williams, there is another issue


facing the industry that could have even broader implications on how companies run.


“I’ll make a general statement –


the truckload business model is dead,” Williams said. “That’s true even though the model was part of the reason this industry was so efficient since deregula- tion.” In the past, explained Williams,


the truckload model was the cheap- est way to move freight from Point A to Point B – one guy driving the most direct route with a full load. But if that load originated in Little Rock, had a destination in Chicago, was depart- ing on a Thursday and the driver lived in Birmingham, “the truckload model made that guy stay on the road and not go home that weekend.


Williams “It used to be that we really didn’t


care about the driver, and so he was out another weekend. And it worked for a long time but it won’t today,” said Williams. “Knowing that the model has critical flaws is causing change and so companies have created regional net- works, others have created intermodal capabilities, or dedicated fleets and greater attention to driver amenities, all those changes are simply because the truckload model is outdated and doesn’t work. “I think the demographics of


our workforce, the laws of supply and demand, an economy and a population that is growing all of these factors will contribute,” said Williams, “so recruit- ing, training and retaining drivers will be the keys to maintaining capacity.” Harper also addressed another


change in the traditional truckload model – the inability of carriers to meet a shipper’s surge capacity. “A shipper used to have a peak time, maybe dur- ing Christmas, and during that time the carrier would supply him with more trucks and driver hours,” said Harper. “During those surge periods, every-


body made more money,” Harper con- tinued. “But with EOBRs, you do what you can and nothing more. So there is no room for surge capacity.” “And what’s crazy about that is


when the customer requires you to have specialized equipment,” added Williams, eliciting a round of knowing laughter.


 ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT | Issue 6 2013


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