Excellent Company!! Never sit waiting for your next load. They really do treat you like family and have bent over backwards to help me through a few rough storms of life.
Author: Rick Williams
COTC Now Offers Industry Best Home Time for OTR Flatbed Drivers
The COTC driving team spoke and management listened! Choosing a career as a truck driver, especially OTR, often means missing the important family events. Not anymore!
We are now offering customized home time. YOU decide when You get home!
The new program allows the COTC flatbed driving team to manage their home time schedule. We get you home when you need to be and maximize your miles! Sit down with the family, plan the next couple of months’ events, log into the Home Time Scheduler and select your dates.
“We greatly appreciate all the hard work our team puts in,” said Matt Ellsworth, Planning and Operations Manager. He added: “We are constantly striving to make the teams quality of life better!”
*COTC time off requests policies have not changed. We still require enough lead time to meet requests and Driver Coaches review and approve requests.
Jacob Pruitt
This company is all about the drivers. Great dispatchers! Lots of miles! Rick may be CEO, but he will work with you and help you along the way as long as you put in the work they will give you the miles to run.
Five of 20 Best Fleets to Drive For based in Canada
MARKHAM, Ont. – CarriersEdge and the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) have named the top 20 Best Fleets to Drive For, with five Canadian fleets among them.
Canadian fleets included: Bison Transport, Winnipeg, Man.; Challenger Motor Freight, Cambridge, Ont.; Kriska Holdings, Prescott, Ont.; One for Freight and Transpro Freight Systems, both of Milton, Ont.
“These companies represent the best of the best in truckload. As industry innovators, they bring fresh ideas that not only create a desirable workplace for employees, but also propel trucking to exciting new terrains,” said TCA president John Lyboldt.
The 20 finalists are recognized for providing exemplary work environments for their professional drivers and employees. They were selected based on nominations from drivers, followed by interviews with human resources representatives and executives as well as driver surveys. Considerations included: corporate direction, policies and programs, total compensation, health benefits, pension plans, professional development opportunities and opportunities for advancement.
The top large and small fleet will be announced at the TCA’s annual convention in late March. The complete list of finalists are:
- Bison Transport, Winnipeg, Man.
- Boyle Transportation, Billerica, Mass.
- Central Oregon Trucking Company, Inc, Redmond, Ore.
- Challenger Motor Freight Inc., Cambridge, Ont.
- Fremont Contract Carriers, Inc., Fremont, Neb.
- FTC Transportation, Inc., Oklahoma City, Okl.
- Garner Trucking, Inc., Findlay, Ohio
- Grand Island Express, Inc., Grand Island, Neb.
- Halvor Lines, Inc., Superior, Wisc.
- Interstate Distributor Co., Tacoma, Wash.
- Kriska Holdings Ltd., Prescott, Ont.
- Landstar System, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla.
- Maverick Transportation, LLC, North Little Rock, Ark.
- Motor Carrier Service, LLC, Northwood, Ohio
- Nussbaum Transportation, Hudson, Ill.
- ONE For Freight, Milton, Ont.
- Prime Inc., Springfield, Mo.
- Smokey Point Distributing, Arlington, Wash.
- TLD Logistics Services, Inc., Knoxville, Tenn.
- TransPro Freight Systems Ltd., Milton, Ont.
Five carriers to watch are: Crete Carrier Corp.; Hirschbach Motor Line; Kroon Brothers Transport; Paper Transport; and Transport Corporation of America.
– Taken from truck news.com
2017 Best Fleets to Drive For announced by TCA
CarriersEdge as the 2017 Best Fleets to Drive For.
TCA says the 20 for-hire trucking companies are being recognized for having “exemplary work environments” for their truck drivers and other employees.
To be considered for the program, fleets with 10 or more trucks had to have been nominated from at least one of their company drivers or owner-operators. Interviews with human resources departments and executives of the nominated fleets, as well as driver feedback, were used by the two groups to determine this year’s list.
Two fleets on this year’s list – FTC Transportation and Halvor Lines – are appearing on the list for the fifth consecutive year.
At TCA’s annual convention in Nashville, Tenn., on March 26-29, two overall winners from the list below will be announced as Best Fleets to Drive For for small fleet and large fleet categories. Last year, FTC Transportation won the award in the small fleet category, while Bison Transport won in the large fleet category.
This year’s 20 Best Fleets to Drive For are:
•Bison Transport – Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
•Boyle Transportation – Billerica, Mass.
•Central Oregon Trucking Company – Redmond, Ore.
•Challenger Motor Freight – Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
•Fremont Contract Carriers – Fremont, Neb.
•FTC Transportation – Oklahoma City, Okla.
•Garner Trucking – Findlay, Ohio
•Grand Island Express – Grand Island, Neb.
•Halvor Lines – Superior, Wis.
•Interstate Distributor Co. – Tacoma, Wash.
•Kriska Holdings – Prescott, Ontario, Canada
•Landstar System – Jacksonville, Fla.
•Maverick Transportation – North Little Rock, Ark.
•Motor Carrier Service – Northwood, Ohio
•Nussbaum Transportation – Hudson, Ill.
•ONE For Freight – Milton, Ontario, Canada
•Prime Inc. – Springfield, Mo.
•Smokey Point Distributing – Arlington, Wash.
•TLD Logistics Services – Knoxville, Tenn.
•TransPro Freight Systems – Milton, Ontario, Canada
Additionally, five other carriers were named “Fleets to Watch” honorable mentions:
•Crete Carrier Corp. – Lincoln, Neb.
•Hirschbach Motor Lines – Dubuque, Iowa
•Kroon Brothers Transport – Hanover, Penn.
•Paper Transport – De Pere, Wis.
•Transport Corporation of America – Eagan, Minn.
Source: CCJ Digital
TCA identifies Best Fleets for 2016
The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) and CarriersEdge recently released the 8th annual compilation of their Best Fleets to Drive For list, which recognizes 20 for-hire trucking companies from across North America for providing “outstanding workplace experiences” for their employees and truck drivers.
This year, listed in alphabetical order, those fleets are:
- Bay and Bay Transportation, Eagan, MN
- Bison Transport, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
- Boyle Transportation, Billerica, Massachusetts
- Central Oregon Truck Company, Redmond, Oregon
- Challenger Motor Freight, Cambridge, Ontario
- Erb Group, New Hamburg, Ontario, Canada
- Fremont Contract Carriers, Fremont, Nebraska
- FTC Transportation, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Grand Island Express, Grand Island, Nebraska
- Halvor Lines, Superior, Wisconsin
- Interstate Distributor Co., Tacoma, Washington
- Kriska Holdings Ltd., Prescott, Ontario
- Landstar System, Jacksonville, Florida
- Melton Truck Lines, Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Motor Carrier Service, LLC, Northwood, Ohio
- Nussbaum Transportation, Hudson, Illinois
- Paramount Freight Systems, LLC, Ft Myers, Florida
- Prime Inc., Springfield, Missouri
- TLD Logistics Services, Knoxville, Tennessee
- TransPro Freight Systems, Ltd., Milton, Ontario, Canada
In addition, TCA said five other carriers were identified as “Fleets to Watch” for demonstrating innovation in their driver programs:
- Boyd Bros. Transportation, Clayton, Alabama
- Brenny Specialized, St. Cloud, Minnesota
- Crete Carrier Corp., Lincoln, Nebraska
- Maverick Transportation, LLC, North Little Rock, Arkansas
- Trimac Transportation, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
TCA said two companies – Landstar System and Grand Island Express – reached the milestone of five consecutive years on the Best Fleets list.
The group added that, to be considered for the Best Fleets program, a carrier operating 10 trucks or more had to be nominated by at least one of its company drivers or owner operators.
CarriersEdge then interviewed human resources representatives and executives of the nominated fleets about their corporate direction, policies, and programs. Nominated fleets were evaluated against a scoring matrix covering a variety of categories such as:
- Total compensation package, including base pay, bonuses, vacation, sick days, etc.
- Health benefits
- Pension plans
- Professional development opportunities
- Career path/advancement opportunities
“For 2016, we’ve noticed a trend toward the theme of ‘flexibility’ in job structure and routing, as well as team communication,” noted Jane Jazrawy, CarriersEdge’s CEO, in a statement.
“From within the Top 20 winner pool, it seems that many companies are creating different types of jobs so drivers have more options that suit their lifestyles,” she added. “We’re seeing more and more communication going out on Facebook, meetings via web or conference call, and similar things that just generally make life more convenient for professional drivers.”
Jazrawy also noted that fleets are also moving more of their business into mobile apps or websites, and, in many cases, are providing devices directly to their drivers.
She also pointed out another trend: that the majority of Best Fleets winners are participating in new entrant training. “Most companies are hiring drivers fresh out of school now, or starting their own schools directly,” Jazrawy emphasized.
Source: Fleet Owner
The Challenges of a Flatbed Trucker
This Winter’s Challenges of a Flatbed Trucker
This Winter’s Challenges of a Flatbed TruckerThe start of this winter has been a challenge for many a flatbed trucker at COTC. You’ve dealt with extreme cold, snow, and ice. You’ve all done a great job keeping safe. We have had a few of our teammates get stuck and need to get towed out. This is time-consuming for you and costly for the team effort. Here are just a few tips to avoid getting stuck and needing a tow out.
10 Tips for Driving in the Winter
- Never pull off the paved surface without first inspecting the ground. Will it support the weight of your rig? Is the ground wet? Is there deep snow and ice? Will you have to sharply turn your truck?
- Turning sharply reduces the weight of the load on your drive axles.
- Never drive into an area of unplowed snow.
- When parking for the night, make sure to move your truck slightly once your drive tires have cooled. Warm tires melt the ice and create small depressions that will make it hard to pull out of the next morning.
- Never drive into a muddy area.
- When in doubt, chain up a drive axle when parking for the night. This is also a good idea when you deliver at a customer’s location that is covered with snow and ice. It may be easy to maneuver in their yard while loaded; however, once empty, traction may become an issue.
- Always avoid turning sharply. This is even more important in snow and ice.
- Chain up before you have to. Chaining up takes far less time than waiting to get towed out.
- Never allow someone to pull you out. Contact the shop first.
- Good tools to have – A small (2 to 4lb) sledgehammer to break up the ice, a small snow shovel, a small bag de-icer rock salt and an old mud flap works great for use as a knee pad.
Message from Brad Almone
Jerry Scribner
A great company to work for been with them for about 1 1/2 years. This is a company that is family oriented. I had a call from my brother to tell me that my mom wasn’t doing well. Called in, and was in the area, so they told me to go see her. When I say a great company, I mean it! I got another call to tell me my mom has cancer so I called into Brad, my driver coach, to let him know. Next, they are routing me down to see her before Christmas. Now that is a company that cares. Thank you COTC!
Robin Leon-Guerrero
My husband has worked for this company for 2.5 years! Words can barely express what a fantastic company this is! Not only does this company say they care about their drivers and their drivers’ families, they go out of their way…above and beyond, to prove it!! From the newest employees right up to the top with Rick!! Thank you, COTC!!
Chris Sill
This company represents everything that a true professional driver is. Safety is actually job #1 here, it’s not just words. When you focus on the results of being a safe driver it makes safety a no brainer. The generosity that this company shows its drivers is really beyond anything I could have ever imagined. It takes a while to really wrap your head around it, because of all the employers, that do nothing but exploit their drivers. The whole team here really does work hard and it shows.
