2023 Expedite Expo Recap & Highlights
Once again, Fort Wayne, IN and the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum played host to the annual Expedite Expo. Year after year the Expo has grown to be a must attend event for fleet owners, owner-operators, vendors, and the ES Community, and this year was no exception.
The two-day expedite focused event provided endless opportunities for those in the expedite community to connect, share, learn, and grow with one another.
Expediter Services (ES) was the presenting sponsor, and team members from multiple departments within our organization were in the building swapping stories with old friends, meeting new ones, and sharing the many ES programs and advantages.
As the event wrapped up, our team had a chance to reflect on all the highlights, insights, and more.
Picking and choosing key moments from a great event is never easy, because as Jeff Tacker, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Commercial Officer for ES put it – “when you are spending time with your partners and your friends, everything is a highlight.”
There were, however, multiple workshops, panels, and events within the event that stood out. Here are some key takeaways from the 2023 Expedite Expo.
Navigating The Road to Success In Trucking
The general session on Day 1 of the 2023 Expedite Expo was one of the best attended workshops of the weekend. With Leah Shaver, President and CEO of the National Transportation Institute (NTI), serving as moderator, members of the ES leadership team, Jason Williams and Jeff Tacker, and motor carrier partners within the ES program, Panther Premium Logistics (a service of ArcBest) and Ascent Global Logistics, took the stage to discuss the road to success.
During the hour-long event, the panel addressed pressing questions such as the challenges of the current market, maximizing profitability, building your company, and ways to get the next generation of truckers into the industry.
Frank Tufano, Director, Owner-Operator Recruiting at Panther Premium Logistics (a service of ArcBest), summed it up by stating, “In times like this, when things are difficult and challenging – it comes down to communication and developing a relationship.”
Those two factors are what the Expo has always been about, and for those that attended the panel, we hope that was apparent. You can catch excerpts of the panel discussion with Jason, Jeff, Frank, and Tyler Billeg from Ascent Global Logistics and see why we were so excited about this breakout session.
Question: Within the industry in general, what drives freight rates and what we get paid is dictated by demand for capacity and how many drivers are available. How much churn is due to the fact that we do have some excess capacity in the market and there’s less demand for our services?
Jason Williams From ES Responds
Question: The entire country is grappling with inflation and independent contractors really feel that all the time because they’re also paying for expenses. If someone’s working today as an owner-operator and paying their bills, both for the truck and at home, what are some advantages that they should be seeking in this market today?
Panther Premium’s Frank Tufano Responds
Jeff Tacker From ES Responds
Question: There’s a lot of roadblocks on this road to success. So, what would you say are some hazards that folks that are here should be looking out for in the industry in terms of ownership, freight, equipment, etc as a small business owner?
Ascent’s Tyler Billeg Responds
Panther Premium’s Frank Tufano Responds
Jeff Tacker From ES Responds
Questions: There are all these companies that are huge and they started with one truck. How do fleet owners grow from one truck to three trucks? How do they go from three to 30? Why should a fleet owner, if they are at three trucks or 30 trucks also be interested in doing business with a larger fleet?
Panther Premium’s Frank Tufano Responds
Ascent’s Tyler Billeg Responds
Jason Williams From ES Responds
Panther Premium’s Frank Tufano Responds
Questions: What do you see as far as opportunities today, by way of career path for a professional driver? What are some achievements that can be had by folks who start in the industry? What about people who are already in the industry? How do we accelerate in this job today?
Jason Williams From ES Responds
Ascent’s Tyler Billeg Responds
Jeff Tacker From ES Responds
Panther Premium’s Frank Tufano Responds
Questions: How do you know which opportunity is right for you in this industry? Whether it’s working alone or with someone else in the truck, whether it’s in general trucking or in expedite, whether it’s as an employee or an independent contractor. How do you advise folks when it comes to a particular opportunity in trucking?
Jason Williams From ES Responds
Once the panel wrapped up, we caught up with our partner motor carriers, including Panther and Ascent, to discuss the various opportunities available. Frank (Panther Premium Logistics) was quick to highlight the role Expediter Services (ES) plays in exponentially increasing the opportunities for their fleet owners and owner-operators through programs such as the non-traditional lease purchase program.
Equipment availability is one thing, but access to a “no money down, no balloon payment financing option,” as Frank describes it, combined with the fact that “both companies invest in you” make the partnership special. To hear more, check out Frank’s full video conversation below.
If you are interested in the programs available through ES and its partner motor carriers like Panther and Ascent, or how ES can support you on your way to Success In Trucking, you can contact the ES team with your questions or call (877) 349-9303.
Stay tuned for more exciting news and information from the ES team, including upcoming events and ways to connect.
Frank Tufano – Director, Owner-Operator Recruiting at Panther Premium Logistics, a Service of ArcBest
IN-SITE Dinner
Year in and year out, the annual IN-SITE Dinner at the Expo is the one of the biggest highlights for both the ES team, our community members, and the vendor partners within our network. This year’s dinner was one of the largest in recent years with 170 VIPs from the expedite community in attendance.
In addition to the fleet owners, owner-operators, and ES Community members we were also joined by several partners including FedEx Custom Critical, Panther Premium Logistics (a service of ArcBest), Ascent Global Logistics, and Stoops Freightliner.
As with years past, the dinner provided leaders from ES an opportunity to acknowledge and thank all the men and women that make up our amazing community. During the event, Jason Williams, ES President and CEO, took to the stage to discuss what the future holds for our corner of the expediting industry.
Progress through partnership was the centerpiece of Jason’s message, which was highlighted by the announcement of a new offering to the ES Community. To improve the lives of our community members, Jason announced the addition of a health insurance marketplace, found at ESHealthPlans.com, to the ever-growing number of advantages available when partnering with ES.
If you couldn’t attend this year’s event, Jason’s message as well as insights from guest speaker Leah Shaver, are available on-demand.
The Importance of Proper Partnership Workshop
It’s hard to beat an amazing event like the IN-SITE Dinner, but Saturday morning’s workshop with ES Community members DeShawn Henry and Russell Jones, gave it a run for its money. The dynamic duo that was recently part of our Success In Trucking Podcast, hosted one of the most engaging breakout sessions of the weekend.
Over the course of 30 minutes, DeShawn and Russell told their story, had some laughs, and brought a unique perspective that only someone whose business is trucking can. From DeShawn accidentally leaving her trainer at a truck stop to the challenges of being new to the industry, they provided an unfiltered discussion of what it takes to be successful in expediting.
You can catch their full conversation below.
Industry Expert Interviews and Podcast
The Expo is the only event that is solely focused on the expediting side of trucking. Because of this, each year it provides unfettered access to grow & learn from industry experts, and we took full advantage of the experts in attendance. You can see their video interviews below and listen to podcast episodes that outline ES programs and services on the Success In Trucking Podcast.
Jason Williams – President & CEO of Expediter Services (ES)
DeShawn Henry & Russell Jones – Members of the ES Community
David King – Business Development for ESHealthPlans.com
Colton Lawrence – CFO and Founder of The Trucker CFO
Frank Tufano – Director, Owner-Operator Recruiting at Panther Premium Logistics, a Service of ArcBest
For those within our community that were able to attend, thank you for your continued support! For those that weren’t able to make it, we hope that you join the ES team for future events.
Stay tuned for more exciting news and information from the ES team, including upcoming events and ways to connect.
If you have any questions about the information shared at the Expedite Expo or how ES can support you on your way to Success In Trucking, you can contact the ES team with your questions or call (877) 349-9303.
