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
