The Truckload Carriers Association and the driver training company CarriersEdge have selected 20 trucking companies from across North American as top fleets in the Best Fleets to Drive For competition.

The 7th annual survey and contest identifies for-hire trucking companies that provide the best workplace experiences for their drivers.

To be considered for the Best Fleets program, a company 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, and sick day allotment; health benefits; pension plans; Professional development opportunities, such as training, coaching programs, etc.; career path/advancement opportunities; commitment to employee personal growth, including work/life balance, driver family support, and employee-directed charitable contributions; commitment to continuous improvement, including dispute resolution processes and inclusion of driver feedback in policymaking; team building and driver community development activities; annual driver turnover rate; and fleet safety record.

A selection of each fleet’s drivers was also surveyed, with their feedback compared to management’s and incorporated into the final score. The responses were then tallied, resulting in the selection of this year’s winners and honorable mentions.

“This year, we saw a large increase in the number of companies with retirement plans that included a company match, like a 401(k),” said Jane Jazrawy, chief executive officer of CarriersEdge. “We also noted that many companies are providing mobile devices to their drivers, often with custom mobile apps to go with them. New for this year, we saw a few fleets offering guaranteed pay for their drivers, similar to the base salary that sales reps or consultants might receive.”

This year’s winners are:

• Bay and Bay Transportation, Eagan, Minnesota

• Bison Transport, Winnipeg, Manitoba

• Boyle Transportation, Billerica, Massachusetts

• Central Oregon Truck Co., Redmond, Oregon

• Erb Group, New Hamburg, Ontario

• Farm2Fleet, Chattanooga, Tennessee

• Fremont Contract Carriers, Fremont, Nebraska

• FTC Transportation, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

• Grand Island Express, Grand Island, Nebraska

• Halvor Lines, Superior, Wisconsin

• Interstate Distributor, Tacoma, Washington

• Kriska Holdings, Prescott, Ontario

• Landstar System, jacksonville, Florida

• Liberty Linehaul, Ayr, Ontario

• Motor Carrier Service, Northwood, Ohio

• Nussbaum Transportation, Hudson, Illinois

• Paramount Freight Systems, Ft Myers, Florida

• Tennant Truck Lines, Colona, Illinois

• TransPro Freight Systems, Milton, Ontario

• WTI Transport, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

In addition, five companies received honorable mentions, for demonstrating innovation in their driver programs:

• Challenger Motor Freight, Cambridge, Ontario

• Drive Logistics, Windsor, Ontario

• Veriha Trucking, Marinette, Wisconsin

• Melton Truck Lines, Tulsa, Oklahoma

• Raider Express, Ft. Worth, Texas

The next phase of the contest will be to divide the highest scoring fleets into small and large fleet categories, from which two overall winners will be selected. They will be announced at the March 10 awards ceremony during TCA’s Annual Convention at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee, Florida.

Between Feb. 24 and March 5, clues about the winners’ identities will be posted with the hashtag #BestFleets15 to TCA’s Twitter feed and Facebook page.

More details about Best Fleets to Drive For are available on the its website.