The Truckload Carriers Association and CarriersEdge have announced the 2016 Best Fleets to Drive For, a listing 20 for-hire trucking companies deemed to be outstanding workplace experiences for employees and truck drivers.  

To be considered for the Best Fleets program, a company operating at least 10 trucks had to be nominated by at least one of its company drivers or owner operators. CarriersEdge then interviewed human resources representatives and executives about their corporate direction, policies and programs.

Nominated fleets were evaluated against a scoring matrix covering several categories, including total compensation package, health benefits, pension plans and career-path opportunities. A selection of each nominated fleet’s drivers was also surveyed. Their feedback was compared to that of management and incorporated into the final score.

The final responses were tallied, resulting in the selection of this year’s winners and honorable mentions. Two companies, Landstar System and Grand Island Express, have been a part of the list for five consecutive years.

Here are the 20 Best Fleets to Drive For:

• Bay and Bay Transportation Eagan, Minnesota

• Bison Transport Winnipeg, Manitoba

• Boyle Transportation Billerica, Massachusetts

• Central Oregon Truck Company, Inc. Redmond, Oregon

• Challenger Motor Freight Inc. Cambridge, Ontario

• Erb Group New Hamburg, Ontario

• Fremont Contract Carriers, Inc.  Fremont, Nebraska

• FTC Transportation, Inc. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

• Grand Island Express, Inc. Grand Island, Nebraska

• Halvor Lines, Inc. Superior, Wisconsin

• Interstate Distributor Co. Tacoma, Washington

• Kriska Holdings Ltd. Prescott, Ontario

• Landstar System, Inc. Jacksonville, Florida

• Melton Truck Lines, Inc. 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, Inc. Knoxville, Tennessee

• TransPro Freight Systems, Ltd. Milton, Ontario

Five additional companies were also identified as “Fleets to Watch” for demonstrating innovation in their driver programs:

• Boyd Bros. Transportation Inc. Clayton, Alabama

• Brenny Specialized, Inc. St. Cloud, Minnesota

• Crete Carrier Corporation Lincoln, Nebraska

• Maverick Transportation, LLC North Little Rock, Arkansas

• Trimac Transportation Calgary, Alberta

Several common trends of the 20 Best Fleets were noted by CarriersEdge including things like flexibility, convenience and technology. Fleets on the list also tended to participate in new entrant training with most companies hiring driver fresh out of school or starting their own schools directly.

“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,” said Jane Jazrawy, CEO of CarriersEdge. “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.”

Phase two of the contest will be to divide the highest scoring fleets into small and large fleet categories and two overall winners will be selected with one from each category. The overall winners will be announced during the TCA’s Annual Convention, March 6-9, 2016, at the Wynn Las Vegas Resort.

For more details on the Best Fleets to Drive For, click here.