Fleet Management

By Diana Britton, Managing Editor, and Jim Beach, Contributing Editor

Routing, mapping and navigation all deal with getting a vehicle from Point A to Point B. Transportation management systems may offer all three of these components, but the terms are not really interchangeable

Tags: Information Technology

By Tom Berg, Senior Editor

"Big Brother" comes to mind in any otherwise-official definition of "geofencing," the tracking method that keeps track of employees entering or leaving certain geographic area

Tags: Information Technology

By Oliver B. Patton, Washington Editor

There are indications that we are closer to the start of economic recovery - at least, the pace of decline is slowing - but John White, President of U.S. Xpress, is still waiting for inventory numbers to show a turnaround

Tags: Information Technology

By Jim Park, Equipment Editor

Short of rotting pig guts or trash destined for landfill, crooks will grab just about anything they can dispose of quickly and sell without a trace

Tags: Safety & Compliance

By Oliver B. Patton, Washington Editor

Truck drivers' long and storied tradition as Knights of the Road took on new meaning after 9/11

Tags: Safety & Compliance

Recent concerns about the dangers of text messaging and other distractions while driving have prompted a gathering in Washington, D.C., to address the issue in late Septembe

Tags: Safety & Compliance

While thefts rates vary between commodity groups and industries, across the board the average loss per cargo theft incident is sharply on the rise, according to a report from FreightWatch International

Tags: Safety & Compliance

By Deborah Lockridge, Editor

A year ago, experts predicted we'd be turning the corner on the sluggish economy by now. They were wrong.Two things happened this year that economists didn't predict

Tags: The Bottom Line

By Oliver B. Patton, Washington Editor

Better batten down the hatches and tighten the belts, motor carriers. This thing is going to get worse before it gets better. That was the message last month from economic experts

Tags: The Bottom Line

By Tom Berg, Senior Equipment Editor

Not a lot of truck buyers are choosing electronic stability enhancement devices, but maybe they should - because they could be saving big bucks

Tags: Safety & Compliance

By Jim Beach, Technology Editor

Trucking operations use a number of technologies to improve both operational efficiencies and customer service: transportation management software in the home office, computers or tracking and monitoring devices on the vehicles

Tags: Information Technology

By Jim Beach, Technology Editor

In the beginning, fleet management software mostly meant applications that tied together a carrier's accounting and dispatch functions. Today, such products encompass a number of operational activities and integrate with a wide range of technologies

Tags: Information Technology

By Steve Sturgess, Executive Editor

There has been much talk about telematics on the car side of the automotive business, with GM the highest-profile early adopter with its OnStar product. Yet trucking had the car people beat by 20 years

Tags: Information Technology

By Jim Beach, Technology Editor

Not that long ago, the onboard computer systems found in trucks were little more than data recorders. Pioneered by such companies as Tripmaster, these "black boxes" recorded things such as road speed and engine tim

Tags: Information Technology

By Dr. Dave Kwinn, Wade & Partners

Cost cutting efforts typically focus on the obvious targets: travel, sales meetings, advertising, overtime, etc. But there may still be hidden fat that can be cut without causing as much pain as these obvious targets

Tags: The Bottom Line

By Oliver B. Patton, Washington Editor

Funny how things change. Six months ago at $147 a barrel, oil prices were a catastrophe. In mid-December, hovering near $40, they were the only ray of light on an economic horizon that was grim and getting grimmer

Tags: The Bottom Line

By Deborah Lockridge, Editor

Whether fuel is two-something a gallon or four-something a gallon, every penny you can save is another penny toward the bottom line

Tags: The Bottom Line

Like many of HDT's Truck Fleet Innovators, Jacquelyn Barretta followed in her father's footsteps - but it was into the world of information technology, or IT, rather than trucking

Tags: Fleet Innovators

We are in the "Mother of all Recessions," Kevin Knight agrees, but he's optimistic. His company, Phoenix-based Knight Transportation, was conceived and bred to succeed in the toughest of times

Tags: Fleet Innovators

Dart Transit is largely responsible for two innovations that are key parts of today's truckload industry: 53-foot trailers and the use of independent contractors as drivers

Tags: Fleet Innovators

'I have long advocated for the industry to better prepare itself to deal with change, and one way to do so is to better anticipate the challenges ahead.

Tags: Fleet Innovators

By Oliver B. Patton, Washington Editor

Every truck safety professional in the country should read this book. And every trucking company owner or chief executive, upon whom the ultimate responsibility for safety lies, should be familiar with it

Tags: Safety & Compliance

You could make the argument that W.T. "Tobin" Cassels III is not exactly an innovator, since his role model goes back more than 2,000 years. As the third-generation leader of Southeastern Freight Lines

Tags: Fleet Innovators

When he climbed into his truck in 1959 to deliver his first load, a dumper full of coal, Don Bowman did not envision the large, successful truckload enterprise that D.M. Bowman Inc. would become over the next 50 years.

Tags: Fleet Innovators

By Deborah Lockridge

This year's Dealer of the Year is W. Marvin Rush, chairman of Rush Enterprises, New Braunfels, Texas. The Dealer of the Year Finalist is Oscar Horton, president of Sun State International Trucks, Tampa, Fla.

Tags: Truck Dealer of the Year

By Deborah Lockridge

OSHA Fines, Worker's Comp Claims, Lost Productivity, Lawsuits, Higher Insurance Costs, Equipment Downtime. The Pitfalls of Not Managing the Dangers in the Shop

Tags: productivity, OSHA, Lawsuits, shop management, Workers' Compensation, insurance costs, equipment downtime

By Deborah Lockridge

We spend a lot of time trying to attract drivers - but it may be even more important to pay attention to why drivers walk out the door.

Tags: driver satisfaction