Fleet Innovators

The Fleet Forum at this year's Mid-America Trucking Show was produced and hosted by Heavy Duty Trucking and Fleet Owner. As part of that full afternoon program, HDT's 2016 Truck Fleet Innovators were presented with awards and participated in a panel discussion. Other sessions covered the connected truck and making sense of confusing economic numbers.

LOUISVILLE, KY — When you think of innovation, you may automatically think of technology. But a panel of HDT’s Truck Fleet Innovators Wednesday revealed that in many cases, it’s really all about people.

The Mid-America Trucking Show will be held from March 31-April 2, at the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville, Ky., with several new features this year even as truck makers skip this year's show.

Each year, HDT honors the industry's most innovative truck fleet leaders with its Truck Fleet Innovator Award. Winners are profiled in the magazine, honored during a special event in conjunction with the Mid-America Trucking Show and become a valued resource for HDT's editors.

Heavy Duty Trucking has named its Truck Fleet Innovators for 2013. These four industry leaders will be honored and featured in a panel discussion during the Fleet Forum educational event next Wednesday, March 20, in Louisville, Ky.

Phil Braker, VP of operations at Illinois-based Nussbaum Transportation and an HDT Truck Fleet Innovator, gives an overview of his company's innovative use of 6x2 specs to help save fuel.

How does a trucking company with a 500-plus-mile average length of haul keep its driver turnover down around 30% when the industry average is over 100%

A combination of driver training and monitoring with careful attention to truck specs and being willing to try unconventional technology all contribute to fuel savings for HDT's 2012 Truck Fleet Innovators

For Bill Malone, president of Enviro Express, trucking was a way to fulfill his goal of being an entrepreneur

When asked about himself, Mike Jeffress claims it's "a pretty short story," but just about anyone who knows him would disagree

John Fershtand, director of fleet operations and energy management for Ben E. Keith Foods, is a math whiz who loves anything on wheels.

Nussbaum Transportation's very company motto signals its approach to innovation: "Setting new ideas in motion.

HDT's 2011 Truck Fleet Innovators were honored for their industry leadership in areas such as driver safety, logistics and maintenanc

All trucking is competitive, but the corner occupied by Cardinal Logistics Management Corp. is particularly tough

C.R. England has always been a company that relies on the practical solution. Back in the 1940s, mechanical refrigeration was new and unreliable, so England cooled its trailers by blowing air across a pile of ice with a belt-driven fan.

Sometimes, innovation is in the details. Take Terry Clouser's invention to help technicians save time and effort when checking to make sure all the lights on the front of the truck work: a mirror.

At a time when industry analysts are predicting the worst driver shortage trucking has ever seen, thanks in large part due to the unprecedented shifting regulatory environment, some of trucking's most innovative leaders are embracing some of those changes but doing battle on other fronts