Benchmarking ProjectMcLeod Software and Katz, Sapper & Miller have come together to create a joint project to provide an operations level benchmark for the trucking industry. This initiative seeks to break new ground in giving truckload carriers the opportunity to measure the real performance of their operations against their peers.

The KSM & McLeod Benchmarking Initiative is designed to be complimentary to other benchmarking initiatives in the industry, and to break new ground for those companies who want to understand where their operating efficiencies stand as compared to similar carriers.

Carriers who participate in this first benchmark study will receive a copy of the final benchmark report, which includes the high, low, median, and average values for each benchmark category, as well as the group qualification parameters to allow for comparison of their results on each benchmark to those of their actual peer group.

A Look at Operating Metrics

The benchmarking survey of operating metrics examines several aspects that are common performance indicators for every truckload carrier.

• People and headcount by category or role;

• Fuel consumption, expense, purchasing, and efficiency;

• Revenue miles, rates, and surcharges;

• Equipment counts and actual utilization;

• Safety profiles; and

• Operating expenses

And to create the truly valuable peer comparisons, we will segregate the benchmark data by several criteria that give carriers the chance to compare their metrics with their true peer group.

• Carriers of a similar size;

• Carriers with the same equipment types; and

• Carriers with a similar length of haul.

The goal of the KSM & McLeod Benchmarking Initiative is to begin to give truckload carriers a better picture of their relative performance in these areas than has previously been available.

Companies who would like to participate in the 2013 benchmarking program must collect and submit their data to KSM via a pre-formatted spreadsheet, and ensure that their data meets the strict definitions set out in our benchmarking data collection documents.

KSM and McLeod will provide this data collection document, the definitions, and a copy of our confidentiality agreement to carriers upon request. The deadline for submissions to be included in the 2013 benchmark report is May 1.

For more information about joining this benchmarking project, contact Tim Almack at 317.580.2000 or talmack@ksmcpa.com.