The Truckload Carriers Association has announced a number of summer educational offerings, "how-to" sessions that provide information on brokers, driver retention, fleet managers and implementing owner-operator programs.

The first audio conference is scheduled from 3 to 4:30 p.m. (ET) on May 24. It is titled, "The Role of the Broker: Agent or Provider."
The event will answer the question, does a freight broker merely facilitate a transaction between shippers and carriers or does it act as a transportation service provider? The answer isn't totally clear, but the answer often determines the ultimate responsibilities and liabilities among shippers, brokers and motor carriers. This audio conference will address how the status of an intermediary - whether an agent or a broker - can affect the outcome of disputes over such weighty issues as vicarious liability, freight claims, offsets and payment of freight charges.
A second audio conference, called "Key to Retention - The First 90 Days," is scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. June 7.
Most companies experience a break-even point at six months (the point where a driver is finally worth the money you've invested in him/her). Yet in the truckload industry, 70 percent of turnover occurs before the drivers reach six months.
Companies are losing money on 70 percent of the drivers they hire.
How do you increase your odds? This session will examine strategies to improve your success, including screening out nomads, making promises you are likely to keep and having practical tactics for each driver transition milestone.
A two-day seminar June 13-14 at the Hilton Garden Inn, at DFW Airport in Dallas is called "Implementing a Successful Independent Contractor Program.
Attendees will learn the right way to implement the program and how to grow it. More importantly, you will learn how to make the program a success for you and your independent contractors.
And "The Highly Effective Fleet Manager," is the topic of a June 26-27 seminar at the Four Points Sheraton at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.
Fleet manager and front line managers are the primary link between driver productivity and performance in any trucking organization. With a fleet size of 40 to 45 drivers, the fleet manager is literally running a $5-million-plus business.
For more information on any of these events, and to register, visit www. truckload.org/events/index.shtml#broker.
Or cal Virginia "Ginny" DeRoze at (703) 838-1950.