In recent years drivers across the country are exploring the appeal of regional haul driving, in search for more flexible and predictable routes that allow them to spend more time at home. Fleets have been responding by designing freight paths geared toward increased satisfaction for their drivers.
Titan Freight Systems, a regional less-than-truckload carrier in the Pacific Northwest, has set itself apart with their innovative meet-and-swap process. In order to avoid driver layovers on lengthy routes, this successful system was implemented three years ago and continues to be highly efficient today.
“It’s very difficult to go from Spokane, Washington, to Portland, Oregon, which is about 350 miles away, and it’s difficult to get them back. That’s a 700-mile turn, and hours of service would preclude us from doing that,” explains Keith Wilson, Titan president and CEO.
At one time, this route included every other day layover in Eugene, which is about 110 miles away from Portland. Titan has since overhauled their network, reworking it to successfully reduce time away from family and friends for their drivers who can now be home every night on this route.
Now, two drivers begin their route at the same time – one from Eugene and the other from Spokane, both heading for a midpoint rendezvous. The Eugene driver retrieves the load in Portland and meets the Spokane driver between Portland and Spokane. At this location, the two drivers exchange trailers and head back to their home terminals.
Despite the potential for some issues and slight shipping delays, connecting two major cities has been deemed worth it to ensure driver satisfaction. According to Wilson, a minor decrease in efficiency is far outweighed by improved morale within this sector of the workforce.
“Making sure that the drivers get back home in their bed for their sleep cycle really became our priority, and they really appreciated that support,” Wilson says. The meet-and-swap operations created a roughly 15-minute delay in nightly vital operations, but Wilson says the fleet has experienced a “much stronger driver satisfaction quotient,” and is no longer hearing quality-of-life concerns from those drivers.
At PGT Trucking, a Pennsylvania-based flatbed carrier that specializes in regional haul and offers drivers more predictability, Communications and Media Director Katie Irvine dubbed the experience “the happy medium.”
“Regional routes are this happy medium, somewhere between the old school over-the-road, running from East Coast to West Coast and back again, and these local trips. You make a lot of money when you’re over the road. You maybe don’t make as much money when you’re running local, but you’re home,” she says. With the right operations, regional can serve the in between.
Regional drivers enjoy a measure of comfort knowing that their route will never take them more than 400 miles from home. Fleet owners are able to provide this sense of security and predictability, even if the driver can’t be with family every night.
Many professional drivers enjoy the familiarity of regular routes, as they give them a better idea on expected earnings. This predictability is becoming increasingly desirable amongst those working in the transportation sector.
“It does feel like a lot of the newer drivers that are coming into the industry want as much home time as possible,” says PGT Trucking Director of Operations Tyler Damazo. “In transportation, there’s never anything that’s guaranteed. But with our regional drivers, we all but guarantee that they’ll be home on the weekends. As long as something unforeseen doesn’t happen. There’s a lot of predictability with the way our terminals are located in our freight network and customers.”
Regional-haul operations are thriving, providing efficient and dependable service to a variety of customers. For those seeking reliable schedules with flexibility for the occasional surprise load or customer demand, regional haul is an ideal opportunity, though drivers must still be prepared to face and meet unpredictable challenges that can arise while on the job.
PGT Trucking has established itself as a reliable player in the steel industry of Pennsylvania, yet they keep challenging their drivers to stay sharp and versatile. Apart from delivering raw materials for construction projects, this company is also adept at transporting other goods within multiple industries.
“In the hiring process, every incoming driver talks to somebody in operations to make sure they don’t have any restrictions as far as what they’re going to haul,” PGT’s Damazo says. “We’re well-versed in the commodities and customers that we work with, so if we have a driver landing in Chicago and he needs to get to Virginia… we have customers that ship down there. Just because you’re primarily a steel hauler doesn’t mean today you’re not going to take a lumber load to get you home.”
PGT boasts vast knowledge of its customers and freight offerings and has used this wisdom to build forecasting and provide predictability for their drivers. This forward-thinking practice allows them to know what’s coming and be prepared – ensuring smoother journeys all around.
For this very reason, all drivers at Titan lar doing shift work. There are always going to be factors you can’t control in transportation; however, the company has found that leaning into what you can foresee can be highly beneficial for drivers.
“Predictably 90% of the time [our drivers] know exactly their start time,” Titan’s Wilson said. “Now, the end time is always subject to the freight volume.”
Source: truckinginfo
