BIG FLEET MONEY vs. SMALL FLEET RESPECT: WHO WINS? | BRAKE CHECK

Charles (0:26)

They have a driver shortage issue. What if it has a problem keeping issue? See, every carrier in America is hiring. Every recruiting ad promises great pay, great equipment, great home time, and a company that will treat you like family. Heck, according to the ads, trucking must be the happiest damn industry on the planet. So why in the hell does everybody keep leaving? Because somewhere between the recruiting pitch and the first paycheck, reality does show up. And apparently nobody invited dispatch to the orientation meeting. Big carriers spend millions of dollars recruiting drivers, small carriers promise something money supposedly can't buy. A company that actually knows your name.

But here's the uncomfortable question for all of them. If your company is so good to work for, why do you have to keep convincing people to stay?

Why is it hard to bring people in? Maybe it's time we stop measuring recruiting success by how many drivers walk through the door and start measuring it by how many don't walk back out. Today, we're putting big fleet resources against small fleet relationships and asking what actually builds a career in trucking worth keeping. Because the shiny recruiting campaigns might fill the truck, but it takes a really good operation to keep somebody behind the wheel. So check your mirrors as this is Brake Check and it starts now.

Now, after we do our daily pile up, we got Ben Pile from Werner in the house, a man who builds career ladders at one of the biggest fleets on the highway. Then David Foote from Brown Dog Carriers up in Maine, where nobody's a truck number and recruiting budgets don't come with its own zip code. Today, we're getting ready to go full stop. But first, we're going to go to a message from our friends over at Apex Capital.

SPEAKER_2 (2:15)

Why are you waiting to get paid for a load you've already delivered? You did the work, you earned the money. Fuel doesn't wait, truck payments don't wait, repairs don't wait, and neither should you. Apex turns your unpaid invoices into cash fast, so you have the money you've earned when you need it.

Don't wait to put your money to work. Check out apexfactory.com to get paid today.

Charles (2:41)

Now, while you're at it, make sure to hit that like, subscribe and follow for FreightWaves right here for your top freight cash trucking news and the conversations that matter in trucking today.

And if you want to go beyond, just like, subscribe and follow. And you want to get in the room where real freight waves are made. F3 is coming up right here live in Chattanooga. Use promo code BREAKCHECK and save almost 50 percent on current pricing. That's right, BREAKCHECK. And we will see you in Chattanooga. Now we're going to go to a message from our friends over at Owhada.

SPEAKER_4 (3:16)

Protect your truck with coverage from trusted trucking experts who understand life on the road We'll. see you in Chattanooga.

Charles (3:44)

All right, well, before we jump into today's conversation, let's go to today's Daily Pile Up. Now, for today's starting of the Daily Pile Up, I wanted to go to a little question that everyone seems to be asking. Will truckers still be here in 10 years? Well, some people are out there at the truck stops asking this very question. Check this out.

SPEAKER_5 (4:12)

The computer is not going to see that, and the truck is going to go right through them. They've been testing out all these driverless trucks and stuff like that. I really don't see that going anywhere, because there's too many variables out there. A computer can't calculate for what car in front of you is going to do. All of a sudden, somebody stopped short, the computer is not going to see that, and the truck is going to go right through.

Charles (4:33)

Now, there's a lot of wild things happening out there, but we got to look at some of the things that are fun.

And this one, well, someone took an aircraft tug, you know, that kind that pushes around jumbo jets, and made it street legal. Check this out.

SPEAKER_6 (4:48)

Man, I got to say, I've never seen anything like this thing.

SPEAKER_5 (4:53)

This thing is sick.

SPEAKER_6 (4:59)

I mean sick.

SPEAKER_2 (5:08)

That is just awesome.

David Foote (5:16)

I don't know what it is.

SPEAKER_2 (5:18)

Man, I'd like to have one.

Look at that. Look at that.

SPEAKER_6 (5:24)

It's massive. Massive.

This thing is just awesome. Wow.

Charles (5:39)

Now, he's not the only one pulling around. Some weight out there. Check these guys out.

All right. Now, it's time to hop into today's daily topic, and our first guest recruits drivers for one of America's best known trucking companies, Werner Enterprises. We got Ben Pile, Senior Director of Driver Recruiting, believes trucking shouldn't just offer somebody a seat, it should offer them a future, better skills, better opportunities, and more money, more choices. Sounds great. Well, we're going to get to the recipe for that success right here on Brake Check. Ben Pile, welcome to your Brake Check moment.