I spent the better part of last week in Dallas, attending the first annual Commercial Vehicle Outook Conference. It was a good conference, with a wide range of respected speakers from industry representing OEMs, carriers and freight forecasters.

The overall tone of the conference was upbeat. Industry analysts feel the industry is headed in the right direction, despite waning consumer confidence and a slowdown in housing starts. When it gets right down to it, it’s freight volumes that matter most, and they are trending up in virtually every mode, presenters at the conference pointed out.

But the road ahead is not without its bumps. There were two concerns weighing heavily on the minds of fleet executives who spoke at the conference. One is that US hours-of-service will, in fact, be reduced as early as this fall. Perhaps I’m naïve. I thought the current review was Obama’s way of placating special interest groups who had challenged the current rules, claiming they are unsafe, and that after a thorough review no substantial changes would be implemented. After all, highway and truck safety have both improved under the current HoS rules, so they can’t possibly be a concern. Looks like I was wrong on that one. Industry reps at the conference seem resigned to the fact that US hours-of-service will be reduced by one or two hours per day and the 34-hour reset could even be extended to 48 hours.

"The hours-of-service rewrite is a political football and it will have nothing to do with good science," said ATA chairman Tommy Hodges, who also runs Titan Transfer. "It's a political football that is going to get passed over our heads. There's a good possibility we will lose one to two hours of driving time and there's a strong possibility we'll lose the 34-hour restart."

Losing two hours of driving time per day would be a 18-19% productivity hit in the trucking industry, including for those of you running into the US. Fleet executives on-hand said it will require a change of mindset; trucking companies will need to start measuring productivity based on time, not miles.

A possible reduction in legal working hours for truck drivers may be compounded with what was predicted at the conference to be a driver shortage of unprecedented proportions. It’s possible CSA 2010 may make up to 200,000 current drivers unemployable.

"This industry historically thinks in terms of miles," said Tom Kretsinger, president and CEO of American Central Transport. "I think one of the key measures will have to be time. What percentage of this limited time can we put to good revenue use for us and the driver." (Another sign that a shift towards hourly pay for drivers is gaining momentum?)

As for CSA 2010, there’s growing recognition that the safest, most compliant drivers will have an Ace up their sleeves when it comes to partnering with the best carriers and commanding top rates. I’ve wondered, aloud at times, whether we’ll see tiered pay packages based on the CSA 2010 scores a driver brings to a carrier. It may happen.

Hodges referred to CSA 2010 as the ‘Free Agency for Drivers Bill.’ He said the safest drivers will be like a free agent pro athlete, able to offer their services to the highest bidder, knowing just how important a driver’s CSA 2010 score will be to his/her employer.

“A driver who knows he's got a good record, knows how to abide by the rules and knows his value to my company, he'll say 'look at my score, you're going to pay me 50 cents/mile or I'll go over to XYZ and they will,” Hodges predicted.

Kretsinger took it a step further, saying “I’m not managing this company at the moment. The drivers are, because they’re in short supply.”

A potential reduction in legal working hours, coupled with a driver shortage that’s already becoming evident, combined with a possible purging of existing drivers brought on by CSA 2010, could result in a major capacity crisis, presenters said. Several said there will be instances where freight sits undelivered on shippers’ docks. It will be fascinating to see how it plays out over the next couple of years.

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There are a thousand great books out there helping us with perspectives on leadership. A lot of them are worth our time reading. I do believe that knowledge is obviously an important component of setting up newer managers for success or in helping existing managers succeed in creating teams that are hard working, energetic, committed and that win.

I think it is a huge mistake though to think that knowledge is the only ingredient in the "Great Leader" recipe.

I've had a growing number of industry managers tell me lately that they are disappointed in the lack of performance from people they hired whose knowledge credits were stacked high and wide. (University degrees, Dale Carnegie, Post Education Certificates etc).

While knowledge is important (I'm not knocking any of the above. they are very valuable), in my experience it isn't always enough to be a successful leader.

In my experience, the often overlooked ingredient to turn people into Effective Managers & Leaders is a few cups of Courage.

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Over the years, my leadership classes have been filled with great people who come to realize that they know what they need to do about the situations they are in. Knowledge in reality is not the problem.

What they really need is the courage to walk through the fear of addressing issues with people, communicating both up and down the company ladder, risking conflict: All things they'll need to do to deal with the situations they have.

I understand that. Its a huge issue in today's workforce and its holding a lot of Canadians back from what life would have for them.

I don't want fear to ever stop you from achieving your best.

So, on top of laying down 2 days packed with the knowledge you'll need to be a great leader, motivate teams, manage performance, communicate for clarity, handle change etc...

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www.marketbeamer.com
david@marketbeamer.com

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Hey Gang: I've been off the sphere for awhile as my dad passed in his 89th year, and what I forgot to mention in the eulogy was the he had such a strong work ethic that right after he retired from Massey-Ferguson after 30 years, he went out and got a design job with Spar Aerospace (mostly to see if he could get another job to know he was still useful). Then he messed around with starting his own company and even had some letterhead printed up: he would work at home and take on some projects, maybe farm out some of the work to his old cronies. But retirement suited him and he dropped all that freelance stuff-: took up golf with the same tenacity and steadfastness that he did everything else. I could always outdrive him by 100 yards but I never beat him at the game and he never let me. Just like I never lost a game of snooker to him, although we'd both ease up on each other when the score got too outrageous. It just isn't right to play beneath your ability and we both knew it. Goodbye paps, it's been really good to know ya.

As for the blog, I found a disc of photos while cleaning up: unlabeled photos I'd collected for the Highway Workplace project at virtual museum website. This one didn't make the cut. I particularly like the ones with horses because our relationship with them goes back thousands of years..and that's what we truck drivers are: glorified teamsters handling hundreds of horses belching fire and clawing at the blacktop. I've got a bunch more photos but can't figure out how to download more than one at a time. Later.

View image

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I’ve been at this transportation reporting gig for going on 20 years now and I can’t recall a time when an economic recovery was being faced with so much trepidation, uncertainty and conflicting opinion about the future.

Our own research has been revealing this uncertainty for some time now. We find the majority of motor carrier executives, for example, being more pessimistic about freight volume growth and their ability to charge higher rates than their own customers. The uncertainty and conflicting opinion also surfaced at the two workshops we put on for shippers and carriers earlier this summer, in partnership with Dan Goodwill and Associates. I think I’ve lost track of all the different theories about the shape of the recovery and their assigned letters– V, W, U, L. Heck, there is even a √ (square root) shaped recovery scenario. There’s no shortage of economists worrying about a slip back into recession yet Carlos Gomes, senior economist at Scotia Bank and the opening speaker at both of our workshops, sounded awfully convincing in his assertion that the economic fundamentals are sound. Little wonder then how we ended up at our workshops with Dan Einwechter, the charismatic head of Challenger Motor Freight predicting come September “it is going be busy as hell” while fellow carrier panelists Peter DiTecco of Armbro Transport and Doug Munro of Maritime-Ontario Freight Lines did not see recovery for their industry for some time.

What gives? And, just as important, what does it mean for transportation and logistics?

Of all the commentary I’ve read this year, I’ve been most influenced in my thinking by Noel Perry, a partner with the FTR Associates freight forecasting group and author of The Challenge of Deep Economic Cycles.

Since 1980 the North American transportation and logistics industry was buttressed by relative economic stability which allowed both shippers and carriers to focus on their operations. After enduring four recessions from 1970 to 1982 the industry experienced only two from 1983 to 2007. But Perry believes the US economy (and therefore the North American economy overall) has entered into a pattern of high cyclicality, which will erode the economic stability our transportation system has come to rely upon.

Perry warns that it is time for the industry to clearly recognize this reality and begin its adaptations.

There have been a lot of bubbles burst the last few years -- consumer credit, home prices and financial risk taking – and the North American economy collapsed with them in 2008. Perry believes the reason we will be stuck in a period of rapid economic cyclicality is because there is a fifth bubble yet to burst: governmental debt, most visible in Europe but present in our largest trading partner as well. He figures creditors will prick that bubble sooner rather than later and the resulting shock to the governmental system will create “a wave of chaotic regulations, taxes and spending policies that will add another level of volatility to the transportation environment.”

The recoveries of the 1980s and 1990s lasted 25 and 28 quarters, respectively. That’s the environment both shippers and carriers have become used to operating in. But if we look across a longer time span, the reality is that the average for the rest of the recoveries is less than 10 quarters. If we return to a period of short cycles, as Perry predicts, the time for growth we’ve become used to would be cut in half.

And short recoveries are bad for transportation for a simple reason, as Perry explains: The benefits from an upturn take about a year to come in. It takes six months or more for the average manager to realize there has been a turn; it takes another six months for that manager to take advantage. Four lost quarters out of an eight- or 10-quarter cycle is a significant fraction. Operating in an economy with such high volatility requires shippers and the carriers who service them to respond much faster to changing market conditions than before.

Initially there may seem to be an advantage to shippers if carriers can’t move fast enough to reduce capacity when the economy cycles downwards. Savings in the range of 15-25% were common during the past year as the capacity overhang depressed prices. But if carriers are equally slow to add capacity during the upturn, the penalty the shipper pays for not securing adequate capacity is lost sales, product obsolescence and plant shutdowns.
High volatility will place an emphasis on analysis and planning. Carriers and shippers who do it, and do it well, will pick up on market changes earlier, respond to them faster, and developed relationships with each other that address the entire economic cycle rather than just the latest upward or downward phase.

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I don't know about you, but fear has and can stop me in my tracks. I retreat back into myself like a deer in headlights.

It is interesting to note that Fear as an acronym stands for:

False
Emotions
Appearing
Real

Consider the following scenarios:

1) Your Boss hasn't said anything about the project you just completed

Fear: They hate your work.
Truth: They are as run off their feet as you are. They love the fact they can count on you to do what needs to be done. They just haven't had the time to say it.

2) A Co-Worker keeps messing up and is impacting your ability to do your job

Fear: They are an idiot and perhaps doing it on purpose to make your life miserable.
Truth: They ARE an idi...(I knew you'd be saying that!)
Real Truth: They likely never truly understood what your expectations were (there are 1240 reasons why this may happen). Magically, once you take the time to actually clarify expectations they will very likely start meeting them.

So it points us to how we can use FEAR powerfully in our lives. FEAR is simply a call for ACTION. It is a trigger that should motivate you to clarify, communicate, act through something.

After a "How to Deal with Difficult People" seminar, a woman came up to me , thanked me for the class, and asked me if there was an advanced session because she had a really difficult person to go back and deal with.

I encouraged her that there was and that it was free! The advanced class is called experience. I challenged her to go back with the tools she did get from the workshop, walk through her fear and just talk to that person.

Experience will show her that rarely is it as bad as she feared.

Experience will show her that when things are finally said they get dealt with.

Experience will show her that when things are dealt with, people breathe easier and teams succeed.

Experience will make her better each time she encounter similar scenarios.

Experience will continually build her courage in the face of her fears.

It can do the same for you. What lies are you still telling yourself today? What fears are stopping you in your tracks? You now know what to do.

WARNING!: You'll be adding Experience to your resume... but that's always a good thing.

Looking for help with what to say and how to say it ? Don't miss the
1rst Time Managers Two Day Boot Camp in either Calgary or Edmonton. You'll learn 4 ways to successfully give feedback, even in the most stressful of situations. You'll also get an opportunity to practice it. See below or to the left for more details and links to registration.


David
Contact: (403) 874-1044 or david@marketbeamer.com

Continue reading "FEAR: Use it!" »

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What did we learn so far.
Rhode Island Axle Restrictions on the Pawtucket River Bridge and the Sakonnet River. Some of you have never heard of this little money maker (FOR THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND ANYWAYS) However since they passed the law, and most trucks just barrel through exit 27 without taking the detour, the Owner (COMPANY) receives a fine as does the driver. Let's be clear here, THIS IS NOTHING BUT A CASH COW. TO THE TUNE of $7,000,000.00 over the last two years. That's right folks, they fine every Operator or owner $3000.00 for each infraction. If you are smart and go down to fight it, they may reduce the fine to $1,500.00. Tell your drivers get off the road, and watch all the signs. Take the exit #27 before the bridge!

National Truck Week is coming up the first week of September. I think for the entire week, everyone in this industry should be proud of what we do. We should all get buttons(you know the ones I mean) and say something like, I'M proud to work in the Trucking business. Get rid of the stigma people associate with our business.

In Ontario I think in conjunction with this week, the MTO should go around and meet people on neutral territory. Get to meet some of the hard working people in the industry. NOT JUST THE DRIVERS. You have given yourselves the bad rap, not us. You do not promote, yourselves in the publics eyes, in a fair to good light. Companies only hear horror stories, of the way you treat drivers. Come down out of the ivory tower, meet and greet some of us, and don't just parade around, with the reporter in tow.

What a great idea for any institution in this industry, to promote itself. During the week, offer a simple, condensed "READERS DIGEST" VERSION OF ANY COURSE YOU MAY NORMALLY TEACH FOR FREE. Send out your instructors and have them meet as many companies as you can, book now space and time is limited. How better to promote ourselves.
I WILL STAND UP HERE, AND GLADLY INVITE THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORTATION TO VISIT OUR PREMISES AND GIVE THEM A GUIDED TOUR. MEET ALL OF OUR PEOPLE BEHIND THE SCENES< NOT JUST THE DRIVERS> an INSPECTIONS. Show them what it really takes to keep the WHEELS TURNING. SHOW THEM THAT BASICALLY ANYTHING WE EAT, DRINK, WEAR, LIVE IN, LIVE ON, ARRIVED BY TRUCK, AND WITHOUT US, WELL YOU KNOW THE ANSWER. HEY DAVE (BRADLEY) can you arrange it? you have better connections than I do.

I would also like to take a minute, and thank Claudia who is the Chief & Head Honcho over at TRANSCORE/LINK. Some of you know her some don't, Always giving her time, to the industry, always around, always smiling and always quick with a friendly hand in any way possible. Wish we had more like her in the industry. Giving more than Taking. Thanks, CLaudia and keep it up for a long time to come.

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Hello folks hope all is well, I am going to continue down the Ray’s Rules path and this month I am laying the framework for all the safety personnel that this industry depends on so heavily. My friend and college Mr. Jim O’Neil, President of O&S Trucking, put it as directly as I have heard, Jim made safety his platform as Chairman of TCA just before I was rewarded that honour, Jim stood in front of a crowded room of his peers and stated loud and clear that ‘Safety was a moral imperative to the trucking industry”.

I love that quote and whenever I get the opportunity to use it, I do, giving Jimmy full credit for being its creator of course. If you’re a driver at a company that does not recognize safety as one of its primary values you’re in a dangerous situation. If you think about it from one of these companies perspectives, safety is a drain on resources. This department produces no revenue and should exist to keep the company on the plus side of legal and nothing more.

The enlightened know that this is not the case; as a matter of fact an ongoing investment in safety is actually an investment in the longevity for a well ran company. I would go far as to say that with no reservation, an effective safety department is the cornerstone of a well ran trucking company and effects every department. It will affect turnover positively and will create driver loyalty how does it do that, when you invest in the safety and well being of employees it shows them that you are concerned for them and are prepared to invest in their future.

It will help keep insurance rates at bay, including WSIB, roadside assistance, company benefits etc, it attracts a better quality of personal to the company, it assist greatly in on time performance on customer freight, on time performance, claims and on and on.

In my past life I had a couple of very good safety managers’ work for me and I did my utmost to support them in their difficult role. I attribute much of any success I have had over the years to these individuals and I thank them for their knowledge and dedication. A couple of the rules your about to read come out of that experience and my absolute respect and admiration for the folks who have chosen to take on our most valued resource, our drivers, and train and them to be responsible safe driving professionals.

Rule 1, If I could I would legislate that every company over, let’s say 50 trucks, must have a safety manager on staff and that manger must have their CDS certification (Certified Director of Safety). One of the efforts from my past I am most proud of was bringing Mr. Jeff Arnold Executive Director of NATMI (North American Training and Management Institute) in to meet with the safety division of the OTA and getting unanimous support to offer this training in Ontario, check them out at www.natmi.org . If you see an individual’s resume or plaque on the wall showing CDS certification you are dealing with a safety professional that warrants serious consideration.

Rule 2, safety managers must have a healthy dose of common sense when it comes to enforcing and creating the rules of behaviour. This industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries there is when it comes to the rules of the road. A good safety manager must know when to use the carrot and when to use the stick, it’s a fine line, but the best in the industry have this talent.

Rule 3, keep it fresh, there is nothing more boring that having a safety meeting where the Manager gets up in front of a group of drivers with his 4 X 8 foot log book and rails the crowd on how to fill it out. I am not saying that this is not necessary, it might be in certain situations, but this message is best done mixed in with other messages and speakers.” News flash” drivers want to know what is going on in the industry outside of their trucks and CB radios. You can make your meetings interesting by inviting guest speakers; bring folks up to date on the latest news from the company and the industry at large, whatever it takes but keep it interesting.

Rule 4, ask your drivers for feedback and input on your department and what they need to be safer operators, nothing makes people feel more engaged like asking them their opinion, nothing! Beware here though you absolutely have to respond to the feedback you get, as powerful as asking for peoples feedback is it can be just as much a negative if you do not let them know that you valued their input. Feedback can be gained by running company draws, fill out a survey and your name is entered for company items, jackets coolers etc. Let them know that they have input into the safety program at your company.

Rule 5, recognition of individual positive behaviour will reinforce that behaviour to happen again and again, as a Safety Manager your job is not to just search out the bad guys it is also to recognize the hero’s and the top performers. Truckload Carriers Association has a great program for this call Highway Angels and a great safety division. Check them out at www.truckload.org . When I was chairman of TCA I had the opportunity to spend some time with the division at their annual meeting and at the planning session for their meeting and it in all honesty it rejuvenated my spirit for this industry just being around these folks and picking up on their passion for what they do.

Here is a bit of advice to those drivers who are reading this article and might be thinking of looking for a new job, it might not be your favourite subject but if you search out those companies who demonstrate a true commitment to safety you will be the winner in the end. These companies likely have sound equipment and a strong commitment to maintenance. They likely have a clean and healthy work environment, they likely demonstrate employee and owner operator loyalty in as many ways as they can find and they likely try and get your family involved in as many ways as possible. Want to work for a winner find a company with a strong dynamic safety department and you have likely found a good home.
Safe trucking
Rjh

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