How do truck drivers eat healthy while over the road? Truck drivers can have jam-packed schedules with little time to think about their food choices. While truck stops and fast food joints are often full of food loaded with sugar, sodium, or to-go greasy food. Maintaining a good diet for truck drivers can be hard to do while having fast-paced schedules. It’s easy to get used to these kinds of foods, and with a sedentary work style, it can often add up to an early onset of diseases and poor health. For example, the life expectancy of truck drivers is 16 years less than those of other working professions. And the heavy carbohydrate and sugar load of those convenient favorites can lead to a slower metabolism and insulin spikes – both making you more sluggish behind the wheel and affecting your alertness.

Thanks to advances in technology and consumer changes, maintaining a good diet while over the road (OTR) is becoming easier. While having a good diet for truck drivers might seem difficult, with a little preparation and planning, it can be doable and keep you hauling freight for years to come. There are many ways to improve your diet, and we’re here to help you find what works best for you. Keep reading for tips, food ideas, benefits to healthy eating, and more so you can find a healthy diet convenient.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Skip ahead to the sections you want to read most!

• Storing and Making Food Over-The-Road
• Tips for a Healthy Diet
• Healthy Meal Ideas
• Healthy Eating Benefits
• A Good Diet for Truck Drivers is Possible
• Help Us Help You!

STORING & MAKING FOOD OTR

Making your own meals, whether ahead of time or on the go, allows you to control the content and nutritional value of your food while also saving you some money in the long run. Thanks to today’s technology and appliances, you have options to store any temperature-controlled products or pre-made meals in portable coolers or refrigerators. You can even cook some food right from your truck using a microwave, slow cooker, or a hot plate. Just keep the clean-up in mind

You can also make use of some resources at truck stops, such as a microwave to heat up a packed meal or the hot water at the coffee station to use for things like oatmeal or instant soups. Additionally, many foods don’t need any temperature control, such as many fruits (fresh and dried), PB & J sandwiches, tuna packets, summer sausage, applesauce, and even dried or shelf-stable milk!

And if that’s not enough, you can still eat out. You just have to be mindful of where you’re going and what you choose to eat.

TIPS FOR A HEALTHY DIET

Plan Ahead

Planning your meals and snacks ahead of time is the easiest way to have a good diet for truck drivers. Make sure you’re balancing your diet and steering clear of those foods that make you feel bogged down. Whether you’re meal prepping or eating along the way, plan your meals out, so you know exactly what you’re eating and how it will make you feel.

Know Where You’re Going

This goes hand in hand with planning ahead. Know where you’re going for your meals so you can make the best choice of what you eat. You can still keep the convenience of eating out while choosing the places and meals that fuel your body best.

Eat Every Two to Three Hours to Avoid Hunger Surges

Not only does eating often help keep your metabolism active, but it also helps regulate your blood sugars, keeping your hunger at bay. There’s nothing worse than forgetting to eat for a while and then BOOM, hunger strikes, and somehow, you’ve consumed a whole day’s worth of meals, or worse, a bunch of junk you were craving rather than a well-balanced meal. Additionally, eating every few hours will prevent energy crashes and difficulty concentrating.

Prioritize Protein

Prioritizing protein is the best way to beat energy dips and most importantly, keep hunger and cravings at bay throughout your drive. Try adding some peanut butter or yogurt to your snack, having eggs at breakfast, eating lean meats or beans for lunch or dinner, or even adding a protein bar or shake to your day.

Drink More Water

Your body is made up of 60 percent water and you need to help maintain that balance! Water comes with no extra calories while keeping you hydrated and full of energy. And often, it’s common to confuse thirst with hunger. It’s estimated that on average anywhere from 11 to 15 cups of water is needed to keep signs of dehydration and thirst away, so make sure you’re drinking often. If you’re used to keeping a soda or energy drink on hand, you can always add some fresh fruit to your bottle of water to add some flavor and pizzazz.

Stock Your Cab with Healthier Snack Choices

To keep your hunger at bay by eating every few hours, you’re going to need snacks at the ready. Try to keep away from the bags of chips or candy bars. For a good list of healthy snack ideas, see our list of “Snack Ideas” below. 

MAXIMIZE FRUITS AND VEGGIES AT EVERY MEAL

Remember the food pyramid? I think you and I both know we can always eat more fruit and vegetables. According to the Canadian Community Health Survey of Truck Drivers, 70 percent of truck drivers eat less than the suggested five servings of fruit and vegetables per day.

Fruits and veggies are great to fill your plate or snack because they’re full of water, fiber, good carbohydrates, and many other nutrients our bodies need. Fresh fruits are a great treat when you’re craving something sweet, and canned, fresh, or frozen veggies can be good as a crunchy snack or savory side to your meal. Fruits and veggies also contain antioxidant and anti-inflammatory phytochemicals which may help in preventing things like cancer and heart disease.

Limit the “Feel Bad” Foods

Do I sometimes love to eat a cheeseburger from McDonald’s or a Crunchwrap with a Baja Blast from Taco Bell? YES. Does it love me? NOPE.

So that’s why I limit them. As much as I love them, I know they make me feel bloated and sluggish, so I aim to steer clear of them. Of course, you don’t have to give those kinds of foods up completely; just reduce your intake of them. Get a salad with your burger or swap the soda with water to better balance it out when you choose to eat those foods.

HEALTHY IDEAS FOR ALL YOUR MEALS

Breakfast

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”. That’s for many good reasons! Breakfast essentially “breaks the fast” that your body had overnight while sleeping. It replenishes your supply of glucose to boost your energy and alertness in the short term while also helping with weight management and reducing your risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease in the long term. So don’t skip this important meal and make sure your breakfast is rich in protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats. Also, try to keep sugar at a minimum so you don’t crash soon after eating.

• High fiber, low sugar, dry cereal or granola
• Oatmeal
• Whole grain waffles
• Turkey bacon
• Ham and cheese omelet
• Hard-boiled eggs and toast
• Avocado toast
• Yogurt parfait
• Fruit and yogurt smoothie

Healthy Lunch

• Sandwich
  • The options are endless! Plus, if you have a refrigerator in your truck, it’s easy to put together within minutes!
• Salad
  • Can buy kits from the store or pre-made from truck stops/fast food
• Grilled cheese and soup
  • Quick and easy to make, great for those rainy, cold days.
• Frozen vegetables in steamable microwave bags
  • Great for a healthy side!
• Stir-fry
  • Easy meal to make on the go or ahead of time and reheat. Buy a bag of 60-second cook-in-the-bag rice, a bag of mixed veggies, canned chicken, and some stir-fry sauce. Cook the rice and then add the rest of the items and cook together. Easy and ready in just a few minutes!
• Smoothies
  • To start, all you need is some protein powder, milk or water, yogurt, and a blender. Add in any extra ingredients for the flavors you want such as cocoa powder, peanut butter, or fresh fruit – the options are endless and up to you!

Balanced Dinners

Yes, some of these suggestions may have been in the lunch section too!

• Salad
  • Can buy kits from the store or pre-made from truck stops/fast food
• Grilled cheese and soup
  • Quick and easy to make, great for those rainy, cold days.
• Frozen vegetables in steamable microwave bags
  • Great for a healthy side!
• Stir-fry
  • Easy meal to make on the go or ahead of time and reheat. Buy a bag of 60-second cook-in-the-bag rice, a bag of mixed veggies, canned chicken, and some stir-fry sauce. Cook the rice and then add the rest of the items and cook together. Easy and ready in just a few minutes!
• Whole grain pasta with tomato sauce, veggies, and lean ground beef
• Homemade chili
  • Can even cook in the crockpot while driving!
• Taco bowl
  • Can use any sort of protein and is a great well-balanced meal
• Soups
  • Can also be made in the crockpot

Snack Ideas

One of our tips above mentioned having healthy snacks on hand so you can keep your hunger satisfied throughout your drive. So here are a few healthy ideas:

• Fresh fruit like apples, bananas, and oranges
• Fresh vegetables like carrots, celery, cucumbers
• Protein or granola bars
  • The fewer ingredients, the better
• Unsweetened apple sauce
• Trail mix
  • Preferably the ones without the candies
• Pretzels
  • Low sodium or unsalted
• Popcorn
  • Unsalted and without butter
• Dark chocolate
  • A higher cacao percentage means it’s better for you
• Hummus
• Use it as a dip for your fresh veggies
• Guacamole
• Dried fruit
• Roasted chickpeas
  • Great source of protein
• Low-fat yogurt
• Low-fat string cheese
• Whole-grain crackers
• Beef jerky

HEALTHY EATING BENEFITS

Adapting to a good diet for truck drivers can seem tough, but once you start, you’re sure to see some of the benefits such as:

Not Feeling as Hungry

Eating often and with foods primed to fuel you properly, you’ll notice your hunger affecting you less, which also helps you make smarter food choices.

More Energy

When your body is getting all the nutrients it needs and less of what it doesn’t, you’ll quickly realize how much more energy you have in your day-to-day.

Better Focus

Eating healthy increases blood flow to the brain, meaning your cognitive skills stay sharp, something every driver needs. It’s also been shown to help prevent dementia and cognitive decline.

Better Health

One of the reasons you’ll be feeling so much better is that you’ll be in better health. Eating healthy improves your health and prevents common heart disease. It also helps to keep your bones and teeth strong, preventing tooth decay and osteoporosis.

Weight Loss

One of the main reasons people seek a healthier diet is to lose weight. In 2018, researchers found that a diet rich in fiber and lean proteins resulted in weight loss without any need for monitoring calories. As mentioned earlier, focus on filling most of your plate with fruits and veggies and prioritizing protein, and you might notice your clothes fitting a bit looser than before.

Saves You Money

Now, this may not be the case if you continue to buy your food at truck stops or fast-food restaurants, but if you choose to make more of your meals ahead of time or on the go in your truck, this is often the case. On average, analyzed data from Priceonomics found that it is almost five times more expensive to eat out than it is to make your own food. And often, you’ll even find yourself with leftovers when making your own food to save and eat at another meal, saving you time, too.

A GOOD DIET FOR TRUCK DRIVERS IS POSSIBLE

A good diet for truck drivers is one of the most important factors for a healthy lifestyle, as I’m sure you’ve heard of the popular phrase “80 percent diet, 20 percent exercise”. It’s true because food is fuel. Our bodies are meant to thrive by fueling them with the proper nutrients, aka eating, which we do almost all day, every day. You wouldn’t fuel your truck with fuel that would make it run sluggish, slow, or eventually cause problems, so make sure you are doing the same with your body.

When starting to build a habit of healthy eating, the most important thing is to get started, no matter how small. While making healthy food choices on the road can seem impossible if you try whenever you can, you’ll quickly notice how much better you feel and ultimately, find that a good diet for truck drivers is possible.

HELP US HELP YOU

At Trinity, we like to connect with our carriers by building relationships. One of the ways we do that is by creating content on the topics you find most interesting. To find more content you might like, check out our Heart of the Truck podcast, YouTube channel, or sign up to receive our monthly newsletter.

Staying physically fit can be tough for anyone who has a job where most of their day is spent sitting. This rings especially true for truck drivers. Being a truck driver has many benefits; flexibility, freedom, travel, seeing new places, decent pay. But it can bring staggering health problems if you don’t take care of yourself. So we paired up with one of our Trinity Team Members, Sal Ingrassia, who has experience as a personal trainer for over seven years, to help you learn how to stay fit as a truck driver.

THE STATS ADD UP

Truck drivers travel a lot of miles each day, but those miles are spent sitting behind a steering wheel. This sedentary workstyle with tight deadlines prevents drivers from getting up and moving around whenever they want. While sitting may be comfortable, it can come with a cost. On average, truck drivers have more health problems and shorter life spans than other careers. These statistics shed light on the hazards that this sedentary workstyle can cause to your health;

• Over-the-road (OTR) truck drivers are twice as likely to develop obesity, which predisposes them to other chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes.
• The life expectancy of truck drivers is 16 years less than those working in other professions.
• A survey of long-haul truck drivers by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in 2014 found that 69 percent of truck drivers were obese, with 17 percent being morbidly so.
• According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than half of the truck drivers had two or more chronic health conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, and sleep apnea.

Poor health as a truck driver can do more than harming your health; it can also hurt your career.

• In an even bigger picture, a truck driver’s poor physical health can do more than just harm the truck driver. In another survey by NIOSH, 41 percent of crashes caused by trucks occur due to physical factors that affected the driver, like fatigue or illness. 
• 87 percent of trucking accidents were due to driver error and 12 percent were due to drivers falling asleep, heart attacks, or other health problems that caused interference.
• 34 percent of truckers have at least one sign of a severe medical condition that has been linked to poor driving performance.

How do you keep from being another statistic? Well, there are two factors in play that you can focus on – diet and activity. Today, we’ll be focusing on exercise. Adding in regular exercise and movement can help you keep your excellent career and health.

BENEFITS TO EXERCISE

In a survey by Trucker Tools, 76 percent of truck drivers said they wanted to be more active. They want to start moving for a good reason! The health benefits of physical activity are hard to ignore. Exercise can offer you more than just staying fit as a truck driver.

Improved Physical and Mental Health

Want to not only feel better but add years to your life? Exercise.

If you’re looking to prevent common cardiovascular conditions like high blood pressure or heart disease, exercise can help. Being active boosts good cholesterol while decreasing unhealthy cholesterol, keeping your blood flowing, and reducing your risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Regular exercise can help prevent or manage many health concerns such as;

• Stroke
• Metabolic syndrome
• High blood pressure
• Type 2 diabetes
• Many types of cancer
• Arthritis
• Falls

It can help improve cognitive function (much needed for OTR drivers) and helps lower your risk of death.

Additionally, research shows that people who exercise regularly have better mental health, emotional well-being, and lower rates of mental illness. It’s been proven that exercise can reduce the risk of mental illness while also helping manage some like depression and anxiety. For example, Harvard research suggests exercise can be just as effective as antidepressants or psychological treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy. 

*Always talk to your doctor about exercise and your mental health. We certainly want to encourage exercise, but don’t encourage quitting any medication without first discussing it with your medical provider.*

Better Sleep

Are you fighting insomnia or restless sleep? Exercise can help with that. Regular activity can help you fall asleep faster and get better and deeper sleep. However, try not to exercise too close to bedtime, or you might struggle to start snoozing due to increased energy.

Less Stress, Improved Mood

Are your tight deadlines increasing your stress levels? Thankfully any form of exercise can help act as a stress reliever. Physical activity, especially any aerobic activity, helps pump up your endorphins or your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters. So, the more you move, the happier you’ll be.

Regular exercise also helps reduce the negative effects that come with stress. Exercise imitates the effects of stress, but by offering positive effects through your body, it teaches your brain and body to better manage and protect yourself from the harmful effects of stress.

Physical activity also helps you meditate. Going through the movements of your activity and having to focus on that task, help you forget and shed your tension, thus resulting in a calmer, clearer, and more focused mood.

More Energy

Feeling drained? Exercise can help give you a boost. It delivers oxygen and other nutrients to your tissues, which helps your cardiovascular system work better. As a result, when your heart and lung health improve, it gives you more energy. Plus, you’ll also improve your strength and endurance, giving you more energy in the long run too.  

MAanage Weight and Feel Better About Your Body

Exercise can help you lose weight or maintain your weight. When you’re moving through physical activity, you’re burning calories. The more intense the activity, the more calories burned. Exercise can help you feel stronger and happy with your body for its strength and all the movements it helps you with.

Less Pain and Improved Posture

Exercise has been proven to reduce pain and even elevate pain thresholds for most people. But most importantly, exercise helps strengthen functional muscles you may use daily. The stronger those muscles are, the better they can endure and support you in daily functions, thus causing you less pain. This also helps improve your posture, which is important to keep back pain at bay.

It Can Be Fun

If you’re new to regular exercise, it may seem intimidating. Most people first picture someone spending hours in the gym or someone out running miles a day. While that may be enjoyable for some, perhaps that isn’t for you. The best part about exercise is it can be enjoyable by picking a form of physical activity you enjoy doing. Run, walk, hike trails, dance, or jump rope. Find a friend to connect with in-person or encourage each other virtually. Regardless, try anything and everything and find what brings you joy and makes you feel good. That will be the easiest way to stay consistent with it in the long run.

TIPS TO ADD EXERCISE INTO YOUR DAY

With so much time spent on the road, it can be difficult and overwhelming for truck drivers to get exercise. In a CDC report, it was found that more than 25 percent of truck drivers had no exercise in the last 30 years. To help change that and make this task less daunting, here are some tips to help you stay fit as a truck driver.

Start Small

While long-term goals are great, don’t jump right into exercise thinking you’ll be running marathons within a few days. Starting small not only is better for your body and prevents injury, but it also helps you better build exercise habitually. Make small goals like dedicating 10 minutes a day, a few times a week, to exercise and slowly increase the longevity of your sessions, the number of sessions a week, or the intensity of your sessions to build strength and endurance.

Break it Up

Finding time to exercise can be the hardest part of getting started. If that’s the case for you, try breaking it up into smaller efforts throughout your day. For example, do lunges, squats, or jumping jacks while fueling up your truck. Or 5 minutes of push-ups on your next visit to the truck stop. Park farther away from the truck stop entrance and get some extra steps in. Exercise is great if you can do it all at once, but any extra movement throughout the day can be just as beneficial to your health and get you closer to reaching your goals.

Do it First Thing

Often after a long day of work, you want to relax and ease into your bedtime routine. Scheduling your exercise first thing in the morning can get it out of the way and offer you several benefits. It can help wake you up, giving you increased energy and boosting your basal metabolic rate which can help you burn more calories throughout your workday. 

Keep Exercise Equipment on Hand

Driving over the road shouldn’t stop you from exercising. You can do many kinds of exercises with a few basic pieces of equipment to get started. Ideas for what you can bring with you on your travels are:

• A small set of dumbbells
• Resistance bands
• Ankle weights
• Good pair of sneakers for running/walking
• Yoga mat for planks, pushups, etc.
• Smartwatch to track physical activity
• Mini trampoline
• Jump rope‍
• Medicine ball
• Kettlebell

Keep it Consistent

On average, it takes around two months for a new behavior to become an automatic habit. While that seems like a rather long time to build a new habit of exercising regularly, it doesn’t need to be perfect and every day to happen. Set a goal with a set amount of time you want to exercise each week or how many times you want to exercise within a week and try keeping to that small goal for the first two months. Even if you miss your goal one week, researchers found if you aim to stay consistent, it’s okay to mess up now and then. But set that goal for regular exercise, aim for it, and in two months’ time, not only will you be feeling better, but exercise will also feel automatic and easy to do. And at the end of the day, to start a new habit, all you’ve got to do is start with Day 1. 

Log it

Need another way to keep on top of your new exercise goals? Log it. By keeping a daily journal of your movement, you’ll be able to feel accomplished the weeks you hit your goal and spot any patterns that cause you to skip a workout. Looking for an even easier way to keep that information logged? Invest in a smartwatch, like a Fitbit, to keep track of your goals and activity levels for you.

Take Advantage of What’s Around

Are there trails you can walk or run close to one of the truck stops you consider for parking? Or often, parks have a designated fitness area in addition to their trails. What about parking at a gym? Find one with a nationwide presence so you can go to any location, and even better, they have showers you can use after your workout. Some truck stops, like TA or Pilot, offer health and wellness programs, including walking trails and gyms to help you stay healthy over the road.

Maximize Your Time

You might imagine exercise routines needing to be an hour or longer, but that’s not true. While they can be if that’s what you enjoy, there are many ways to maximize your time and keep your workouts short. Keeping your workouts vigorous and maintaining a 75 to 85 percent max heart rate will maximize your time and fat burning. High-intensity workouts are great for this. You can also look at compound exercises to work out multiple muscle groups at a time. Some examples of easy compound exercises are squats, lunges, and pushups.

Find What Works for You

While these tips are all great advice, they don’t work for everyone. The most important part of building a new habit, like regular exercise, is finding what works best for you. Find the physical activity you enjoy and implement it into your schedule, however that may be.

HOW TO STAY FIT AS A TRUCK DRIVER – BEST EXERCISES FOR YOU

So now you know how to start, but what kind of exercises should you be doing? For this section, I reached out to my coworker Sal Ingrassia. He’s currently a Business Development Representative at Trinity, and has seven years of experience as a personal fitness trainer, in addition to previously managing gyms and fitness centers. Here are some exercises he recommended for you to stay fit as a truck driver. He even included photos to show proper form.

5 Best Bodyweight Exercises for Truck Drivers

Benefits: No equipment necessary. Improves posture and can help you stay focused with a burst of energy.

1. Squats 

Start with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lean your torso slightly forward so that your head is over your toes. Squat down as far as possible without losing this posture and then return to the starting position with legs straight. A squat should be led by moving the hips back rather than moving the knees forward. It can help to straighten your arms out in front of your shoulders for balance.

Make sure to have a comfortable range of motion. If needing assistance or modification, use a seat to stop the momentum.

2. Push-Ups

Get on the floor or ground on all fours, positioning your hands slightly wider than your shoulders. Keep your elbows slightly bent and extend your legs back, so you are balanced on your hands and toes, keeping your feet hip-width apart. Lower yourself slowly to the floor until your elbows are at a 90-degree angle, and then return to starting position for one rep. 

Make use of a yoga mat and perform on the ground. If needing assistance or modification, use your truck step as an incline to assist.

3. Walking Laps around a Truck Stop

4. Lunges

Start by standing with feet together and then take one step forward, about two lengths of your average step length. Once your front foot is set, keeping your chest up and torso straight, bend both knees in a squatting motion until you approach the ground. Without putting your back knee on the ground, push off your front foot, bringing you back to the starting position. Repeat this motion in the correct direction for reverse lunges and side lunges. 

Many variations to this one. Can move forwards, backward, or side to side. All work different muscles.

5. Jumping Jacks

Stand upright with your legs together and arms at your sides. Bend your knees slightly and jump into the air. As you jump, spread your legs to be about shoulder-width apart. Stretch your arms out and over your head. Jump back to starting position. Repeat this continuously for the correct duration of time. Jumping Jacks are good for cardio and are a great exercise to mix in with others. If needing assistance or modification, simply don’t jump, step out instead.

3 Best Weighted Exercises for Truck Drivers

Benefits: Build strength and flexibility, reduce muscle aches while remaining in a seated position for long periods of time, releases endorphins to improve mood, and reduce stress.

Equipment Needed: Medicine Ball, Two Dumbbells, Kettle Bell

All equipment weight is determined by your fitness level. You can increase or decrease as needed based on your current fitness level.

1. Twists

Perform 5 Sets for 1 Minute each

Your feet should be shoulder-width apart. Your arms need to be fully extended in front of your body, holding the medicine ball or dumbbell in front of you. In a controlled motion, rotate your upper body as far as possible to each side without rotating your lower half. You should be feeling a tight crunch in your abdomen on the side you are rotating to. If you don’t feel that crunch/tightness, then you’re not keeping your lower half stationary.

2. Dumbbell Press or Pull

Perform 5 Sets for 30 Seconds each

PRESS – Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, holding each dumbbell in hand at ear level. Keep your elbows tucked in toward your sides, underneath of wrists. Press both hands up to the sky at an equal pace until your arms are fully extended or until your max flexibility is reached. Control the dumbbells as you bring them back down to your ears and press again.

PULL – Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, with your knees bent slightly. Keep your upper body leaned forward to about a 45-degree angle so that your eyes are over your toes. With the dumbbells hanging over your toes, pull your hands upwards, towards your belly button, until the dumbbells reach waist height. Pause and contract the muscles in your back before controllably lowering the dumbbells back down to straight arms, and then repeat.

3. Kettle Bell Swings

Perform 5 Sets for 1 Minute each

Your feet should be slightly wider than shoulder-width, with your knees bent and torso leaning forward at a 45-degrees, holding the top of the kettlebell with both hands between your knees. In one swinging motion, straighten your legs and torso, while at the same time extending the arms in front of your body up to chest height. After extending, bend your knees and lean your torso forward back to starting position, while lowering the arms back down between the knees. Repeat in rhythm for the full set.

STAY FIT AS A TRUCK DRIVER, IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH AND YOUR WORK PERFORMANCE

Even if you aren’t a truck driver, starting to build a habit of exercise is a good one for a healthy lifestyle. But if you are a truck driver, it can make you a better one. How to stay fit as a truck driver may seem difficult, but the most important thing is to start moving, no matter how small it may seem. The benefits of exercise compared to the statistics of a truck driver’s health are hard to ignore. So, what are you waiting for, get moving!

DON’T MISS OUT

At Trinity, we like to build strong relationships with our carrier network. One of the ways we do that is by keeping you educated on the topics that matter to you most. Keep on top of market trends, hot Trinity lanes, and more by listening to our Heart of the Truck podcast or signing up to receive our monthly carrier newsletter.

Trinity Logistics is proud to announce their 2021 Distinguished Providers of the Year. Trinity began their Distinguished Providers of the Year Award Program in 2020. The program was created to give Trinity Team Members a chance to recognize top providers within all the company’s transportation modes.

Distinguished Providers are selected carriers within the Trinity network that continue to support their customers and provide exceptional service, despite the continued challenges faced in supply chains set forth by the pandemic. Those awarded are well known amongst the company as providers that are highly valued partners for Trinity Logistics. 

Trinity Logistics thanks these carriers for their continued commitment and service, as they have become an integral part of the day-to-day operations.

2021 Distinguished Providers of the Year

“We are honored to recognize these Service Providers which were selected among Trinity’s deep book of relationship partners demonstrating consistent value to our Shipper Customers throughout 2021,” says Bradley Palmer, Director of Carrier Development and Pricing at Trinity. “Building upon years of experience with these partners, they each distinguished themselves among their peers when reviewing feedback from our Operations teams across the country. And with pride, Trinity Logistics presents its “Trinity Titan” award to three small fleets our Leadership was compelled to honor their dedication and grit hand in hand with our partnership.” 

In addition to the top providers recognized by mode, there is also the “Trinity Titan Award”. This specific award recognizes very small fleets within Trinity’s network who regularly dedicate their capacity and demonstrate uncommon value, or “grit” as we like to call it, throughout the year. This award is determined by a person of exceptional importance and reputation that stands out for greatness of achievement that reflects Trinity’s values. 

2021 Trinity Titan Winners

“I can’t believe we have closed another year and what a year it was,” says Hayley Dobson, Group Vice President at Trinity. “It will certainly be one not soon forgotten. We couldn’t have gotten through it with such success without the help of all our carrier partners. They are truly the lynchpin of the supply chain.   We had several amazing carriers to review and struggled to make final selections, but I believe the ones that rose to the top were a shining example of what a true partnership means. We are so thankful for the dedication and excellent service they provide day in and day out. 

Each of the winners will be presented with a crystal award to commemorate their success and achievement with Trinity Logistics. 

“Trinity’s Authorized Agents are grateful for the support and service of these Distinguished Providers,” says Greg Massey, VP of Agent Development. “Trinity’s Agent Team had the opportunity to work with several of these amazing providers and we are honored to have been given the opportunity to help nominate and select this year’s winners. Thank you for your commitment to Trinity and the exceptional service you provide us every day.” 

Trinity appreciates our contracted carriers with several other unique benefits and awards. Carriers within Trinity’s network can make use of a 1.5 percent QuickPay rate through TriumphPay, access to over 1,000 loads daily, and technology options that help make your job easier. To find out more about our great customer service and benefits to carriers, visit https://trinitylogistics.com.

About the Trinity Logistics

Trinity Logistics is a Burris Logistics Company, offering people-centric freight solutionsâ. Our mission is to deliver creative logistics solutions through a dynamic mix of human ingenuity and innovative technology, enriching the lives of those we serve. 

For more than 40 years, we’ve been arranging freight for businesses of all sizes in truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), warehousing, intermodal, drayage, expedited, international, and transportation management solutions.

Trinity is currently recognized in the Top 20 freight brokerages on Transport Topics’ Top 100 Freight Brokerage List, in the Top 100 3PLs list by Inbound Logistics, and is named a Top Company for Women to Work for in Transportation by Women in Trucking.

Over the last 18 months, the trucking industry has faced uneven supply and demand, congested ports, rising costs, a global pandemic, labor shortages, and a boom in online consumer spending. As a result, demand for truck capacity and rates remain elevated. What’s one thing straining capacity and raising rates? Dock delays and detention. Dock delays and detention not only affect truck drivers but shippers as well. In this blog, we’ll dive into what truck detention is, why it happens, how it impacts truck drivers and shippers, and how shippers can help reduce dock delays and detention.

WAITING, WAITING, WAITING…

According to a recent Trucker Tools whitepaper, wait times at shipper and receiver locations have increased compared to a year ago. As a result, delays at docks and detention ranked as the number one challenge carries currently face. While loading dock wait times have plagued the industry for years, recent woes have worsened them.

Nearly 60 percent of those surveyed reported waiting for longer than two hours on each load. This is in line with data collected by a DAT solutions survey showing that 63 percent of drivers say they spend more than three hours waiting when loading and unloading. Freightwaves also collected data on driver wait times. In June, average wait times were around the two-hour mark but are now showing past two and a half hours.

At the same time, 79 percent of those surveyed in the Trucker Tools whitepaper say that they never or rarely receive detention pay when they wait for more than two hours. Half of those surveyed reported receiving detention pay only if negotiated in advance. Of those surveyed, 65 percent responded that detention pay has not increased or otherwise improved in the last year.

WHAT IS TRUCK DETENTION?

Truck detention can be one of the most irritating things drivers have to deal with. When a driver arrives at a pickup or delivery location, there’s a built-in “free time” period in which the driver will wait while the truck is getting loaded or unloaded. This “free time” is what people consider to be a reasonable expectation for the time it should take the shipper to load the trailer or the receiver to unload it. This “free time” varies from carrier to carrier, but a good baseline for most is two hours. Anything over two hours is extra and considered truck detention. Once a truck driver has had to wait over their “free time” limit, they will often charge truck detention fees.

The carrier company decides detention fee amounts and the shipper or receiver handles payment of it. Generally, truck drivers will ask anywhere from $25 – $100 per hour to cover this extra waiting time. Most motor carriers will have a clause in their contract with the shipper or broker stating their detention fees. The purpose of truck detention pay is to compensate the driver or carrier when the shipper or receiver holds them up. You’ll find that truck detention is more common with full truckload shipments than with less-than-truckload (LTL).

WHY/HOW DOES TRUCK DETENTION HAPPEN?

There are so many factors that can cause truck detention to happen. In most cases, the driver is set back and not loaded on time by the shipper/receiver.

Truck detention is not for when the truck driver’s delay is on their own terms. This includes if their truck broke down, congested traffic, or being delayed by another pickup or delivery appointment. While some delays are not the shipper’s fault, American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) found that customer inefficiencies were a major contributing factor to detention.

A lack of organization or lax attitudes on docks tends to create the problem of dock delays; shipments could not be ready to go, or the dockworkers may not be in as much of a rush as the truck driver. Additionally, warehouses may not be well organized to get the shipments ready in time.

As of late, there are also other factors to consider, such as the labor shortage. There could be a limited amount of dock workers or overworked workers, which doesn’t help the situation.

According to Business Insider, nearly 10 percent of all truckers recently said they’ve had to wait six hours or more. In addition, one in five drivers said that preloaded trucks weren’t ready by the time of their appointment, that products weren’t ready, or were still being manufactured. Delays were also attributed to shippers and receivers that overbooked appointments, booked more trucks than they had space to accommodate, or didn’t have the equipment to load and unload the trucks.

HOW TRUCK DETENTION IMPACTS…

Truck Drivers

Truck drivers say that waiting at warehouses for shipments is one of the most aggravating parts of their jobs.

Detention impacts the profits of carriers and uses up their valuable driving hours under Hours Of Service regulations. According to a survey by ATRI, 83 percent of truckers run out of available hours due to detention. In addition, according to a whitepaper by J.B. Hunt, of the 11 hours drivers have available to drive during a shift, an average of only 6.5 hours are spent on the road while the rest is wasted on detention.

A study by the Department of Transportation (DOT) found that because of detention alone, drivers lose an estimated $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion every year. In addition, the Inspector General’s audit report estimate that driver detention decreases U.S. truckers’ annual earnings by $1,281 to $1,534 or three to three point six percent of a driver’s annual income.

It also affects safety. According to the data from the FMCSA, in 2015, 415,000 crashes occurred involving large trucks. Detention time increases the risk of crashes by using up drivers’ available waking hours, contributing to fatigue while driving. The FMCSA report states that detention increases the likelihood of truck crashes involving fatalities or significant injuries.

Since truck detention delays drivers, it eats into their legal hours of service and causes further delays. Once a truck driver experiences a delay at one location, a snowball effect happens. The driver becomes delayed or misses their next appointment, causing even more possible detention, delays in supply chains, and most of all, lost pay. This can significantly eat into their pay.

Speaking of pay, according to a DAT survey, only three percent of drivers said they receive detention pay for at least 90 percent of their detention claims to shippers. Often, truckers are afraid to ask for detention pay. A study found that 20 percent of truck drivers who work for smaller companies don’t ask for detention pay to “remain competitive and maintain good relationships” with customers. Moreover, when carriers do receive detention fees, some don’t always pass along the money to the driver for their lost time and wages.

On top of not always being paid, a detention fee does not fully make up the cost of the driver’s stationary truck and lost time.

Truck drivers say that detention underlies a larger problem in the industry: a lack of respect for truck drivers. Every day, thousands of drivers arrive at their destination only to find no loading docks or crews available to unload the freight. In addition, there’s often no place to park while they wait. As a result, they end up searching for any place safe enough to park nearby. Some may find a rest area or truck stop, but those can fill quickly.

Other drivers aren’t so lucky and end up driving for extended periods searching for a place to park, ending up forced to park in less than desirable locations. This puts the driver in danger and overwhelms local infrastructure. An example of this is the overwhelmed Los Angeles port causing neighborhood streets to be clogged by trucks hauling or waiting to haul shipping containers.

Besides these scenarios, detention can also hurt a carrier’s business reputation with shippers.

Shippers

It’s crucial to note the impact of dock delays and truck detention goes beyond drivers and carriers. Detention reduces the amount of capacity that is available, making it a huge problem for supply chains.

It also impacts shippers financially. Detention fees come unplanned and cut into your profit. Detention fees can add up to hundreds of dollars per truck every day, which adds up to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

Regular detention affects your reputation. A survey showed that 77 percent of carriers are more selective in who they are willing to work with. Additionally, 80 percent of carriers stated there are facilities that they will absolutely not work with. According to an ELD survey, 43 percent of carriers say that the number of shippers/receivers they refuse to go to has increased since the ELD mandate was implemented. As a result, they can see better data on who consistently causes detention. Carriers state they also tend to avoid shippers with strict appointment times and don’t offer delivery windows.

Not all carriers will wait for you. Only 17 percent of carriers said they would wait as long as it takes to be loaded. The majority said they would only wait up to four hours before pulling their drivers from the shipment.

The effects of poor dock scheduling and detention can add up and result in more issues in your supply chain. This can include late deliveries, poor customer service, potential perishing of cold-chain products, loss of shipper of choice status, freight refusal by carriers, and higher freight rates. In addition, detention and delays hurt supply chain performance, carrier relationships, and impact labor costs. You can also face chargebacks from your customers who are unhappy about not receiving goods by the agreed-upon delivery date.

Considering the current market, shippers cannot afford carriers to blacklist them due to detention.

HOW TO MINIMIZE DETENTION AND DOCK DELAYS

Sometimes, delays are unavoidable, but it might shock you that your procedures could make you more vulnerable to delays. Effective dock scheduling and end-to-end visibility are critical to controlling costs and delays. In a report by Logistics Management, approximately 40 percent of an organization’s total freight spend is inbound freight costs. These costs come from poor dock scheduling, increased delays, detention fees, and other unexpected issues.

For shippers to reduce delays and detention fees, they need to understand how better dock scheduling can reduce risk and benefit them. Efficient dock scheduling amounts to better processes throughout your supply chain. This means more vendors, carriers, and customers will want to work with you.

There are many great ways to reduce or cut detention at your docks.

Staggered Appointment Times

One shipper told Uber Freight that they could save as much as $300 from detention per load just by staggering their pickup times.

Extended Facility Hours

Like staggered appointment times, adding more hours of operation can decrease congestion and lower detention for truckers. Having more time means you can space out appointments, and wait times decrease. Adding weekend and/or evening hours can go a long way.

Mode Specific Dock Doors

Having doors dedicated to different modes can help to keep things running smoothly. High-velocity doors and LTL doors can help ease congestion for drivers.

Adding More Dock Doors

Though not workable for everyone, adding more dock doors or moving to a warehouse with more dock doors, can accommodate more appointments and lower wait times.

Have Better Dock Awareness/Improved Dock Scheduling

Make sure your dockworkers have the product ready before scheduling the appointment. Furthermore, you can encourage them to have the process done in two hours or less to avoid detention.

Make sure to space out your appointments so that your workers have enough time to load/unload the truck. Overscheduling is a huge cause of detention. Improving your dock scheduling lowers your risk of delays for drivers.

Using Technology

Forward-thinking shippers are using technology to reduce detention time.

Web-based dock appointment scheduling solutions enable shippers, carriers, and consignees to collaborate on dock scheduling. By distributing the responsibility among everyone, organizations will be able to proactively keep wait times at a minimum.

Carriers can avoid frustrating detention time and shippers can manage inventory more efficiently. Technology can give you greater visibility into inbound shipments. Besides reducing detention, you can also better manage inventory levels, increase warehouse efficiency, and reduce congestion by limiting idling in the yard.

Hiring More Labor

While this might be tougher to secure right now, it’s often cheaper to bring in extra workers than it is to pay detention fees. Unready freight is one of the major causes of detention. When there is more labor on-site, orders can be prepped and loaded quicker.

Staggering Your Labor

By staggering your labor hours, you can ensure loading and unloading can continue during lunch hours rather than the entire staff breaking all at once.

Drop and Hook Programs

If possible, with space, drop and hook programs are the easiest way to avoid detentions. What is a drop-and-hook program? This allows the driver to drop the trailer, hook an empty trailer, and head on their way. Often the shipper can use the dropped trailer for storage as a courtesy. Yet, shippers and carriers must work together to ensure that these trailer pools don’t expand and sap the fleet. In addition, drop and hook don’t work for live freight. When it works well, drivers wait less, and both shippers and the trucking company are more profitable.

Communication

Make sure to share your yard map with the truck driver so they know where to go and who to contact if there are any issues. Also, be sure to communicate with your warehouse that the truck must be loaded within a given timeline, such as two hours or less.

Improved Operations

It all comes down to improved planning, more visibility, and optimized labor. Smart shippers are looking at data to prevent overscheduling, maintain staff and equipment, and address problems.

Hold Regular Business Reviews with Your Logistics Providers

It’s critical that shippers and their logistics providers discuss performance regularly. It will help you identify key problem areas and introduce potential changes to help reduce driver wait times and fees and keep your supply chain efficient. In a whitepaper by J.B. Hunt, it was estimated that eliminating even 30 minutes of wait time would give a driver an extra hour on the road. This would be equal to 50 more miles per day or 12,500 miles per year. These carrier savings translate to increased supply chain efficiency, less risk of road accidents, and improved operational performance.

When asked about detention solutions from carriers, they’ve responded that customers who were organized, used technology, maintained scheduled appointments, or had as-needed extended hours, significantly reduced delays.

LET’S DO BETTER

Delays are the worst-case scenario for today’s supply chain professionals. Each delay amounts to a potential setback further down the supply chain. We’ve had plenty to deal with that has been out of our control, but truck detention is one that we have more control over.

Shippers need to take steps to reduce their impact by improving dock scheduling and operations to ensure a positive and timely, customer experience. And in the competitive market we’re in, drivers get to select who they want to run for. Don’t be one that gains a reputation for dock delays.

If outsourcing your logistics, make sure to work with a provider who can help be a resource for more than arranging your freight shipments. At Trinity, we’re your logistics consults, too. We make sure to take the time to have educated conversations about your logistics and operations, to help you reduce delays and have a more efficient supply chain.

We offer many technology options like our tracking and tracing options that can keep tabs on your truck and freight, as well as a transportation management system (TMS) to give you insight into valuable data. If you choose to work with our Managed Service Team, we offer you quarterly reviews with our experts so you can take a deep dive into your data for improvements.

Truck detention and dock delays remain a problem for many, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. Take charge of your dock operations today and find an improved supply chain.

Author: Christine Morris

This year has continued to be very demanding for our nation’s truck drivers. Supply chains continue to be hit with challenge after challenge. From the height of the pandemic to meeting the current increased demand, truck drivers have had to keep moving forward now more than ever. 

With that in mind, Trinity Logistics takes honoring our nation’s truck drivers very seriously and was proud to celebrate National Truck Driver Appreciation Week with a truck payment drawing. Just like last year, Trinity held a drawing for truck drivers, offering 10 winners a cash prize towards their truck payment. But this year, the prizes were bigger. In 2020, winners were awarded cash prizes up to $750, but this time, 10 winners received cash prizes up to double that amount of $1,500. Additionally, Trinity partnered with Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) and Red Classic Maintenance Services to grow this year’s drawing and share TAT’s important message. When drivers entered the drawing, if they were already certified with TAT, they earned two entries into the drawing instead of one. Through the partnership of Red Classic, Trinity was also able to give away preventative maintenance services valued up to $450 to three additional winners.

Listen to our podcast interview with Laura Cyrus from Truckers Against Trafficking.

Listen to our podcast interview with Michael of Red Classic.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, professional truck drivers took on a heroic role by delivering the essential goods to our country,” says Bradley Palmer, Director of Carrier Development and Pricing at Trinity. “The sacrifices that professional drivers made to help carry the nation through the pandemic must never be understated. To deliver for American families, drivers put their own health, and the health of their families on the line. Their dedication to assure our standard of living is deserving of our praise, recognition, and appreciation every week of the year. This is the week that we make sure they hear it.”

Laura Cyrus of Truckers Against Trafficking says, “TAT has always believed that professional truck drivers, through their sheer numbers, extensive travels and the nature of their job, are crucial to keeping America moving and in a fantastic position to be the eyes and ears of our nation’s highway systems. We rely on the proud men and women of the trucking industry to engage in bystander intervention and speak up if they see evidence of potential trafficking throughout the course of their everyday jobs. The industry has always proven to rise to the occasion. With over 1.2 million people trained with TAT materials and over 1300 victims identified in the US alone, by truck drivers, we know that American truck drivers are making an impact. The pandemic has only increased vulnerabilities for those already on the margins and at risk of being exploited by traffickers, so the efforts of the trucking industry to help combat human trafficking are more important than ever. We are excited to be working with Trinity Logistics to help get the word out about this important work and hopefully motivate more drivers to join the fight. Thank you for being out there on the frontlines, every day!”

Many people think that human trafficking only happens in movies, or in small, impoverished countries. The truth is, it’s a real, modern-day version of slavery, exploiting an estimated 40 million victims worldwide, and occurring in all 50 states across America, according to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center. Truckers Against Trafficking is one group raising awareness to help reduce those numbers.

Trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to control victims for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts or labor services against his or her will. Trafficking affects people around the world and doesn’t discriminate by age, gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic background.

Human trafficking is commonly seen in areas within the sex industry, such as brothels, escort services, illicit massage businesses, strip clubs, and street prostitution. There are now many different communities recognizing that they can help reduce sex trafficking by working alongside service providers, criminal prosecutors, and law enforcement.

We’re proud to have partnered with the efforts of Truckers Against Trafficking, to ensure that the more than 70,000 carriers Trinity Logistics works with are trained on how to spot trafficking and how to report it.

What is Truckers Against Trafficking?

Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) is an organization dedicated to educating, equipping, empowering, and mobilizing members of the trucking, bus, and energy industries to recognize potential trafficking situations and report them to the authorities. TAT’s tagline is “make the call, save lives.”  TAT is working to raise up a mobile army of transportation professionals – the eyes and ears of our nation’s highways – to be a critical resource for law enforcement in fighting this crime, as they are invaluable when it comes to recognizing traffickers who are exploiting the transportation system for their personal gain.

Truckers Against Trafficking’s co-founder, Lyn Leeburg, developed the idea for TAT by accessing memories of her childhood. Her parents owned a motel in El Paso, Texas, where good-natured and hard-working truckers were frequent customers. Once Leeburg realized that the FBI were finding women and children forced into prostitution at places truckers frequent, like motels and truck stops, she realized that it would be important to work with the trucking industry to raise up a transient army, capable of recognizing and reporting human trafficking across the nation.

In March 2009, Leeburg, her four daughters, and one other woman started Truckers Against Trafficking as an initiative of Chapter 61 Ministries, an earlier organization they had founded. Two years later, Leeburg’s daughter, Kendis Paris, took over the leadership of TAT and turned it into a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. From there, Paris built out TAT’s programs, expanded its vision and strategy and developed it into the award-winning organization it is today.

Trinity Logistics’ Partnership with TAT

As a third-party logistics (3PL) company, Trinity Logistics does not directly employ drivers, but we do work with a network of more than 70,000 freight carriers. According to TAT, this partnership could be a game-changer.

Kendis Paris, TAT’s Executive Director, believes our partnership with TAT could have an “exponential effect” on the awareness of human trafficking and the reporting of potential cases.

Trinity plans to encourage all of our carrier base to view the TAT training video and to distribute the TAT materials through our website, email campaigns, and through conversations with our Carrier Relations and Carrier Development departments.

What are TAT’s training initiatives?

TAT has made its training easily accessible. Carriers can obtain the training video and free supplemental materials directly from TAT for inclusion in new driver orientation and/or regular safety meetings. The TAT training course is also available on several major Learning Management System providers that serve the transportation industry, as well as being publicly available directly through TAT’s learning portal, which is a great option for independent owner-operators.

Becoming TAT trained is as simple as watching a training video that equips drivers with the knowledge to recognize and respond to potential trafficking situations. Once trained, drivers will receive a window decal and a wallet card with the National Trafficking Hotline Number and questions to ask if they feel someone may be a victim of human trafficking.

Companies can train their drivers and employees with TAT materials, adopt the internal reporting system so that TAT can identify and honor the Truckers Against Trafficking that drive for a company, partner with TAT to assist law enforcement, share TAT’s newsletter, use influence in the trucking industry to tell others about TAT, become a corporate sponsor, and consider donating a haul of the Freedom Drivers Project to one of TAT’s many events around the country.

Companies can join TAT in the fight against human trafficking – and meet their sustainability goals at the same time – through a variety of ways: train their drivers/employees with TAT materials and then register the number of company employees trained via their TAT-Trained website page; create a company culture that identifies and honors the truckers against trafficking that drive for your company; partner with TAT to assist law enforcement; share the TAT newsletter with employees; tell others in the trucking industry about TAT and why it’s important to train; become a corporate sponsor, and consider donating a haul of the Freedom Drivers Project (TAT’s unique mobile museum) to one of many TAT events across the country.

Even concerned members of the public can join TAT’s efforts, through referrals, fundraisers, or by hosting a screening of TAT’s training video.

Success of Training Initiatives

When the National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH) began in late December 2007, there were zero calls from truckers. In 2008, there were only three truckers who called in to report a potential situation. With the beginning of TAT in 2009, those numbers began to grow, with the vast majority of calls coming in recent years. Today, more than 2,782 calls have been made to the NHTH by people identifying as truckers, which have generated more than 715 likely cases of human trafficking, involving over 303 victims. And those numbers are only a small slice of the data. TAT knows from surveys and anecdotal evidence that many more cases have been reported to 911 or local sheriffs’ offices around the country. TAT still encourages reporting to the NHTH because they are the only organization in the country geo-tracking this data. There are currently 1,206,596 people registered as TAT trained.

Part of the main focus of the training initiatives is to educate truckers away from thinking “she’s a prostitute” and towards thinking “she’s a potential victim”. In the training video, a woman named Shari shares the story of how she was forced and coerced into sexual slavery along with her cousin. TAT chose to have Shari share her story to help everyone understand how so many victims end up on the lot.

TAT says the number one response TAT gets from drivers who are first finding out about the program is “I have daughters, I have granddaughters. How can I be a trucker against trafficking?”

T-A-T is as easy as 1-2-3

TAT’s core message is a simple one. If you see a minor selling commercial sex, or if you suspect any kind of pimp control, call the national hotline at 1-888-373-7888 and report what you know. The training materials are out there, free of charge. Putting a stop to human trafficking is just a matter of implementation.

“If you are willing to work hard, partner well, and persevere through the challenges, you would be pretty amazed at how many people will come together around this cause. This is dark work and at times it seems like the bad guys are always winning, but then I remember drivers, company executives, and law enforcement people who we’ve worked with over the years and I remember that the good guys outnumber the bad, that progress is being made, that awareness is on the rise, and that this incredible, hard-working, salt-of-the-earth, moving army is truly being mobilized,” said Paris, concluded.

Originally written 10/26/2016. Updated by Laura Cyrus of TAT on 7/23/2021

The Distinguished Providers of the Year Award Program offers Trinity the chance to recognize top providers within all of their transportation modes, something that had not been done previously. Award winners are carriers within the Trinity network that continued to support our customers and provide exceptional service, even throughout a global pandemic. They are well known amongst the company as providers that Trinity could not have been successful without. Trinity Logistics thanks these carriers who have been an integral part of the day-to-day operations for their continued commitment and service to Trinity Logistics.

The categories and winners are:

Additional to the top providers recognized by mode, there was a separate category created, “The Trinity Titan Award”. This award was set to recognize very small operators within Trinity’s network who have regularly dedicated their capacity and demonstrated uncommon value, or “grit” as we like to call it, to Trinity during the specified year. This award is determined by a person of exceptional importance and reputation that stands out for greatness of achievement that reflects Trinity’s values. 

Those winners are:

“We are honored to recognize these Service Providers which were selected among Trinity’s deep book of relationship partners demonstrating consistent value to our Shipper Customers during a historically difficult year. When interviewed for feedback from the more than 70 nominations by our Operations teams across the country, each one of these Service Providers stood out within their core service offering among their peers,” said Bradley Palmer, Director of Carrier Development and Pricing at Trinity Logistics. “Distinctly, this is the first year Trinity Logistics has presented its “Trinity Titan” awards. After listening to stories from our teams about these small fleets, our Leadership was compelled to honor these partners that demonstrated grit throughout a challenging year.”

Each Distinguished Provider will be presented with a crystal award to commemorate their success and achievement with Trinity Logistics. 

“Trinity Logistics wants to thank our 2020 Distinguished Providers of the Year for being key to our continued success. We greatly value the essential delivery they provide our most important customers alongside our Operations Teams. We are truly honored to work with these Providers day in and day out,” said Sarah Ruffcorn, President of Trinity.

Trinity appreciates our contracted carriers with several other unique benefits and awards. As a select carrier Trinity offers a 1.5% QuickPay rate through TriumphPay.

To find out more about our great customer service and benefits to carriers,

Author: Christine Morris

The economic and operational effects of COVID-19 on the trucking industry have been challenging and devastating. Many have warned the true storm for the trucking sector has yet to arrive, and the effects witnessed to date have been warning signs of what’s yet to come.

Not all operations have been equally affected, but tough times are on the horizon for some trucking companies. The early impacts of the pandemic were at ports, as containers shipped in from China were affected there first.

As lockdowns happened and with events canceled, companies that specialize in moving concert and trade show exhibit items were affected the most. Some fleets dedicated to hauling equipment for events have noted that economic hardship. Others in similar sectors have reported equal occurrences.

THE HARDEST-HIT SECTORS

The food industry has been especially hit hard. Many restaurants and bars have had to close, except for takeout outlets that have stayed afloat. This has left food-service trucks with dwindling sources of income. The International Foodservice Distributors Association predicts the industry will lose $24 billion during the last three months of 2020as the pandemic closes eateries, hotels, and schools.

Another group affected are those who service the automotive industry. Many manufacturers have enacted temporary shutdowns, which affects fleets in more than just their shipments. This limits their supply of new parts for trucks when they need repairs.

Those servicing some of the retail sectors may also struggle. Malls and retail stores are closing at an astounding rate worldwide, slashing demand for the transportation of various goods. While online shopping and delivery could offset the losses faced by trucking companies to a degree, it will take a while for the playing field to level.

THE SECTORS BENEFITING FROM THE PANDEMIC

Of course, fleets who haul sanitizer, toilet paper, groceries, and home office supplies are staying exceptionally busy. Some fleets are even adding more freight to their rosters to keep their trucks running, while others are expanding their operations to keep up with demand.

DAT Solutions has noted that urgent retail orders continue to drive up spot rates for reefer and van equipment. The company says nervous shoppers buy as much as they can for every trip, and retailers are relying more on spot market providers to restock shelves rapidly when other truckers face delays.

Now that a significant part of the world’s population is home, families are also cooking more often. This means that freight demand for grocery and food-related truckers will continue to soar, creating a new market trend many can capitalize on if they’re quick on the uptake.

As retail takes a downward turn, an increasing number of people are shopping online and relying on curbside pickups. Amazon has reportedly been so busy that it’s hired another 100,000 staff members to keep up, while Walmart has enlisted the help of another 150,000 employees.

PREPARING FOR THE UPCOMING RECESSION

While many experts are hailing these changes as a ‘new normal’, it’s important to remember that a recession is looming. If countries put in place secondary lockdowns as the second wave of COVID-19 hits, freight won’t be flowing at the same time. The trucking industry will eventually recover if this proves to be the case, but the time frame for this recovery will depend on how long the virus takes to peak, and how long the recession will last. 

WHAT TRUCKING COMPANIES CAN DO

What can fleets do to counteract the potential effects of a second wave? That will depend on the sectors they operate in. Trucking industry professionals have warned some companies may struggle to keep their drivers busy while others will be rushed off their feet in the face of an upswing in demand.

Those in the grocery and refrigerated goods sectors aren’t likely to feel the pinch, even once the recession has arrived. Those in the general freight space may have fewer tons, fewer route miles, and fewer loads to haul. It’s realistic to expect that some carriers will not survive.

In the meantime, trucking companies should work to keep their drivers busy in any way they can. They should remain financially prudent and cut costs where necessary without compromising on safety or service quality. On the other end of the pandemic, there will be many companies that will need to restock their supply chains and they’ll need partners to help them achieve this. 

If you’re a trucking company owner or associated professional, get out there, network, talk to your customers and determine what their needs will be once the outbreak has died down. Even if business is not booming right now, you need to find a way to keep drivers in the short term so that your company does not emerge with under-used equipment and a lack of drivers.

Keep your business alive and kicking and be prepared for a decline in business and revenues. We are sitting on the precipice of some major changes in both the world’s economy and the trucking sector. It will be possible to survive, but only with the right approach and strategic partnerships.

Guest Author: Lori Dodson

We’ve all had those moments on the road where we’ve felt excessive stress. Bumper-to-bumper traffic, delays on our commute, or even bad weather conditions can make driving a taxing task. For most, those stresses are alleviated once we arrive to our destination. However, for truck drivers, these feelings sometimes don’t go away after traveling and their mental health can be compromised because of it.

Mental health is a delicate topic that we don’t take lightly. We understand that loneliness and anxiousness are common issues for truck drivers. We’re here to address this issue and provide you with some tips on how to protect your mental health.

What is Mental Health?

Before we dive into tips, you first need to understand what mental health is and how it affects truck drivers specifically. Mental health is a person’s condition with regards to their emotional, psychological, and social well-being. According to Johns Hopkins, one in four adults suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. More specifically, more than 17 million American adults experience depression, making it one of the most common mental health disorders in the U.S. For truckers, depression is one of the top conditions along with anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Another scary statistic that pertains to truck driving and mental health are suicide rates. According to Transport Topics, suicide is among the top ten leading causes of death for adults in the U.S. The transportation industry has the fourth-highest suicide rate among American working-age adults. To put this even more into perspective, suicide is a major concern in trucking because it is known as a male-dominated industry and nearly 70 percent of suicides that occur in our country are carried out by men.

We’re addressing these topics now so that you can find a resource or outlet to help with your struggles. We want to help prevent you from being a part of that statistic by all costs.

If you feel you need help, contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

Factors that Contribute to your Mental Health

There’s an infinite number of factors that contribute to a person’s mental health. Some may develop depression after losing a loved one while others may develop disorders like bipolar because of genetics. As a truck driver, your experiences on the road play a big role in your mental state.

Isolation is one of the biggest factors to trigger poor mental health. As a trucker, being away from friends and family for an extended period of time can be challenging on your psyche, especially because you often transport the freight alone. Being alone with just your thoughts can be intimidating and sometimes being alone for too long can cause bad thoughts to creep in.

Another factor that causes a lot of drivers to experience PTSD or anxiety is the day-to-day events that happen on the road. The longer you’ve been in the industry, the higher your chances are of experiencing an accident. Whether it be you or some other car on the road, witnessing wrecks can be very traumatic and can result in developing a mental health condition.

Food also impacts your mental health. It’s easy and convenient to stop at a rest stop for a snack or go through the drive-thru for a quick meal, but those aren’t the healthiest options. Your brain needs fuel in order to run properly. If you’re eating bad, you’re going to feel bad. An article published by Harvard Health speaks to this topic. Eva Selhub says that our brain is like an expensive car. It requires premium fuel in order to function properly. If your brain is deprived of good-quality nutrition, consequences are to be expected.  This concept has a lot to do your gastrointestinal tract and the effect it has on your serotonin levels. Serotonin is what mediated your mood and 95% of your serotonin is produced in your GI tract. If there is good bacteria in your GI from the healthy food you are eating, there will be a positive impact on your mental state. Accomplishing this task on the road can seem impossible, but it’s not. Meal prepping before embarking on your journey is a healthier alternative to fast food that’ll make you physically and mentally feel better. Click here to find some healthy meal prep options that you can bring with you on the road.

Some drivers face challenges in their workday from the brokers they work with. Sometimes, brokers may not explain the shipment in enough detail or provide enough information to you before beginning your travels. This frustration of not knowing all the information required to pick up and deliver freight can lead to a lot of unnecessary stress that can snowball into bigger issues.

Other factors such as the intense pressure to deliver on time, inadequate sleep, and driver aggression all play a role in your mental health as a truck driver. The key is to address the things you can prevent and recognize the things you can’t so you can get proper help.

Recognizing That You Need Help

Acknowledging that you struggle with your mental health is a hard realization to overcome. Conditions like mental health diagnoses aren’t normalized as much as they should be in our society, especially when it comes to the trucking industry. There are several reasons why many truck drivers decide not to speak on their mental state.

Health, psychiatric, and sleep issues are often underreported in the trucking industry. Trucking is still a male-dominated profession that shows a level of machismo majority of the time. To a lot of men, admitting to a mental health illness makes them less masculine. Another reason why truckers tend to internalize their health is because they think that they have a lot to lose. If a driver happens to fail their Department of Transportation exams (due to either mental or physical health) there’s a possibility they could lose their jobs and in turn, not be able to provide for their family. Although this idea is scary, you can’t compromise your mental state. Finding proper help could prevent a situation like this from happening.

There’s a stigma that if you struggle with a mental health condition that you’re weak or different from others. Admitting that you need help is a big step, and a positive one. Mental health disorders don’t make you any less of a person. In fact, recognizing that you have one makes you stronger.

How Can you Protect your Mental Health

We know that a lot of different factors contribute to your mental state, and everyone’s triggers are different. A trigger is a reminder of a past experience. Although you can’t wave a magic wand and completely be alleviated from a mental health condition, there are measures you can take to help improve it.

One way to help boost your spirits is to consider a travel companion. Teaming up with other drivers during your travels can help you combat the road isolation you may be feeling. If your spouse happens to work in the industry, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to bring them along for a ride. If you’re unable to bring a human along with you, there may be another option. Mutts4trucks is an organization that teams up dogs that need a home with truckers in need of company. Studies have shown that owning a dog drastically decreases issues like isolation and depression. Having a loyal companion as your co-pilot can help protect you from not sitting in your own thoughts and help make the ride a bit more enjoyable. A lot of fleets don’t allow pets to travel within their trucks and some shippers don’t allow them on their property due to liability reasons which can make this a difficult choice. Make sure to evaluate your options with the fleet owner and common shippers and receivers you see before following through with it!

If traveling alone, bringing some comforts from home could be beneficial. Items like photos, knick-knacks, and even small decorations can help boost your morale and make you feel comforted while driving.

Maintaining a strong network and routine while traveling could be helpful as well. Take care of your connections with your friends and family at home while you’re on the road. Calling a loved one can help the time go by faster and make you feel less lonely. These strong connections don’t have to stop at family. Stay connected with those that understand what you’re going through. Stay in contact with fellow truck drivers and meet up at truck stops. Maintaining a routine everyday can also be beneficial. Even if it’s something small like sitting down for five minutes to enjoy your morning coffee will help structure your life and start off the day on a positive note.

Keeping your mind active is also important. What better time to learn a new language than when you’re alone in your own truck? Listening to music, audiobooks, or podcasts can help make time fly and make your brain work a bit harder. Trinity Logistics recently launched the Heart of the Truck Podcast that is a recurring series centered around the audience of truck drivers.

As we stated previously, a lot of unnecessary stress that you may be experiencing can be due to the lack of clarity on the shipments you service. One way to alleviate this frustration is to work with a broker of choice that you’ve built a strong relationship with. At Trinity Logistics, we understand that it is our duty to make sure you have access to as much information about the shipment details as we do. We strive to provide as much clarity as possible in order to remove potential inefficiencies so that you don’t have to stress as much when you’re on the road.

How to Seek Help

Admitting that you are struggling is difficult to face. It’s hard to work on improving your mental health alone. Luckily there are resources and help that are specific to truck drivers.

Making appointments for therapy are difficult to make on short notice and the schedule of a truck driver is everchanging. Luckily, there have been recent efforts underway to increase health care access to people like you who have fluctuating schedules. DOT has on-site family clinics located at several distribution centers. You can get an appointment on short notice to address both physical and mental health needs.

If you are unable to schedule an in-person appointment, online therapy is always an option. Resources like Talkspace and Better Help offer virtual last-minute scheduling and chat rooms where you can speak with counselors at any time. Both options offer 24/7 access and flexible plans to meet your unique lifestyle as a trucker. Talking with a professional can be extremely beneficial in bettering your mental health.

Besides these resources, sometimes it’s nice to talk to someone understands what you’re going through. There are Facebook groups dedicated for truck drivers to have open communication with each other and offer support. Truckers for Truckers is just one example of a group on Facebook. It’s important to realize that you are not alone.

As a community, we need to break the stigma surrounded around mental health and start to normalize it. Millions of people struggle with mental health and it is not a flaw. We hope you found some valuable tips that you can apply to your life and can better your mental health as a result. We appreciate the work you do and want you to know that even though you may feel like it, you are not alone. We see the challenges you face in your business, and we will face them together. We are with you.

Living on the road as a truck driver is a difficult job but living on the road as a broke truck driver is even harder. Having self-discipline to watch your spending isn’t as easy as it sounds. Lucky for you, we’ve gathered five tips on how to save money while on the road.

Plan Ahead

Make life on the road simpler and cheaper by planning ahead. If you are preparing for a longer trip, stock up on supplies that you think you’ll want before hitting the road. Bring non-perishable groceries and pack your toiletries and electronics beforehand to save money. You don’t want to spend unnecessary money, so even packing your own toothbrush and floss rather than purchasing it at the rest stop store will save you something. Truck stop prices can sometimes be high, causing you to spend unnecessary dough. Save money by organizing before you begin your trip and only bring the necessities with you.

When it comes to planning ahead, meal prepping can be another great tip on how to save money while on the road. According to an article in CDL Life, bringing your own food on the road can save you roughly $1,500 a year alone! Even making your coffee at home instead of buying out every day can save you roughly $2,000 a year. Preparing your meals ahead of time will save you from extra spending, plus it’s a healthier alternative to eating fast food for every meal. Below are lists of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack ideas that you can prep before hitting the road.

Breakfast ideas:

• Egg frittatas
• Protein bars
• Fruit salad
• Blueberry muffins

Lunch ideas:

• Peanut butter and jelly or deli meat sandwiches
• Soup
• Salad
• Pre-made smoothie bags (just add milk and ice and blend in a blender)

Dinner ideas:

• Grilled chicken and rice
• Meatloaf
• Grilled salmon with veggies
• Home-made pizza

Snack ideas:

• Hardboiled eggs
• Veggies and hummus
• Fruit
• Almonds
• Beef jerky

For more tips, ideas, and recipes on meal prepping, click right here.

Create a Budget

Creating a budget for yourself will help you be more aware of how to save money. Write out a weekly or monthly budget with what you plan to spend on necessities like food, bills, etc. Add a section for unplanned expenses with a fixed amount so that you don’t go over budget. This can be your rainy-day fund for any unexpected expenses that may occur. Utilizing mobile apps can be a great way to budget and stay on top of your expenses. Mint® is a budget management app that tracks user spending. Mint® categorizes your transactions, tracks your bills, alerts you when you’ve exceeded maximum spending, and even provides free credit score monitoring. Many truck drivers utilize this app to keep track of their finances while traveling.

Along with budgeting, it can also be beneficial for you to keep a daily expense log for your finances. Add up how much money you spend every day to help you be more conscious of your spending habits and what you’re spending your money on. You’d be surprised at where your money goes.

Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance!

            Maintaining the safety of your truck can save you so much money. Before you hit the road, check all the nuts and bolts on the vehicle to make sure everything is running properly. Be proactive by getting frequent oil changes or filling up your tires with air. Running into a mechanical problem is frustrating, inconvenient, and can put you behind schedule. If you do happen to run into a problem, contact fellow truckers or other colleagues in the industry to see if they can recommend local mechanics in that area who can help.

CDL Discounts

            You’d be surprised at how many discounts you can receive while on the road. Many hotels and restaurants provide discounted prices and according to Transport Topics, Cracker Barrel offers free coffee and fountain drinks to truck drivers. Drivers can also receive a 25 percent discount at Papa Johns, free coffee at Starbucks, and 15 percent off online orders at Denny’s. Rewards cards and loyalty programs are also offered at select truck stops. Some CDL discounts can even help you save money on fuel, coffee, showering, etc. At Trinity Logistics, we offer a discount program to our carriers that is free to join and gives drivers access to industry-wide fleet savings. Want to learn more about this program? Click here.

            There are several mobile apps on the market that offer ways for you to save money. GasBuddy offers a database of over 150,000 fuel stations that you can utilize to find the cheapest prices. GasBuddy also offers free gas coupons if you use your GasBuddy app or card to pay at Walmart, Amazon, and other big name retailers. Love’s Connect is also a free app used to redeem points and rewards. When you  fuel up at any of Love’s travel stops you will earn points for refueling. These points can be used to redeem free shop items or free showers. Taking advantage of these apps and the rewards systems can help you save money.

Take Advantage of Free WIFI

            Data usage can add up when traveling long distances. While unlimited data is an option, many people still have set data plans that charge you over usage fees when you go over the limit. This is why you as a truck driver need to utilize places with free WIFI any chance they get. Free WIFI is at almost every establishment these days, so simply ask if the place that you’re at has this option. The worst they could do is say no!

            Life on the road can definitely challenge your willpower to spend. Being mindful of your spending and making use of these tips and resources can help. We hope this article gave you some ideas and that you save some money while traveling on the job.

Do you have your own MC/DOT? Looking to see why you should be a part of Trinity’s carrier network?

No authority of your own? Check out our parent company, Burris Logistics, for available driver positions.