Industry Outlook

Industry Outlook: A Peek into Expediter Services

Wanna know what’s going on within the expedite industry, or with trucking overall? Then tune in to Industry Outlook, presented by Expediters Online and Expediter Services. Join our host, Brandon Baxter, as he engages with folks-in-the-know who will bring their knowledge, ideas, and expertise to the forefront of the trucking industry in 2024 and beyond.

In today's installment👇👇, Brandon and Expediter Services' David Withers discuss recruiting, truck ownership and more.

Transcript

Brandon Baxter: Welcome to Industry Outlook presented by Expediters Online and Expediter Services. I'm your host, Brandon Baxter. My guest today is David Withers. He's the senior director of Operations and recruiting with Expediter Services [ES].
David, thank you so much for joining me today.

David Withers: Hey, Brandon, thanks for having me, man. I'm glad to be here. Good to see you.

BB: And hey, it's as a friend of mine used to say, it's always better to be seen than viewed. And for those of you at home who get that, that's a little dark humor.
But aside from that David, it is great to see you, my man. We you know, for, for, again, for those at home, David and I go way back… as a matter of fact, this recording right now is taking place of our normal weekly conversation that we have in terms of recruiting and Expediter Services.
So again, thanks so much for ditching the phone and jumping on cam with me, my man.

DW: Absolutely, man. Anytime.

BB: Well, let's dive right into it. Let's get into Expedited Services.
You know, this is our first episode. Let's get an idea for the folks at home who are or who is Expediter Services and, really what is their relevance to the expedite industry?
Let's start there.

DW: Yeah, absolutely.  So, I mean, ES is a leader in the capacity solutions and owner opportunities within the trucking industry.
We've been doing it with the expedite side of the industry since early on 2006, we expanded to the general trucking market back in, I believe, 17, 18. And we're just a good blend of, of all things trucking if you will.
We work with a number of leading motor carriers, some of the larger motor carriers out there. And they're part of our ES community.
We provide capacity to those motor carriers through several means of ownership, whether it's through our rental program, lease, or finance.
So, for our owners or fleet owners, aspiring entrepreneurs who become a part of our, community, we provide a wide range of programs that deliver real truck ownership opportunities. They're focused on assisting the men and women behind the wheel as they work to build and grow their business in the trucking industry.
And we do that you know, not just the support side of it through our back office support, but we also do it with discount programs, with fuel, tires, R and M, repair and maintenance discounts, insurance discounts. We do it all and give them an opportunity to have something there to better their business and increase their revenue.

BB: You know, it's, it's a great place for a driver to go, specifically teams right, to go, to grow into exactly what you're alluding to. Right.

DW: Oh, absolutely. I mean, we, we've got a number of truck owners that have come in as just contract drivers back in the day, worked hard through our, our Path to Ownership program, and they've, you know, got one truck on there and then they end up buying another truck and the next thing, you know, they've got 10 trucks, or more.
Everybody that's, that's out there working in some kind of capacity usually has a road map to get there - doctors, nurses, lawyers, you know, professional side, even, plumbers, electricians. When they go to a technical school and they, they learn their expertise and then they get out there and then they do it and they apply it.
Truck ownership sometimes is just, you get out, you start as a company driver and then you, say, you know, you start talking to some owners that show you a paycheck and they think, oh man, I gotta go own my truck but there's really no road map to do that. And, that's where we come in.
I mean, we're here to help you understand and help each owner understand that they never stand alone. You know, as a truck owner, especially a one truck owner, you feel like, you're out there on an island by yourself.
You're not working for us; we're working for you. We're here to support you, your business, everything that's involved with that. And we do that through our, our products and our services.

BB: So, you know, I've spent a lot of years myself as a recruiter.
It's something that you're doing in a capacity there with ES.
Let's talk a little bit about that, David, you know, kind of give us some insight as to your role with ES

DW: specifically with ES, came here in 2017.
It's been here a little over seven years now.

BB: And those years have flown. Have they not?

DW: Those years, have flown. Yes, sir. As, as all of them do.
But yeah,I started out recruiting here and, moved up from recruiting to managing the recruiting department, being the director of recruiting. And then, got a promotion a few years ago, just after COVID, to take over operations and recruiting. So,

BB: right on.
I mean, it honestly, it sounds like you're wearing plenty of hats.
I mean, do you, do you stop short of, you know, the fire chief hat or is that, is that included too? Sometimes you gotta put out some fires.

DW: No, maybe the janitor every once in a while…

BB: What is it that right now ES is looking for, you know, what are the driving opportunities that might be new within the, within the company?

DW: Honestly, Brandon, we're looking for folks that just want an opportunity to own a truck,
and that want to do that in the path that we, you know, help them do that in.
I mean, we're looking for straight truck teams, we’re looking for tractor solos and teams.
So we've got opportunities across the board with our motor carriers.
And, you know, if, if you're interested in out there looking for an opportunity, don't hesitate to give us a call.

BB: Wow, that's, that's a lot of moving parts and for you to have to keep track of a lot of those.
I know you've got a great team there.

DW: Oh yes.

BB: I know you do, you know.
So I believe that anyone who has, you know the inkling of just getting into the expedite industry, you know, really give a good hard look at ES because they do bring a lot to the table.

DW: I guess if I have to leave with anything is just I employ anybody that's out there in the recruiting industry. Each recruiter, just take that time to listen to what that caller is wanting to do and what they're looking for. And if it's not the right fit, don't try to fit him, fit that square peg into, to a circle. because it's just gonna be turn over down the road. So.

BB: Yep. And, and as we, you know, as we recruiters know, that's what we wanna try and avoid. So.

DW: Absolutely

BB: Excellent Well, David, I gotta thank you for being on the show, man. Thank you so much for joining me.

This has been Industry Outlook presented by Expediters online and expedited services. I've been your host, Brandon Baxter. Until next time.