Carrier Profiles

A growing family: Express Way Inc.

By Jeff Jensen, Editor
Posted Mar 16th 2006 11:51AM

expressway-trucks-2.jpg"We have a little motto around here that goes - "We deliver what we promise." 

"That goes for any commitment or promise that we make to our drivers as well as to our customers."  So says Rod Baisden, the Vice President of Express Way, Inc., an expedited carrier based in Saline, Michigan.

Beginnings
Baisden, who founded the company in May of 2004, has a long history in transportation.  He states, "I was originally a truck driver back in the 70's, but had to leave trucking to take care of family concerns.  As my children got older, I got back into transportation and discovered expediting.  I thought that this business was right up my alley and I jumped into it around 1994." 

expressway-trucks.jpg"I founded another Michigan-based expedited carrier with a long-time friend and I was its first president.  My partner and I started with two vans and a cell phone.  We grew that company until a difference in operating philosophies caused my departure and in May 2004, my brother Steve and I opened Express Way, Inc."

"A number of drivers and dispatchers came with me to open this company, including Betty Lossing, our recruiter.

"We maintain an office staff of ten people.  I keep my hand in with a variety of duties that  includes a little bit of everything - I visit our long-time customers, I can dispatch and if we run out of vans, I can jump in my pickup and help with the freight.  On occasion, I'll help Betty with invoicing and billing, basically, whatever needs to be done. "

"Our president, Steve Baisden,  does a large portion of the sales and has an active role in taking care of the drivers." 

"You understand the drivers and what they're going through so much better when you've been on the road and done it yourself.  You don't want a driver getting upset with, let's say, a forklift operator at the shipper, you want them to remain in control and be polite.  Our drivers do that because they're real professionals and I think it's because of the way we treat them with respect.  We have some drivers who have been with us for ten years."

This privately-owned corporation hauls primarily automotive (NLM and other) and general commodity freight, with its primary freight lanes centered in the Midwest (MI, OH, IN, KY and TN) and of course, shipments to Texas.  Says Baisden, "The majority of our freight is automotive, but we're becoming more diversified. "

Express Way, Inc. utilizes a 100% owner-operator fleet that presently consists of 33 cargo vans, 8 cube vans and 7 straight trucks.

Rod Baisden says that the majority of his company's owner-operators maintain single-truck operations with a few fleet owners in the mix.  He adds, "Most of our freight is best suited to single-driver operations -  there's not enough of a demand for teams with our business model."

The average length of haul for Express Way is 200-250 miles says Betty Lossing, the company's Secretary/Treasurer who also handles the recruiting duties. 

Both Baisden and Ms. Lossing use the word "family"  when describing their modestly-sized company's culture. Says Ms. Lossing, "During the recruiting process, I let the prospective driver know how we regard our people as family and how we work together as a team."

She says that the keys to success for an owner-operator leased with Express Way, Inc. include:
"Patience, that is, a willingness to wait for a return load. Having the right attitude in working with dispatch." 

Rod Baisden agrees that patience is indeed a virtue in this business as are "availability, communication with the office and a positive attitude."

He explains, "Expediting is still a growing market, despite the slowdown in the last year because of oil prices and other factors that have affected the industry. We're still growing despite the economy and fuel prices, and we're growing at a pretty good clip.  Currently, our fourth quarter is very strong.  I'm turning down shipment opportunities every day."

"I attribute our growth to the word-of-mouth reputation that we've developed because of the superior service we provide. Referrals have been very important to our growth."

"In the past, we've stayed away from cross-border freight in the past but so many customers are demanding Canadian service that we're reexamining that position.  We know that crossing the border can be a nightmare for the driver."

He adds, "We have plans to expand into other areas of the U.S., but we want to do it at our pace in a controllable fashion."

Driver Requirements

Minimum Age: 23
Minimum Experience: 1 year
HAZMAT Endorsement: Not required
CDL's only required for vehicles over 26,000 GVW
DWI Restriction: 5 years
Moving Violation Restrictions: 3 years
Previous Accident Restrictions: 3 years
Felony Restrictions: 10 years 

The benefits of leasing with Express Way, Inc.:
*Weekly Settlements
* Accessorial charges paid to the driver, including,
-Extra Pickups / Drops
-Layover Fee Available
-Inside Delivery Fee
*Deadhead pay available
*Company-paid liability and cargo insurance
 
Operational Details
-Dispatch Protocol:  First in, First out
-Communication with dispatch:  The driver is required to
provide aNextel 2-way cell phone 
-Length of Orientation:  Approximately 8 hours long
-Service life for all vehicles:  8 years

Compensation
*Cargo Vans - $.80 per mile
*Cube Vans - $.90  per mile
*Straight Trucks.  22 and 24 footers - $1.20 per mile

Fuel Surcharge
100 percent of the fuel surcharge is to the owner-operator with an average FSC of around 20 percent.

As we all know, keeping the wheels turning is key to success and securing those return loads to a carrier's operational area is essential.

Rod Baisden says,  "We frequently find freight opportunities with other carriers.  For example, if I have a driver sitting in Kansas City, it's silly not to take advantage of another carrier's need for a truck to bring our driver back." 

"Our dispatchers are very pro-active in searching for freight through the Internet and through email with other carriers.  We call companies that we know will often have freight coming out of certain areas. We have about a 75 percent success rate in finding return loads for our drivers.

The company's recruiting needs?
Rod Baisden:  "Our greatest need is in the area of straight trucks with 22'-24' boxes. Most of the freight we turn down now is for that size truck, so we can certainly keep them busy."" 
 

Recruiting contact phone number   888-977-7929
Express Way, Inc. Online Pre-application