Carrier Profiles

Carrier Focus: TranStewart Trucking

By Jeff Jensen, Editor
Posted Dec 6th 2005 7:22AM

trans-stewart.jpgAs demonstrated over the years by numerous posts from the members of EO's Open Forums, a number of expediting owner-operators prefer to lease with more modestly-sized expedited carriers. 

There are a variety of reasons given for this preference, but in many cases, it boils down to the perception that a smaller carrier will provide that "personal touch" that the owner operator is seeking - the sense that the owner operator is a name, not just a truck number.
 
The founder of the Michigan-based company profiled here is not only aware of the appeal of a smaller organization, but believes that it is one of his company's strongest assets - that is, the "personal touch", along with a real concern for its owner-operators.
 
Beginnings
Founder and Vice-President Jerry Stewart, Sr. along with son Jerry Stewart, Jr., President, began their careers in expediting as owner-operators with a carrier in the 1990's.  After building a small fleet, they secured their own authority along with their own accounts and in true entrepreneurial fashion, struck out on their own.
 
Says Jerry Stewart, Sr., "In learning the business, we worked the east coast for close to three years.  We had some contracts that required us to run in New York City so we have a very good idea of what life on the road is like and what a driver has to go through.  We thought if we're going to be in the trucking business, we'll learn it from the ground up and that's the way we did it."
 
"We have that background of being owner-operators and that's the philosophy that we use to run our company."
 
Operations
This privately-owned corporation is authorized for all 48 states and Canada, but its primary freight lanes extend from Texas to the east coast hauling general commodity and automotive freight.  Stewart Sr. estimates that an average length of haul is around 700 miles.
 
The 100% owner-operator fleet consists of Cargo Vans, Cube Vans and Straight Trucks with primarily solo operators.  CDL's are not required for all vehicles.
 
TranStewart has a liberal policy regarding the  age of its owner-operators' equipment and Jerry Stewart Sr. explains:  "I'm reluctant to state that an owner-operator's truck can be no older that 5 years or 7 years old.  I've seen trucks that are 8 to 10 years old with 200,000 to 300,000 miles on them that still look and run great, while there are some newer trucks with fewer miles that have not been maintained and they look terrible.  I look at each truck on a case-by-case basis."
 
"There are advantages to working with a smaller-sized carrier as opposed to leasing with one of the 'giants' in the industry.  For example, our owner-operators are never penalized if they choose not to take a load and they don't have a long line of trucks in front of them all waiting for a load (i.e., no first in, first out).
 
Stewart says that his company's smaller size actually benefits its owner-operators because no one gets lost in "the shuffle."
 
Keeping the fleet loaded and moving is an essential component to the company's success and Stewart Sr. speaks of this philosophy:
 
"I place a heavy emphasis on dispatch - that's what I do. I keep a close eye on dispatch and I personally train our dispatchers to accomodate our owner-operators.  After all, if they're not moving, we're not making any money."
 
"We know where all of our trucks are at any given time and it's not a problem for the dispatcher to look ahead while a driver is still enroute with a load to be searching for the next load.  This also helps us to double load a truck and that means double income for the owner-operator." 
 
He adds, "We pre-book loads, we look ahead of time.  We don't wait until the truck gets to a delivery and then start looking for freight.  We look ahead of time and we know what the driver wants."
 
"I don't want high turnover among our owner-operators.  Once they come here, I want to keep them here by keeping them busy and happy." 
 
"Something we're very proud of with our company is that we don't have any charge backs to the owner-operator.  Every company that I know of charges for satellite fees, fuel taxes, paperwork and so on.  We don't!"
 
He continues, "When we give our owner-operators a rate and tell them what we're going to pay them, we put it in writing in their contract.  That amounts to hundreds of dollars extra to the owner-operator every month."
 
Compensation
Jerry Stewart Sr. says that when a prospective contractor asks for an income projection with TranStewart, he offers that a solo straight truck driver will usually gross nearly $2,500 per week, based on a three-month survey that the
company completed in early 2005. 
 
He states, "Of course, we have some 'part-timers' who make less than that, but we have some real hard-runners who generate an even larger gross."
 
Settlements
Stewart explains that his company has a unique approach to the contractors' settlements:
 
"Another difference between TranStewart and other companies is that we treat our owner-operators as the true independent businesspeople they are.  Especially in terms of the way that we settle their account - they get paid by the load."
 
"This is not weekly, not bi-weekly or anything of that nature.  When we receive their paperwork (bill of lading, etc.), their payment will be sent to them within 24 hours!"
 
"We started this program in the beginning of the summer and our owner-operators love it!  They can manage their cash flow better because they know that they'll be receiving 4, 5 or 6 checks a week in the mail and they know they can count on those payments."
 
He says that the Keys to Success for a TranStewart owner-operator include: 
"The owner-operator should have the mindset that he or she is not just a truck driver but rather an independent contractor who has to be a business person as well.  TransStewart helps them to be both because we have that personal touch and we understand their needs. Of course, the owner-operator has to be mindful of the bottom line and operate accordingly."
 
As TranStewart states in their advertising, when they say NO, they mean NO!
 
This includes:
 
*NO satellite fees
*NO fuel tax backcharges
*NO hidden insurance fees
*NO paperwork fees
*NO forced dispatch or forced Canadian runs
*NO turndown penalties
*NO permit fees
*NO lengthy orientation requirement
 
TranStewart is urrently recruiting straight trucks, with both singles and teams.
 
It must be noted that the company has a very liberal policy regarding driver
requirements and it's a simple one as well.  An owner-operator must have:
*A clean driving record
*No DUI's
 
Jerry Stewart Sr. is the company's recruiting manager and he says that rather than a long list of restrictive driver requirements, he prefers to talk to a prospective owner-operator and get to know the individual.
 
Personal attention
"At TransStewart Trucking, there is a whole different atmosphere that you can only find with a smaller company. Our owner-operators enjoy that feature of the company and it equates to a good income for them as well."
 
"We have a policy that if an owner-operator wants to talk to my son or me, they'll be put through to us or we'll get back to them within 24 hours."
  
 "We have  owner-operators who have been with us almost as long as we've been in operation and we pride ourselves on our minimal turnover."

TranStewart Trucking Online Pre-application