"I plan to be in the expediting and trucking business for the duration of my life because at 52, I've finally found my niche in something I really enjoy doing."
The expedited trucking business is populated with people from all walks of life and former professions. It is also a niche of trucking that is typically free of sexism and is truly an equal opportunity vocation.
There are a number of women drivers and owner-operators running the highways in expedited trucks and a growing number of those lady owner-operators are expanding their businesses into multi-truck operations.
Profiled below are two female fleet owners:
Growing her Business
Diane Burell, 52, is an expedited fleet owner from Georgia, some 40 miles north of Atlanta. Her fleet of three straight trucks is leased to Toledo, OH based Bolt Express.
She tells us of how she discovered expediting:
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“I had a cousin who was a tractor-trailer driver for 28 years and his sister was an expedited driver with Medi-Quik (later, FedEx Supply Chain Services).”
“I bought my first truck, a twenty-two foot straight truck with a reefer box, in November 2004 and leased it with the Supply Chain Services to deliver pharmaceuticals in the Southeast. In March of 2005, I purchased my second truck, another reefer, and remained with that company for the next year and a half.”
She continues, “I have a background of working in the corporate world, planning and scheduling manufacturing and when I left Supply Chain Services, I felt it was time to do something for myself. I’ve worked very hard for a number of years and I wanted to start my own company.”
“That’s when I founded this company, D & D Express Services.”
“I plan to be in the expediting and trucking business for the duration of my life because at 52, I’ve finally found my niche in something I really enjoy doing.”
Diane goes on to say that she wants to grow her business to a fleet size of six or seven trucks. This fleet would include straight trucks and at least one tractor-trailer combination.
“I joined Bolt Express in March 2007,” says Diane, “and I’ve found that they are one of the best companies around.”
“Everyone there is so professional and helpful, especially recruiter Anne Muszynski. She is so interested in helping the Bolt independent contractors to be successful. I would recommend the company to anyone.”
“My trucks are older model Freightliner FL70’s with 72″ sleepers. They’re not the newest and shiniest trucks on the road but they are in great mechanical shape. I won’t put a driver in an unsafe or poorly running truck.”
Diane tells of her fleet:
“I have only solo drivers in my trucks and just as in general trucking, driver retention is one of the toughest challenges of the business.”
She says, “There are a lot of job-hoppers in trucking! I’ve had six drivers in one of my trucks since March and turnover of that type is expensive for both myself and for Bolt. It can be difficult to find qualified drivers with ambition who want to stick with it.”
“I had a case recently where a driver deadheaded home from Massachusetts to Georgia in order to take his wife to dinner on her birthday.”
Diane states, “I think my drivers will tell you that I’m fair and available to them 24/7. If they need an advance, they get it.”
“If we could educate drivers that they have to be out there and ready to run for a certain percentage of the time, we could all be successful. Driving a truck is definitely a business and it has to be treated as such.”
“I have one driver who has been with me since I signed on with Bolt and he’s absolutely the best. He is commited to working as a team with Bolt and myself and I think that together, we will ultimately be successful.”
She reflects on expedited trucking:
“I think expediting is a fantastic business; it fits my needs and what I’m looking for in trucking beyond, let’s say LTL. The people in expedite are wonderful, they are very customer-oriented.”
“It has its difficult moments, but it’s a challenge and an opportunity to meet so many different kinds of people.”
Diane’s outlook for the future?
“I would like to secure a governmental grant of some type to help me grow the business. I’m not looking for a handout, but some sort of financial assistance to assist me in acquiring new equipment and technology.”
“So far, I’ve had some falls, but I recuperate very quickly and keep on putting one foot in front of the other because I know that’s what it takes to make it in business.”
From Behind the Wheel to Behind the Desk
“My husband says that expediting is not truck driving, it’s a motor home with cargo space behind it.”
So says Helen Peaster of Montezuma, GA …”just down the road from Macon.” Helen is 53 years old and she and husband Lonnie have five children and 11 grandkids.
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She begins, “I drove school bus for 23 years and Lonnie was a company driver pulling reefers for 30 years. The day after my daughter was married in 2000, Lonnie and I went into the expedited trucking business.”
She says that Lonnie’s experience in trucking and visiting produce warehouses prompted his statement when comparing expedite to general trucking: “We used to love it when we would pull up to our delivery and see all the J.B. Hunts, Schneiders and U.S. Express trucks waiting to be loaded/unloaded.”
“In an expedited truck, we would just go to the front of the line, get a door assignment and get unloaded. That’s the way we like it!”
“In our four years on the road in expediting, we spent weekends in many different areas and saw things like the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, Niagara Falls, the Alamo and a lot of flea markets.”
She adds, “We really enjoyed traveling together, but illness forced Lonnie to come off the road. It was at that time that we bought another truck and put a driver in it.”
Helen says that it can be a challenge to find a carrier that “fits”:
“We’ve been with three different companies since getting into the business and we’ve been very impressed with Express-1 (Express-1 Expedited Solutions of Buchanan, MI – ed). We’ve been with then for around a year and a half now. Our trucks experience very little deadhead and every one at Express-1 is pleasant to deal with and very professional.”
Helen’s fleet consists of four trucks ,all Freightliner M2’s. Her driver roster includes two teams and two single drivers.
She says, “I treat my drivers fairly and I believe they respect me in return. In fact, when some of my former drivers heard about Lonnie’s illness, they called to see if they could help us out.”
“I send my drivers a copy of the settlement sheet from the carrier every week because I’m only human and anyone can make a mistake. I want them to be able to go over the figures and check my accuracy.”
“I don’t ask my drivers to stay out for a certain length of time and that’s one of the reasons why I run older trucks. If I had new trucks with $3,000 monthly payments, I’d never let my trucks go home!”
“Home time is very important, so I just tell my drivers, go home when you feel you should.”
Helen touches on a challenge that affects all of trucking:
“If I could find enough good drivers, I’d like to have a dozen trucks in my fleet, but I’ll probably stop at five trucks. That’s probably the most difficult part of fleet ownership – keeping good drivers in the trucks.”
Helen says that she doesn’t find any special challenges in the business as a woman fleet owner: “My husband is a silent partner in the business. I’ll do the payroll and all of the paperwork, but if a driver has a mechanical or technical problem, Lonnie will take over and help him.”
“Expediting is a wonderful business and I just want to expand the company and see us all succeed!”
