{"id":1123,"date":"2020-10-23T18:43:58","date_gmt":"2020-10-23T18:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hiremaster.com\/trucking-news\/?p=1123"},"modified":"2020-10-23T18:46:14","modified_gmt":"2020-10-23T18:46:14","slug":"act-consistently-a-best-fleet-and-top-transport-company-for-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hiremaster.com\/trucking-news\/other-news\/2020\/10\/23\/act-consistently-a-best-fleet-and-top-transport-company-for-women\/1123\/","title":{"rendered":"ACT Consistently a Best Fleet and Top Transport Company for Women"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Al Muskewitz<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

American Central Transport (ACT) has long been out front as one of the nation\u2019s premier dry van trucking companies, but over the past three years it has taken its game to another level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For the last three years the Kansas City-based carrier has been recognized as a Best Fleet to Drive for and a Top Company for Women to Work for in Transportation. It\u2019s not been an on-again, off-again sort of thing, it\u2019s three years running. Heck, the company doesn\u2019t have trucks in its fleet that old.

\u201cWe just made the decision that\u2019s what we wanted and we got very intentional about it, and now it\u2019s become part of our culture, part of our fabric,\u201d ACT recruiting director Josh Mecca told Wright Media. \u201cWe made decisions on how is this going to impact, how is this going to improve us and, more importantly, how is this going to improve the industry and making our competition step their game up, too, just to provide a better life for our drivers.

\u201cIt\u2019s a big deal for us to be on both of those lists, mainly because we look at it as validation that all of our programs that we offer to our fleet truly are best in class from top to bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Top Company for Women to Work for in Transportation, given by the Women In Trucking Association, has been around only three years, but ACT has been on the list every year.

Women make up approximately 10 percent of the carrier\u2019s driver fleet \u2013 all solo drivers \u2013 a figure well above the national average. The WIT award recognizes its commitment to fostering gender diversity by offering competitive compensation and benefits, flexible hours and work requirements and opportunities for professional development and career advancement \u2013 and all of it within the company\u2019s general operational framework.

ACT drivers are never far from home; at no point in its freight network is a driver more than a day and a half of legal drive time away from home. It operates a very consistent freight network, so drivers get to know the company\u2019s lanes really well and they traverse them in safe, reliable and reasonably new equipment; in the last two years they\u2019ve turned over nearly two-thirds of their tractors. And it\u2019s all no-touch freight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MECCA<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201c(The WIT award) is really important because that\u2019s something we as an industry need to collectively do a better job of,\u201d Mecca said. \u201cWomen are) way under-represented in our (industry\u2019s) driving force. I do believe there\u2019s a lot of opportunity for ladies with the right companies to provide a good start for them, a good career for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGetting that award three years in a row is just proof that what we do have, what we do offer, really benefits our lady drivers well, from a work-life balance to getting them home when they need to be home \u2026 but equally important is making sure they\u2019re compensated well for the work that they do.\u201d

Deb Habiger is a longtime professional driver and has been with ACT coming on 10 years, the last three running a dedicated lane between Kansas City and Knoxville hauling parts for the automotive industry. She\u2019s one of ACT\u2019s million-mile drivers and is consistently one of the top fuel performers in the fleet. Her experience as one of the company\u2019s female drivers has been quite positive. 

\u201cACT is great; they make you feel like you\u2019re part of the team,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s all about teamwork. They\u2019ve got top-of-the-line equipment, they\u2019ve got great mechanics, the people inside are cordial, they work with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll they ask you to do is pick up on time, deliver on time and fuel where they want you to; that\u2019s all they ask of you. They have a lot of programs if you want to be involved in that, but they don\u2019t push you into anything. They do not ask you to do anything other than do your job.\u201d

ACT\u2019s commitment to gender diversity has scored big points in its standing among Best Fleets to Drive For. The carrier only recently became involved in that program, but the culture and forward thinking of its leadership team has continually kept it on the list. The interviews for this year\u2019s record number of nominees conclude Oct. 30. The Top 20 will be announced in January.

\u201cWe\u2019re super thrilled every time we get on that list,\u201d Mecca said. \u201cWe know that once we\u2019re on there you become a target for the industry so we have to continue to push forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time it first appeared on the list, the ACT was in the process of opening into a new $4.2 million building adjacent to its shop to get to know its fleet better. Within the building is a workout facility available to employees 24\/7. In the meantime, it has expanded its training and wellness programs, enhanced its hometown options giving drivers in good markets a chance to get home more frequently and lowered the age of its fleet from 1.8 years to 1.1 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this age of coronavirus, it has placed hand and truck sanitizing equipment at fueling stations, provided food packages and evened partnered with an outside vendor to provide meals for drivers who couldn\u2019t get in for their driver appreciation efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certainly not to be overlooked, it improved an already solid pay package. ACT drivers average approximately $61,000 a year with monthly and quarterly bonuses that could take them even higher as well as receive a strong benefits and investment package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re going to be out rolling we want to make sure you\u2019re compensated for the work that you do,\u201d Mecca said. \u201cIt truly is a top-to-bottom best-in-class compensation package. We\u2019re really trying to invest in our drivers from top to bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al Muskewitz is Editor of Wright Media. He can be reached at <\/em>musky@wrightmediacorp.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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