If there is one thing that the recent severe weather clearly demonstrated, caution and safety are the first priority of trucking operators as they strive to support their customers.

Long periods of sub-freezing temperatures, particularly in areas of the country not prepared for or accustomed to them, bring service and operating challenges into stark clarity. Roads are impassable. Rest areas and safe, secure truck parking are maxed out. Fueling stations and food services are closed or inoperable. Truck drivers, as essential a resource as there ever was, often find themselves stuck and at the mercy of unforgiving conditions.

Overcoming these challenges will remain the same as severe weather season commences. Unpredictable weather, in any form, requires first and foremost, constant communication. Between the driver, the company, and the shipper.

Our professional drivers are try their best to be safe and continue to move when they can, but it is at a pace that is substantially slower than normal when natural disasters occur. Continued communication and updates with them is key to ensuring drivers are safe, have the support they need, and are able to plan for a successful delivery. 

The other side is knowing from a customer perspective which loads are a higher priority. That way we can focus on those critical loads and work to ensure the higher visibility items stay in stock for them. Expectations are extremely tough to manage for all parties involved. Our priority is keeping our drivers, our assets, and our customers’ freight safe and damage free.

Another lesson is the importance of agility and resiliency. We have worked very hard to create an extremely refined and optimized network, and we work very hard to keep it that way. When weather or other factors impact the operation, once the weather breaks, the biggest challenge is getting our drivers that have been on time-off back into the network to help fill the gaps.

That’s key, especially in today’s capacity constrained environment, where we are starting the day with some 150% of our network pre-booked. We do not like disappointing our customer. Our goal is to get as many trucks back on the road as safely as we can when it makes sense. During the recent severe weather, we over-communicated to each of our customers, informing them of the challenges faced, and keeping them up to date on new insights and developments.

Whether a hurricane, tornado or a massive snowstorm like this most recent one -- we walk away with new learnings. Technology continues to change rapidly in our space and communication tools also continue to improve. Probably the best reminder we get is the importance of contingency planning and utilizing all the tools that we have in our toolbox today. 

Yet at the end of the day, the real key to success is trusting our professional drivers as "captain of the ship.” They are the best decision-making tools we have. Their ability to make judgement calls on safety and road conditions is something that we trust and respect. We know and we unequivocally support their commitment to delivering safely as being first and foremost. And that’s the key to ensuring our customers get their freight delivered as soon as possible, safely and intact in any conditions.