CRST Malone

Sharing the road┬áCRST Malone has carved out a niche for itself as a top flatbed carrier. Keith Regan finds out how an independent contractor model has helped create a culture of customer service excellence and also poses its own challenges, especially in tough times. With roots as far back as the 1920s, CRST Malone has a long history of providing flatbed and specialty trucking services across a large swath of the United States, serving both national accounts and smaller clients.   Part of the CRST International family since the late 1980s, CRST Malone has made strategic choices to remain sharply focused on the flatbed and specialty markets and also to embrace a non-asset-based business model, relying on independent contractors to haul its loads. Those decisions bring both unique challenges and abundant opportunities, says Scott Shephard, president of Trussville, AlabamaÔÇôbased CRST Malone. ÔÇ£All our power comes from our independent contractors, who are essentially small business owners themselves,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£We always say that without them, none of us here at the company would have a job. That approach, truthfully, is what makes us most successful.ÔÇØ Even in good times, however, recruiting the type of contractors CRST Malone seeks is a challenge, one that grows more pronounced in tough times. ÔÇ£Hauling flatbed freight is in some ways the most physically demanding of all trucking jobs, so it takes a special contractor who is willing to work hard.ÔÇØThose willing to do that will find a long-term partner in CRST, however. ÔÇ£We like to work with contractors who are focused on success not just in the short term but over the long run as well,ÔÇØ Shephard adds. Because it is part of the CRST family, has some 80 years of experience and has long been profitable, the carrier can offer financial stability to drivers. ÔÇ£We canÔÇÖt promise to be the best-paying carrier out there. We pay our contractors 75 percent on loads, and there may be competitors willing to go to 80 percent. But we can say that weÔÇÖre 100 percent guaranteed to have a paycheck ready to go out on the right day, and those other companies may not be in that position. If that happens, the driver is getting another 5 percent of nothing.ÔÇØ From within CRST Malone itself, customers get benefits such as the ability to track shipments and receive all paperwork associated with a delivery electronically.Using a contractor model also brings more safety-consciousness, because the drivers own their own equipment and know that lost time or missed shipments are going to directly affect their bottom line. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs not like with a company driver, where the person can just pick up another rig. If our driver has an accident and his truck is damaged, itÔÇÖs going to mean lost time and lost money. ThatÔÇÖs just one of the ways we think our drivers are a notch above the rest. They bring a higher level of professionalism to what they do.ÔÇØThe drivers are also responsible for their own fuel, which has meant a major challenge in recent months as diesel prices spiked to record levels. CRST MaloneÔÇÖs team of in-house sales personnel and independent agents often negotiate fuel surcharges into contracts that account for sudden rises in prices. Those premiums are passed along fully to drivers, who have also begun to pay more attention to their own practices in order to save fuel, such as more carefully planning routes and choosing runs that require less ÔÇ£deadheadÔÇØ time, when there is no load being carried. ÔÇ£Our drivers have always done that, but those efforts have certainly been increased recently,ÔÇØ Shephard notes. Except for a brief foray into the van-hauling niche, CRST Malone has remained focused on the flatbed, step-deck trailer and specialty hauling markets. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs what we do best, and we think there are more opportunities for growth there,ÔÇØ Shephard says. The company tries to use its size and its connection to the CRST parent to help drivers as much as possible. Its Gold Pin Club, for instance, offers the independent contractors access to volume discounts on tires and other items, as well as support for buying insurance and the other necessities of operating a small business. Having those small business owners as their driving force means CRST Malone can offer better customer service to its clients, Shephard argues. ÔÇ£We really are serving two masters. WeÔÇÖre always trying to give our contractors the best rates and pricing we can, while also trying to keep costs down for our customers on the other side and keep customer service as high as possible.ÔÇØ By using CRST Malone, customers can get a higher level of security that loads will arrive as planned, on time and in one piece, he adds. ÔÇ£We can never promise 100 percent on time delivery because there are too many variables, too many things that can happen on the road. But especially with our clients who rank us by those metrics, we know we can meet those 95 percent to 98 percent on-time rates,ÔÇØ says Shephard. Just as reducing turnover is a constant challenge for traditional trucking companies, keeping contractors in the fold is something CRST Malone takes seriously. In the current economic climate, that often means not just keeping them with the company but keeping them in business. ÔÇ£This is a thin-margin business to begin with, and in tough times thatÔÇÖs even more true.ÔÇØ As a slowing economy has meant fewer trips for drivers, one way the carrier has kept contractors working and active is by leaning on its regular national accounts such as Alcoa, US Steel and others who have less cyclical businesses that can provide miles for drivers to carry them through until other business picks up again. ÔÇ£Of course they go through their own ups and downs, but it enables us to weather the storms a little bit.ÔÇØ┬á