TCA/CarriersEdge Announce Overall Winners of Best Fleets to Drive For

Bison Transport and Paramount Freight Systems, LLC are recognized for offering the most desirable workplaces in the trucking industry

Grapevine, Texas:

At the Annual Convention of the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) in Grapevine, Texas, two companies were named as the overall winners of Best Fleets to Drive For, an annual survey and contest produced by TCA and CarriersEdge. Bison Transport of Winnipeg, Manitoba, was selected as the Best Overall Fleet for Company Drivers, while Paramount Freight Systems, LLC of Ft. Myers, Florida, was selected as the Best Overall Fleet for Owner Operators.

The Best Overall Fleet for Company Drivers award is sponsored by Framingham, Massachusetts-based Bose Corporation, manufacturer of the award-winning Bose Ride® system for heavy-duty trucks. The Best Overall Fleet for Owner Operators award is sponsored by New York, New York-based Marsh, Inc., the world’s leading insurance broker and risk advisor.

When asked about this year’s overall winners, Chris Burruss, TCA’s president, said, “Bison and Paramount are at the forefront of an industry that recognizes our most important asset is our people. They have carefully studied what people need and want in a job, as well as what motivates them to stick with a career in trucking long-term. Congratulations to these companies for figuring out what works and then making it happen!”

Best Fleets to Drive For, now in its sixth year, identifies North American for-hire trucking companies that provide the best workplace experiences for their drivers. Nominated carriers are evaluated on the range and depth of offered programs, the overall effectiveness of those programs across key metrics, and the responses of surveyed drivers. The top finishers are identified as Best Fleets to Drive For, and the highest scoring fleet in each category is named overall winner.

2014 marks the fourth time that Bison Transport has made the list of Top 20 winners for this contest, and it has also won numerous safety awards from TCA in the past. The company received the highest score ever recorded in the “programs” section of the evaluation, very close to the maximum points in every area measured. It also demonstrated outstanding driver-retention numbers for a fleet of its size, with an extremely rare turnover rate of less than 20 percent.

This is the third time that Paramount Freight Systems has been named an overall winner of Best Fleets to Drive For. The company has implemented an innovative bonus program that compensates for the fact that contractors do not receive holiday pay. It also provides more than a week of training per year to contractors. Such perks may be the reason why Paramount received the highest driver-satisfaction score in the program this year.

Mark Murrell, president of CarriersEdge, based in Markham, Ontario, said, “We continue to be amazed by the terrific programs the Best Fleets winners are coming up with. The investment these companies are making in their people is clearly a success story for all parties involved — from support staff, to drivers, to the chief executive officer.”

The Best Fleets to Drive For survey and contest was open to any fleet operating 10 or more trucks, regardless of TCA-membership status. Fleets had to be nominated by at least one of their drivers (either a company driver or an owner operator). Those companies were evaluated against a broad range of criteria reflecting current human-resources best practices in areas such as driver compensation, pension and benefits, professional development, driver and community support, and safety record. In early February, TCA announced the top 20 winners and “fleets to watch” (honorable mentions).