Kissimmee, Florida:

The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) and its partner CarriersEdge have unveiled the overall winners of the 2018 Best Fleets to Drive For contest and survey. The winners were announced during TCA’s 80th Annual Convention in Kissimmee, Florida. To view photos from the awards presentation, visit our Flickr album.

The Best Overall Fleet for the small category, sponsored by EpicVue, is Central Oregon Truck Company of Redmond, Oregon. Bison Transport of Winnipeg, Manitoba, is the Best Overall Fleet for the large carrier category, sponsored by Northbridge Insurance.

Best Fleets to Drive For is an annual survey and contest that recognizes North American for-hire trucking companies providing the best workplace experiences for their drivers. To participate, fleets must be nominated by a company driver or independent contractor working with them, after which they are evaluated across a broad range of categories reflecting current best practices in human resources. The 20 top finishers are identified as Best Fleets to Drive For and then divided in half according to size. The highest scoring fleet in each category is named the overall winner.

Central Oregon Truck Company and Bison Transport have each hit their “5 consecutive years” milestone for landing in the Top 20 Best Fleets to Drive For. Both fleets also have active new entrant programs that bring in significant numbers of new drivers each year.

“These two companies are shining examples of consistency and innovation in trucking,” said John Lyboldt, TCA’s president. “Congratulations to Central Oregon and Bison for continuing to go above and beyond to create exemplary workplaces for their drivers.”

Central Oregon Truck Company is a fleet of 314 trucks, and this is their first time winning Best Overall Fleet. The company has developed some of the most innovative programs in the industry, including an RFID system in their trucks that triggers a custom welcome when drivers return to the yard, as well as a concierge service that takes care of much of the return-related admin work. Central Oregon also received top marks for their compensation programs and operational strategy.

Whereas Central Oregon provides a fresh name to the Best Overall Fleet podium, Bison Transport continues to stake their claim as a dynasty. Bison has placed in the Top 20 for eight of the ten years since the Best Fleets program was initiated, including three consecutive years winning Best Overall Large Fleet. This year also marks Bison’s fourth total Best Overall Large Fleet title, the first fleet to reach this milestone. Despite its long history of winning, the 1456 truck fleet is not resting on its laurels—the company continues to find new ways to improve its offerings for drivers. This year it received top scores for performance management programs, driver development and career path options, and work/life balance.

Jane Jazrawy, chief executive officer of CarriersEdge, said, “Both fleets are taking different approaches but achieving comparable results. Bison is a large fleet that does a variety of different types of work, while Central Oregon is primarily a long-haul flatbed fleet. Both are also fleets that have been pushing the envelope for years, embracing technology to improve efficiency and constantly coming up with new ideas to enhance their drivers’ experiences.”

For more information about the program, visit www.bestfleetstodrivefor.com or search #BestFleets18 on social media networks. Watch the “live” awards presentation on TCA’s Facebook page:  www.truckload.org/Facebook.