Topic: Trucking Info

Haunted Highways and Trucker Legends: Eerie Encounters on America’s Roads Truckers travel much of the country, trekking from coast to coast, through winding roads, and all sorts of busy byways. With so many miles under their 18 wheels, they are…

Lumpers are regularly, and often integrally, used in today’s trucking industry. Trucking companies or carriers, both big and small, warehouses, brokers, and shippers hire lumper services, considered third-party operations at large. What is a lumper? A lumper unloads cargo and…

Natural disasters, whether they’re hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, or snowstorms, are equally destructive to lives, homes, and businesses. They can also severely disrupt the supply chain by land, sea, and air. But especially during natural disasters our intrepid truckers keep supply…

Thank you, truckers. Since we can’t personally offer our gratitude to all truck drivers across the country – that would be quite a haul, wouldn’t it? – we have National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (NTDAW). It’s during NTDAW that truck drivers get to experience well-deserved recognition and perks for their efforts in keeping our country moving forward. National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, coming September 10-17, 2023, kicked off in 1998 as a collective way to appreciate and highlight the work of safe truckers across the country. NTDAW serves as a reminder that without truck drivers delivering the food and products we need to live every day, the economy and certainly our daily lives would be vastly different.

Truck parking remains a top concern for truckers. In fact, it’s been the top concern for truckers since 2015, according to the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI)’s 2021 report, Truck Parking Information Systems: Truck Driver Use and Perceptions. It is a widespread problem that gets more complicated each year, even leading truckers to parking illegally because of space constraints. But there are more solutions today. We have five useful steps for finding a truck parking space, and we also discuss a variety of apps that aim to make the truck parking headache a bit easier to endure.

Nobody would argue that being your own boss is great. But owning a trucking company is only half of it, you also have to manage your trucking company. That’s when you need to take care of back-office operations, financial growth, financial protection, growing business credit, hiring good people, marketing your brand, offering excellent customer service, and so much more. But don’t be overwhelmed. We have Apex Capital experts that can guide you through all the facets of building a successful trucking company. Check out their tips. 

Trucking company financial protection is just as important as scoring high rates per mile every time you haul a load. Building business credit and researching potential customers are also key ingredients to staying successful. Wes Read, Chief Credit Officer for Apex Capital, brings 29 years of credit management experience. He understands how crucial cash flow, cash reserves, credit reporting, building better credit, and staying financially protected are to taking your trucking company from surviving to thriving. He has invaluable advice along with suggestions on tools and research to boost your business. This blog is the ninth in a series with Apex Experts sharing their industry knowledge.

The more we exchange money electronically, whether it be through purchasing goods or conducting business with associates, the more vulnerable we all are to fraud. It is no different for freight carriers, especially small to medium sized trucking companies and owner-operators. According to FreightWaves, freight fraud costs the industry more than $100 million each year. Carriers are the first line of defense because by the time load paperwork reaches the factoring company, that carrier may already have been the victim of fraud. We put together a list of red flag signs of freight fraud and we highlighted tools and services we have at Apex Capital to help arm carriers before they haul a load.

Trucking companies rely on lucrative loads to survive, naturally. But the difference between surviving and thriving lies in the strength of the back-office operations. Jennifer Lance, Chief Operations Officer for Apex Capital, brings 22 years of experience in day-to-day operations. She knows how to keep the internal machine oiled and cranking, from keeping employees happy and files organized to staying abreast of the latest industry technology and keeping processes managed. She shares invaluable advice that can help all trucking companies thrive. This blog is the eighth in a series with Apex Experts sharing their industry knowledge.

The trucking industry provides essential services for consumers and companies around the world. As a crucial part of manufacturing and transportation, trucks transport large quantities of raw materials and finished products across long distances. With over 70% of American goods…