2014 Dynamic Dozen No. 4: Prime Inc.

Despite posting three years of healthy growth, Springfield-based trucking company Prime Inc. is facing a gathering storm along with other companies in their industry. Bob Costello, chief economist for the American Trucking Association, estimated in 2013 the growing driver shortage was around 25 percent. Additionally, he forecast turnover rates of more than 80 percent in some areas would continue to plague the industry, which relies on approximately 3 million drivers to deliver 9.2 billion tons of freight annually.

Prime Marketing Manager Clayton Brown says in the intervening months the situation has gotten worse for many companies, but Prime is weathering the current challenge by planning ahead, staying lean and remaining true to their profit-sharing business model.

“It helps when we all have skin in the game,” he says. “Everyone is truly aligned with the same goals, from drivers all the way through to our in-house associates.”

That alignment has paid dividends all around. Between 2011 and 2013, the company added nearly 30 percent to its staff rolls while posting a 23 percent revenue increase for the same period, cracking the $1 billion dollar mark last year before closing 2013 at $1.2 billion.

But Brown says it all comes back to the environment that allows Prime’s 6,500 independently contracted owner-operators to drive and thrive alongside the company.

“They’re our lifeblood,” he says. “They get 72 percent of the line-haul revenue for each load; therefore they’re watching their fuel, how they drive their truck, trying to be the most efficient on each run that they do for Prime.”

As such, the company has been consistently focused on driver programs in recent years, everything from overnight amenities at the home office to equipping trucks with the latest technological advances designed to enhance safety while supporting driver performance.

One of the company’s largest initiatives has been its driver’s health program, which has garnered several national association awards and even a 2014 feature in Men’s Health magazine. Brown asserts in an industry where two-thirds of the workers are obese and have a life expectancy a decade shorter than the rest of the population, staying healthy may be harder, but it’s even more important.

“We have between 150 and 200 drivers participating in our fitness programs,” Brown says.

“They have each lost an average of 19 pounds, and that makes a big difference in energy and focus. For us, healthy drivers aren’t just happier drivers – they’re safer drivers, too.”  

Happy drivers also are stable drivers, which has helped Prime maintain a 65 percent turnover rate among their independent owner-operators – a statistic that might look grim until comparing to the industry average of more than 100 percent in some areas and sectors.

One significant shift in the business model has been Prime Intermodal, which extends the reach of the company’s trucking operations through strategic partnerships in rail freight. Those opportunities have allowed the company to maintain their capacity and retain key contracts despite the ebb and flow of a volatile labor environment. [[In-content Ad]]