"Small Trucking Company"? Here's A Worst Case Situation

Recently a trailer full of undocumented aliens was found in San Antonio. Associated Press looked up public information on the company, Pyle Transportation.

Here's the news article

Federal records show the company claims 15 drivers and 18 trucks that haul fresh produce, meat, food, paper products and other freight. The company reported logging 830,000 miles in 2013, the latest year for which figures were available. The company and its drivers have repeatedly been cited for safety, vehicle maintenance and record-keeping violations, according to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data.

(And that just a start.) True, most small companies are not this bad. So, try living with only two or three of the problems listed in the article.

It's easy to make a snap judgment with one story, but as usual the AP did not get the whole story. Instead, they dug around to find some dirt based on the name on the side of the truck. Here's an interview with the owner of the company:

Siouxland trucking company linked to deadly immigrant smuggling case

So, we know that this company had some violations and tax problems a few years ago. But the trailer had been sold, and the guy hired one of his former drivers to deliver it. He knows him, probably trusts him. Makes sense, right?

Apparently that driver is the one who ran around hauling the illegals who died. But there is no evidence yet that shows this guy in Iowa had anything to do with the people who died in the trailer. And his past scrapes don't prove that he did. Now maybe someone will find some evidence that the guy who owned the trailer knew and profited from hauling the illegals, including the dead people, but until then, it's just character assassination.

Oops! Obviously I quoted the same article, just posted the one published in my local paper.

My point is that there probably isn't one small trucking company that hasn't had safety violations and financial troubles. And there are lots of big trucking companies that have tons and tons of safety violations and financial troubles.

Arrow Trucking is the most notorious example. They were big and suddenly one day it all stopped. They stranded hundreds of drivers.

The correct legal name of Prime is "New Prime, Inc." What happened to "old" Prime, Inc.? Oh yeah, they went bankrupt.

And as we all know, there are lots of examples in pictures of bad Swift drivers doing dumb things with their trucks.

Does that mean Prime and Swift are bad places to work? No.

Nor does the fact that this small businessman sold a trailer that ended up full of dead people mean his company is bad, or that all small trucking companies are bad, anymore than if the trailer had had "Swift" or "Prime" painted on its side.

True, I quoted an AP story linked to another current event. As for the company troubles, I found a good list in the article. Pyle may not be the worst company, as described by AP, but there is a list of common problems small trucking companies end up with. In reality, an average 18 truck company may have two or three of the listed issues.

The TT readers who think a small company would be a good place to work may be right. But with the lack of the resources a national company has, that route may not be a bed of roses.

The correct legal name of Prime is "New Prime, Inc." What happened to "old" Prime, Inc.? Oh yeah, they went bankrupt.

This is why the push for L/O. It takes a good portion of the risk from growth off the company and places it on the driver.