Lake City Express What do you think about the future of small fleets? Can they survive in this day and age? E-mail Transport Topics with your response. M ost small fleet owners face an agonizing decision: go it alone or sell out. Some are forced to consider a third option: get out of the business.
Along a mile stretch of toll road in Oklahoma, all three scenarios are played out in a way that illustrates the problems and the opportunities for small trucking companies today and the different roads they take to the future. Susan Atherton, president of Lake City Express in Grove, is out to prove that small fleets can flourish in the shadow of larger competitors, although not without some help. Lake City was established by J. In Tulsa, LinkAmerica Corp. President Roger Collins thinks he can help small firms succeed by taking over many of the duties that doom a small business owner β financial management, safety assistance and marketing β and letting local managers do what they do best β hire drivers and run the operations.
At the other end of the spectrum are Terry L. Moore and Daryl Bischoff. Moore is the owner of T. Both men are fed up with the trials and tribulations of trucking. Moore says the industry is not doing enough to get rid of bad drivers. Bischoff will soon turn over his business to his year-old son, George.
Moore Trucking ver the past 21 years, Terry Moore has seen plenty of good and bad things happen to trucking. High on the bad list is the fact that freight rates have either dropped or stayed the same during that period, bringing enormous financial pressure on carriers.
While his business has remained profitable, Moore has been forced to reduce his fleet over the past three years from about 24 trucks to eight. The staff has shrunk from 30 to seven, four people in the office and three mechanics. More than money, though, Moore is worried about what he sees as a significant decline in the quality and quantity of truck drivers.
