When Shaker Logistics first began its story over 30 years ago, our fleet consisted of a single cargo van. From there we grew with our customers, adding assets to suit their needs. Today, we have a fleet of 55 trucks positioned to service our customers anywhere in the Northeast, the Midwest, down to Texas and Florida. As an asset-based logistics partner, managing a fleet is a different beast than managing a brokerage operation.
We caught up with Zach Pappas, COO of Shaker Logistics, to talk about what shippers might not know about managing a fleet. Then, we met with local Shaker driver Josh Clevenstine to learn about what his experience has taught him about being a professional truck driver.
Fleet Management
Equipment maintenance, monitoring markets, tailoring lanes, and managing driver schedules — even experienced players in the freight industry are often unaware of the many elements that are part of managing a fleet. Zach Pappas provided his insight into the major aspects of managing a fleet, including factors that influence the lanes Shaker decides to service:
“When we map out service lanes, we keep our customers and our drivers in mind. Our top priority is structuring lanes to match our customers’ frequent shipping lanes and these change with customer needs. Another thing we have to consider is our mileage bands. Our fleet is structured into three driver categories of local, regional, and over-the-road. We make sure our local drivers have lanes that get them home at the end of every day. For our regional drivers, they can take runs that guarantee they are home every weekend. Then we have our over-the-road drivers, who can be out for three to four weeks at a time. So, between customers and drivers, there’s a lot that goes into building our lanes. Because of market shifts, we revisit our lane maps on a weekly basis to stay relevant for our customers.”
Headhaul and Backhaul Markets
Lanes change as the overall market shifts, but also on a state-by-state basis. “Headhaul” and “backhaul” markets are terms used to describe carrier rates that differ going in and out of each state, influenced by the amount of freight entering and leaving that state. For example, Florida has an unfavorable backhaul market, meaning there is less freight leaving the state than there is freight coming in. Carriers across the industry request higher rates going into Florida because they know they’ll eat costs taking low-paying loads out of the state. Headhaul and backhaul markets vary across the country, and Zach said this makes route planning a challenging puzzle:
“To navigate headhaul and backhaul markets, you have to see the big picture. You can’t look at every load, mile, or even every day. You have to zoom out on a weekly level and figure out if you’re generating revenue on each truck with those disparities in the market, as well as considering fair income for the driver and costs for the customer. A lot of times shippers aren’t concerned with the market differences. They just want to know what it will cost to move their freight because they can’t tell their own customers to move to a better market. I’ve found that educating shippers on market disparities helps them understand the motivation behind carrier rates, which can help them plan their own shipping budget accordingly, especially with customers we do spot loads with.”
Meeting Shipper Needs
Shaker’s fleet can service any shipper’s needs either through spot or contracted lanes, but Zach said we excel when it comes to specialized freight:
“We’ve found our niche with shippers who need high touch, attention to detail, and have something unique about their process and product. Our fleet has been working with a major clothing retailer since 2019 as a dedicated carrier for store distribution, delivering to their stores eight to ten times a week. They need a partner who can have drivers manually unload and deliver up to 300 cartons weekly to stores, and that’s why we’re a great fit for them. We train our drivers and make sure they’re physically fit for the job, which isn’t something that most truckload companies are willing to do for a customer. But we are ready to go the extra mile for our customers. Or take one of our longstanding pharmaceutical customers, whose products are of such high value, they have tighter requirements for doing business with them that most logistics partners wouldn’t be able to support. But we took the time to make sure we had the right certifications and insurance coverage to do the job. The trailers we use with them must be of a certain vintage, and our drivers have to be hazmat certified, and it’s all worth it to support the customer.”
Driver Recruitment
To have a high-performance fleet, the driving force behind it has to be professional. Zach shed some light on the guiding principles behind Shaker’s driver recruitment process:
“Safety is a top priority for us, and our experience shows that professional drivers are the safest drivers. When a driver is professional, that means they care about the condition of their equipment, following protocol, and delivering good customer service. When we hire drivers, we check their employment history to ensure we are onboarding committed people and perform a risk assessment to check for past accidents. By being selective, we’ve created a team of dedicated drivers our customers can rely on.”
Josh Clevenstine is one such driver on Shaker’s fleet, and he cites professionalism as one of his personal values. After eight years as a truck driver and over three years driving local routes for Shaker, Josh’s experience informs his approach to work every day.
“It might seem old school, but being professional makes a real difference,” Josh said. “You can put in a breath mint because you’ve been drinking coffee all day, make sure your clothes are presentable, and look the customer in the eye and shake their hand. At Shaker we offer customer service, so it’s important to make that effort.”
As Zach Pappas said, professional drivers are safe drivers. Josh’s history of driving in varied conditions, from city lanes to braving the Adirondack backroads during the winters, gives him the knowledge to face any situation on the road.
“I take safety on the job very seriously,” Josh said. “For one, I don’t like getting hurt, and after years of experience, I like seeing things done right. It’s clear that Shaker prioritizes safety, too. They pay drivers by the hour rather than by the mile, so we never get put in a situation where we’d have to choose between making our time or being safe. What stands out most to me is that Shaker has us clock in before we start our driving logs because they care about us completing pre-and post-trip inspections. On top of that, they offer us performance bonuses, showing that they want us to drive safely, legally, and to be professional with customers. That’s how I know they care, and so we all care too.”
Unexpected issues like weather, equipment failure, traffic, or accidents on the road require drivers to think and act quickly to ensure service doesn’t suffer. It’s their responsibility to notify our dispatch team, and often communicate with the customer or consignee directly. Josh’s experience as a driver has taught him this:
“Don’t bring emotion into it. Everyone makes mistakes, but it’s how you respond to it that matters, and what you take away from it. When something goes wrong, I like to ask Shaker’s dispatch and the customer if there are things I can do, whether it’s related to equipment or communication, to make sure it doesn’t happen again. It can jam up everyone’s day, but you can’t let it distract you from getting the job done right and learning from the situation.”
“I feel like a human being here,” said Josh. “It’s unfortunate that it’s not something you see across the industry. Shaker respects my schedule, and I can make time for my interests outside of work. That’s a currency worth more than money to me.”
Move Forward, Together
Are you looking for a logistics partner who understands the value of professionalism, safety, and going the extra mile for both customers and drivers? At Shaker Logistics, we bring decades of experience and a commitment to excellence to every shipment. Whether you need tailored service lanes, specialized freight solutions, or a dedicated team of drivers you can trust, we’re here to deliver. Contact Shaker Logistics today to see if our fleet services are a good match for you!