2007_JobOps

July/August 2020
FEATURES
Class 8 Update .................................................. 6
Owning The Wheel ......................................... 8
Sudoku Puzzle ................................................ 14
Published by:
1123 S. University, Suite 325
Little Rock, AR 72204-1610
Telephone: (501) 666-0500
Fax: (501) 666-0700
E-mail: info@thetruckermediagroup.com
ADVERTISERS
Coal City Cob ..................................................... 12
Merit .............................................................. 3,16
New Waverly .................................................... 5
P. I. & I. Motor Express ................................ 11
Rush ..................................................................... 9
Star Freight ................................................... 7
Tran Stewart ..................................................... 4
UPS Freight ....................................................... 13
Chief Executive Officer
Bobby Ralston
bobbyr@thetruckermedia.com
General Manager
Megan Cullingford-Hicks
meganh@thetruckermedia.com
Managing Editor
Wendy Miller
wendym@thetruckermedia.com
Production Manager
Rob Nelson
robn@thetruckermedia.com
Graphic Artist
Christie McCluer
christie.mccluer@thetruckermedia.com
For advertising opportunities,
please contact Megan Cullingford-Hicks
at meganh@thetruckermedia.com.
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2 I Job Opportunities

MERIT TRANSPORT is looking for Owner Operators!
AT MERIT TRANSPORT YOU ARE NOT JUST A NUMBER…..
Partner with Merit, where every driver counts. The majority of our loads,
about 80%, are drop and hook, maximizing your drive time.
• Huge Earning Potential –
$250,000 or more
• Sign-On Bonus
• Fuel Discounts
• Breakdown assistance
• OTR loads (90% customer loads
not brokers)
• Majority drop & hook
• Year round work
• Family-Owned company located
in Ontario, California
• No trailer fees
• Flexible schedule
• Hablamos Español
CALL US NOW AT 866-948-1717

CLASS 8 UPDATE
A couple of
CLASS 8-RELATED
news items to note:
APRIL CLASS 8 TRUCK SALES BARELY HALF OF
THOSE A YEAR AGO
April was the worst month for new Class 8 truck sales in the U.S. market in more than
three years. To find a worse month, you’d have to go back 37 months to February 2017.
A total of 12,986 new Class 8 trucks were sold in April, according to information
received from ACT Research (actresearch.net), a decline of 47.6% from the 24,480 sold
in the same month of 2019. April sales dropped 23.1% from 16,892 sold in March.
Of those trucks sold this April, 8,156 were fifth-wheel-equipped tractors, down
30.1% from March sales of 11,673 and down 25.5% from April 2019 sales of 18,303.
The remaining 4,830 trucks, or 37.2%, were vocational units equipped with dump,
refuse or other bodies. The percentage of vocational trucks is typically 25% to 30%, so
the higher percentage in April indicates that sales of over-the-road trucks are taking a
bigger beating than sales of vocational trucks. The April number was 7.5% lower than
March sales and 25.5% lower than April 2019 sales.
The declining sales were not unexpected, as numbers were already running nearly
28.0% behind last year’s pace. A condition of overcapacity in the freight market and uncertainty
over economic conditions had already combined to put a damper on the market.
Then came COVID-19.
The closing of overseas manufacturers slowed imports; then the shutdown of domestic
businesses deemed “nonessential” depressed available freight levels to crisis
proportions.
May sales aren’t expected to be much better, if at all, despite the gradual relaxing
of stay-at-home orders and the reopening of businesses. That’s because of the time it
takes to restart an economy that has been virtually shut down.
“It takes a lot of people marching at the same speed to turn the manufacturing
sector back on,” said Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst at ACT Research, noting
that, even though a plant may reopen, the parts and materials needed to function may
not be readily available.
“With current inventories and supply chains, we can say that April will probably not
be the ‘bottom’ of the economic downturn,” he said.
In the used Class 8 truck market, sales volumes declined 8% in April compared to
March, according to the latest preliminary release of State of the Industry: U.S. Classes
3-8 Used Trucks published by ACT Research. Average prices for used tractors in dealerto-dealer
sales also fell 8%, while the average used truck sold was 2% older. Compared
to April 2019, average prices were down 20%, while the age of the average truck
dropped 5% and the odometer miles declined 2%.
As for new trucks, the manufacturer that has taken the biggest hit so far
in 2020, on a percentage basis, is International, according to information received
from Wards Intelligence (wardsintelligence.com). Sales of 7,499 Class 8
trucks on the U.S. market for the first four months of the year lag 41.9% behind the
12,902 units sold at the same point last year. Market share for the period has dropped
from 14.8% to 12.5%. International was the only OEM to sell more Class 8 trucks in the
U.S. market in April than in March, 1,961 to 1,886 for an increase of 4%. Compared to
April 2019, however, sales declined 44.6% from 3,547 sold in that month.
Freightliner’s April sales of 4,315 trucks showed a decline of 27.9% from March sales
of 5,983 and were 47.4% behind the 8,209 sold in April 2019. For the year to date,
Freightliner’s 22,202 Class 8 trucks sold on the U.S. market trails last year’s January to
April sales by 11,593 units, or 34.3%. The company’s share of the U.S. Class 8 market
has dropped from 38.9% at the end of April 2019 to 36.9% this year, and 34.1% for
the month of April.
To find the last month that Volvo Trucks sold fewer than 1,000 Class 8 units in the
U.S., you’d have to go all the way back to January 2012. The OEM sold 951 trucks in April,
a drop of 44.6% from March sales of 1,717. Compared to April 2019, sales dropped more
than half (59.6%) from 2,199 trucks sold. For the year to date, Volvo sales are down
31.2%, slightly more than the decline for the entire market.
Volvo-owned Mack Trucks outsold Volvo Trucks in the U.S. Class 8 market in April
with delivery of 1,063 units, a 24.3% decline from March sales of 1,404 and 44.8%
beneath April 2019 sales of 1,924. Mack has actually gained market share in 2020, going
from 6.6% of Class 8trucks sold at the end of April 2019 to 7.8% at the same point
this year. April 2020 sales represented 8.4% of the market, which may be attributable
to the heavy presence Mack has in the vocational market.
Kenworth sold 2,290 Class 8 trucks in April, a 15.7% decline from March sales and
39.0% behind April 2019 sales. For the year to date, the company has sold 9,508 units,
20.5% behind last year’s pace of 11,955. As for market share, the company’s smallerthan-average
sales declines have actually increased its share of the market, which
climbed from 13.8% at the end of April last year to 15.8% at the same point this year
and reached 18.1% for the month of April 2020.
Peterbilt sales of 1,553 were 30.9% behind March sales of 2,247 and 59.6% beneath
April 2019 sales of 3,842. For the year to date, Peterbilt sales nearly match the industry
average, declining 30.3% compared to 30.7 for the entire industry.
April’s declining truck sales were not unexpected, as numbers were already running nearly 28.0% behind
last year’s pace.
6 I Job Opportunities

OWNING THE WHEEL
BY CLIFF ABBOTT
IN BUSINESS AND IN LIFE, KEVIN
AND CANDICE RAWLS WORK AS
A TEAM PARTNERSHIP
Owner-operators Kevin and Candice Rawls drive a 2019 Freightliner Cascadia 126 with an automaticshift
transmission and a Detroit engine that pulls 505 horsepower. Buying the Cascadia was an easy
choice, since the team began their trucking career driving a Freightliner for MC Express in Jonesboro,
Arkansas. (Courtesy: Candice Rawls)
How do an assistant instructor at a regional
college and a phlebotomist at a local medical
center spend their lives once the kids are
grown?
If they’re Kevin and Candice Rawls of Paragould,
Arkansas, they go to school together to get their
commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs); then hit the
road as team truck drivers.
“Once the kids were grown, we thought trucking
would give us a way to travel together and put away
some money,” Candice said.
“Back home, she always drove small cars,” Kevin
said. “But since she started driving a big truck, we
had to buy a Suburban.”
When they’re at work as owner-operators, the
couple drives a 2019 Freightliner Cascadia 126
8 I Job Opportunities

OWNING THE WHEEL
BY CLIFF ABBOTT
with an automatic-shift transmission and a Detroit
engine that pulls 505 horsepower. Buying the Cascadia
was an easy choice, since the team began
their trucking career driving a Freightliner for MC
Express in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
“We’ve been teaming together for three years
and decided it’s time to go into business for ourselves,”
Kevin explained.
“While we were company drivers, we saved up for
the down payment on this truck,” Candice added.
“We paid off everything we could so we would
have minimal expenses,” Kevin said. “We’re even
paying extra on the house.”
The Rawls’ Cascadia is a “golden amber” color,
“sort of a metallic orange,” according to Candice.
The longer wheelbase improves the ride, Kevin
said, adding that it also allowed the couple to mount
a storage box on the catwalk behind the sleeper.
They chose Florida-based Landstar Systems to
lease their equipment to, and both say they have
been satisfied so far.
Being together on the road comes naturally to the
Rawls, who have been a couple since their youth.
“We’ve been together since we were 16 at Greene
County Tech High School,” Candice shared. “We
were married at 20, and we’ve been married 31
years now.”
“We like to stay out for about a month at a time,
and then we’ll go home for a week or so,” Kevin
said. “It seems like when you go home, it’s hard to
get back into the routine once you leave.”
The company lets the pair choose their loads
from a load board available to other Landstar Business
Capacity Owners (BCOs). Some loads are
from Landstar customers while others may be brokered
by Landstar agents, but the loads must be
selected from Landstar offerings.
Because the couple runs hard and stays out so
many days at a time, available driving hours can become
a problem. Kevin and Candice often choose
to manage their hours and keep rolling rather than
stop for a 34-hour restart.
“Landstar lets us pick from both team and solo
loads, so we can keep the truck rolling — but we
can take a solo load if we need a break or we’re
getting close on hours,” Kevin said.
While the timing could have been better for the
Rawls to become owner-operators (they took delivery
of their truck just as freight rates began dropping
in early April), by watching their spending and
being selective of the loads they accept, they’ve
been able to make a go of it.
“Some rates were unbelievable, around 90 cents
a mile, and even one in the 70s, but we’ve been
able to find enough decent loads to keep going,”
Candice said.
Kevin added, “At this point, the rates are doing
it for us.”
The couple said they prefer running to the West
and Northwest parts of the U.S. because of the
good roads, longer trips and better traffic. The East
Coast presents some challenges they prefer to
avoid.
“It’s hard to find a parking place if you want to
use the bathroom,” Candice said. “That’s important
for women. I’d rather drive in LA than up the East
Coast.”
The couple works in 12-hour shifts: Kevin starts
at 3 a.m. and Candice takes over at 3 p.m.
“I drive at night and he drives during the day,”
Candice explained. “We each see some day and
some night.”
Kevin noted that Landstar is “big on safety.” Candice
added that taking your time as a driver can
help to prevent accidents.
“Take your time maneuvering and get out and
look when you need to,” Candice said. “When you
don’t take time, you increase the chance of something
happening.”
The couple saves money by eating most of their
meals in the truck.
“We don’t do any big-time cooking in the truck,”
said Candice, who makes use of their freezer. “We
buy a lot of Healthy Choice prepared meals. We
have a toaster oven and a microwave, of course.”
When the couple is home, they relish visiting
their grandson and reuniting with their dog, which
they leave in the care of a daughter when they go
on the road, due to the dog’s age.
Kevin likes to hunt deer when he gets the chance,
as he did during a dream trip last year.
“Me and my son and my dad went to Colorado to
hunt mule deer,” he said. “We hunt whitetail back
home.”
When home time is over, however, the Rawls are
back to business.
At home or on the road, Candice and Kevin approach
life and work as a team — together.
10 I Job Opportunities

THANK YOU to Flatbed Truck Drivers and
All Essential Workers on the Front Line
of Covid-19
• Local, Regional & OTR
• Great Home Time and Benefits
including Paid Holidays
• Percentage Paid Weekly
• Ask About Our Pay Guarantee
& Vacation
PAID TRAINING PROGRAM FOR COMPANY DRIVERS
APPLY ONLINE NOW
www.piimx.com
866.819.8913
PAID TRAINING PROGRAM FOR COMPANY DRIVERS

Coal City Cob
Company, Inc.
Hiring Company Drivers
& Owner Operators
In 1970, the Cloonen family started
Coal City Cob with one truck and a
plan. Fifty years later, that plan spans
the nation with over 200 drivers
providing quality service to chemical
and hazardous waste customers.
At the heart of it, though, we’re just
folks that love trucking. As the big
get bigger, we welcome you to join us
and remember what it’s like to work
in a culture that is family. We look
forward to hearing from you soon.
TERMINAL LOCATIONS
CHARLOTTE
Charlotte, NC
CHIGAGO
Diamond, IL
CINCINNATI
Cincinnati, OH
DALLAS
Waxahachie, TX
HOUSTON
La Porte, TX
LOUISIANA
St. Gabriel, LA
MORROW
Morrow, GA
NEW JERSEY
Rahway, NJ
Pedricktown, NJ
888-860-2434
Drive4CCCOB.com

SUDOKU PUZZLE
Sudoku
How to play: You must complete the Sudoku puzzle so
that within each and every row, column and region, the
numbers one through nine are only written once.
There are 9 rows in a traditional Sudoku puzzle. Every
row must contain the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
and 9. There may not be any duplicate numbers in any
row. In other words, there can not be any rows that are
identical
There are 9 columns in a traditional Sudoku puzzle.
Like the Sudoku rule for rows, every column must
Difficulty: Easy
also contain the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.
Again, there may not be any duplicate numbers in any
column. Each column will be unique as a result.
A region is a 3x3 box like the one shown to the left.
There are 9 regions in a traditional Sudoku puzzle.
Like the Sudoku requirements for rows and columns,
every region must also contain the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Duplicate numbers are not permitted
in any region. Each region will differ from the other
regions.
14 I Job Opportunities

THE TRUCKER NEWs CHANNEl
is TheTrucker.com’s exclusive
weekly video program featuring
current events and trucking
industry news.
In addition to TheTrucker.com,
The Trucker News Channel is
available on Facebook, YouTube,
AppleTV, Roku and Amazon TV.
TUNE IN AND WATCH AT THETRUCKER.COM

MERIT TRANSPORT is looking for Owner Operators!
AT MERIT TRANSPORT YOU ARE NOT JUST A NUMBER…..
Partner with Merit, where every driver counts. The majority of our loads,
about 80%, are drop and hook, maximizing your drive time.
• Huge Earning Potential –
$250,000 or more
• Sign-On Bonus
• Fuel Discounts
• Breakdown assistance
• OTR loads (90% customer loads
not brokers)
• Majority drop & hook
• Year round work
• Family-Owned company located
in Ontario, California
• No trailer fees
• Flexible schedule
• Hablamos Español
CALL US NOW AT 866-948-1717