By Al Muskewitz

American Central Transport (ACT) has long been out front as one of the nation’s premier dry van trucking companies, but over the past three years it has taken its game to another level.

For the last three years the Kansas City-based carrier has been recognized as a Best Fleet to Drive for and a Top Company for Women to Work for in Transportation. It’s not been an on-again, off-again sort of thing, it’s three years running. Heck, the company doesn’t have trucks in its fleet that old.

“We just made the decision that’s what we wanted and we got very intentional about it, and now it’s become part of our culture, part of our fabric,” ACT recruiting director Josh Mecca told Wright Media. “We made decisions on how is this going to impact, how is this going to improve us and, more importantly, how is this going to improve the industry and making our competition step their game up, too, just to provide a better life for our drivers.

“It’s a big deal for us to be on both of those lists, mainly because we look at it as validation that all of our programs that we offer to our fleet truly are best in class from top to bottom.”

The Top Company for Women to Work for in Transportation, given by the Women In Trucking Association, has been around only three years, but ACT has been on the list every year.

Women make up approximately 10 percent of the carrier’s driver fleet – all solo drivers – a figure well above the national average. The WIT award recognizes its commitment to fostering gender diversity by offering competitive compensation and benefits, flexible hours and work requirements and opportunities for professional development and career advancement – and all of it within the company’s general operational framework.

ACT drivers are never far from home; at no point in its freight network is a driver more than a day and a half of legal drive time away from home. It operates a very consistent freight network, so drivers get to know the company’s lanes really well and they traverse them in safe, reliable and reasonably new equipment; in the last two years they’ve turned over nearly two-thirds of their tractors. And it’s all no-touch freight.

“(The WIT award) is really important because that’s something we as an industry need to collectively do a better job of,” Mecca said. “Women are) way under-represented in our (industry’s) driving force. I do believe there’s a lot of opportunity for ladies with the right companies to provide a good start for them, a good career for them.

“Getting that award three years in a row is just proof that what we do have, what we do offer, really benefits our lady drivers well, from a work-life balance to getting them home when they need to be home … but equally important is making sure they’re compensated well for the work that they do.”

Deb Habiger is a longtime professional driver and has been with ACT coming on 10 years, the last three running a dedicated lane between Kansas City and Knoxville hauling parts for the automotive industry. She’s one of ACT’s million-mile drivers and is consistently one of the top fuel performers in the fleet. Her experience as one of the company’s female drivers has been quite positive. 

“ACT is great; they make you feel like you’re part of the team,” she said. “It’s all about teamwork. They’ve got top-of-the-line equipment, they’ve got great mechanics, the people inside are cordial, they work with you.

“All they ask you to do is pick up on time, deliver on time and fuel where they want you to; that’s all they ask of you. They have a lot of programs if you want to be involved in that, but they don’t push you into anything. They do not ask you to do anything other than do your job.”

ACT’s commitment to gender diversity has scored big points in its standing among Best Fleets to Drive For. The carrier only recently became involved in that program, but the culture and forward thinking of its leadership team has continually kept it on the list. The interviews for this year’s record number of nominees conclude Oct. 30. The Top 20 will be announced in January.

“We’re super thrilled every time we get on that list,” Mecca said. “We know that once we’re on there you become a target for the industry so we have to continue to push forward.”

At the time it first appeared on the list, the ACT was in the process of opening into a new $4.2 million building adjacent to its shop to get to know its fleet better. Within the building is a workout facility available to employees 24/7. In the meantime, it has expanded its training and wellness programs, enhanced its hometown options giving drivers in good markets a chance to get home more frequently and lowered the age of its fleet from 1.8 years to 1.1 years. 

In this age of coronavirus, it has placed hand and truck sanitizing equipment at fueling stations, provided food packages and evened partnered with an outside vendor to provide meals for drivers who couldn’t get in for their driver appreciation efforts.

Certainly not to be overlooked, it improved an already solid pay package. ACT drivers average approximately $61,000 a year with monthly and quarterly bonuses that could take them even higher as well as receive a strong benefits and investment package.

“If you’re going to be out rolling we want to make sure you’re compensated for the work that you do,” Mecca said. “It truly is a top-to-bottom best-in-class compensation package. We’re really trying to invest in our drivers from top to bottom.”

Al Muskewitz is Editor of Wright Media. He can be reached at musky@wrightmediacorp.com