The Trucking company owners face plenty of challenges on a daily basis. It is your call whether you will accept those challenges and beat them.

Having said this, as a trucking company owner you need to be prepared for everything.

Trucking company owners have real struggles.

Some would say that their life is good because they own a company and have a huge income.

On the subject of this, you are not far from the truth.

However, their world is not all black and white. There are grey areas when it comes to handling every task in the trucking industry.

In order to run a trucking company successfully, you need to have a strong character and more importantly, high level of trucking industry knowledge.

Furthermore, there is the respect of the following rules and regulations of the United States:

• The Department of Transportation (DOT)
• Better Business Bureau (BBB)
• Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
• Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

Notably, the trucking industry is full of challenges. On the subject of this, there are always those which you are eager in completing.

It may be complex but you must admit that the trucking business is among the most interesting among industries.

Having said this, it is never dull. On the contrary, each day is a new adventure, a new challenge. Challenges are good, they always keep the adrenaline rush. To emphasize, it is the right business to get into.

1. Getting Great Companies to Work With

As you may already know, the trucking industry is tricky. It is a hard test for the truck drivers and it is even more challenging for the trucking company owners.

To begin with, one of the biggest challenges that the owners face is actually finding reliable companies to work with.

Having said this, it is a problem that every company in the industry is facing with, especially the owners who start a trucking business.

Consequently, this leads to partnering.

To put it in another way, the already established and great companies are complicating the business for the new Trucking Companies.

In other words, the bigger companies are making the new entrants in the industry sign specific agreements.

Continually, these agreements are not always going in a direction of mutual benefits.

In fact, they rarely ever do.

To put it differently, the trucking companies are suffering from the tricks that the bigger companies are playing.

More importantly, by making the smaller trucking companies affiliate, they are making their interests a priority.

Moreover, they are taking an advantage of them. They have a role of a villain instead of a fairy.

These companies are supposed to help the small trucking companies.

Namely, they are not only not helping the new trucking company owners but they are making their business tougher on top of it.

In order to avoid all of this, you need to find reliable companies to work with. In this way, being among the fresh trucking company owners will be not scary at all.

Sometimes, you do not have to go the harder way in order to succeed. On the contrary, it can be easy, you just need to know what to do, who to collaborate with and who to trust.

2. Really Bad Roads

There are some areas in the United States which actually have really bad roads. This is immediately a problem for the trucking companies.

In fact, it could be the most peculiar challenge in the states in America which face the bad roads on a daily basis.

To put it in a different way, it slows the transportation process to a maximum.

It is noted that 90% of the accidents are occurring because of the heavy-duty vehicles.

Generally speaking, one simply cannot put the blame on the trucking companies.

On the subject of this, the trucking company owners need to have something to make a living from.

To emphasize, it is the poor network of roads.

When a trucking company owner sends a specific transportation truck, it may suffer particular losses.

Due to the dangerous roads, the accidents may be disastrous.

For instance, if you are one of the trucking company owners of hazardous materials transportation even mini accident may cause a huge damage.

To continue with, it may cause leakage of liquids.

Furthermore, tanker trucks could also spill their cargo or what is even scarier, it could lead to a complete fire outbreak.

In particular, if this happens, the company is at an awful loss.

However, besides all the flaws preventing the trucking company owners to complete a transportation successfully, you can pull the good out of it.

For instance, you can learn some tips to prevent truck accidents.

3. Trucking Company Owners Face With Fuel Cost

Fuel cost is another challenge that the trucking company owners are facing each day. Sometimes it is hard to find reliable fuel companies.

Why am I saying this?

To continue with, one of the reasons is that the cost of the fuel is constantly varying.

To put it in another way, as you are already familiar with, each year the fuel cost is different.

Having said this, it is the main reason why the trucking company owners are actually facing this problem every year.

With this in mind, I could say that it is among the greatest challenges that the trucking company owners are facing.

More importantly, this topic is especially tough for the OTR trucking company owners.

Looking on the positive side, this could be solved.

With regards to this, there are specific fuel cards that are helping the trucking business owners to decrease the company’s expenses.

In other words, you can use these fleet fuel cards for small businesses in an agreement with the fuel companies.

For example, there are existing contracts which are enabling the businesses to come to a reasonable agreement.

To emphasize, the trucking companies are allowed to use particular gallons of fuel if they buy a fleet fuel card.

4. Truck Maintenance and Cost

Another topic named in the top challenges is the truck cost and its maintenance as well.

Why is it numbered here?

For one reason, the trucks are expensive. Reducing the cost of the fleet is a never-ending struggle for the trucking company owners.

Moreover, it is number one problem at the beginning of the trucking companies.

In fact, it is the most daunting challenge ever accepted by the trucking company owners.

Due to this matter, there is always one question popping out: “To buy or to lease”?

To continue with, this is a type of question that your budget will answer eventually.

Continually, there are the equipment parts of the trucks that need to be added.

For example, there are the truck tires, the truck lights, antennas etc.

Although expensive, truck accessories cost is nothing if compared to the expenses required for the trucks.

In addition to this, trucking company owners including yourself, want high-quality fleet and equipment for the company.

Moreover, they not always have the chance to find reliable companies to lease or to buy a truck in their own conditions.

Therefore, what you need to do is find trustworthy truck manufacturers in the United States.

Furthermore, you can contact them in order to find out about their offer. On the other hand, you can read reviews from their customers, or ask the experienced owners.

With this intention, the best trailer manufacturers in the United States for trucking company owners are probably the following:

• Freightliner
• Kenworth
• Volvo Trucks
• Ryder
• Caterpillar Trucks
• Peterbilt

The above-mentioned manufacturers will help you with everything you need. Whether you need a class 8 trucks or flatbed trucks, they can make it a reality for you.

5. Keeping a Very Close Watch On Everything

Besides the fact that you own a company and have people to work for you, you need to keep a very close watch on everything.

Having said this, trucking company owners need to check on their employees and the progress they make.

This is important not because you need to control your employees and check their work like a mad boss but for progress.

To put it in a different way, it is obligatory.

Continually, if there is a problem with the loads, you could help your employees and solve it.

On the other hand, if the new truck drivers need some kind of help, you need to be familiar with their work in order to help them.

More importantly, you need to keep a very close watch on everything in case of a progress among specific employees.

For example, if a truck driver completes a particular mileage, he certainly deserves to have one of the truck driver awards.

In the end, it is important to be informed about the work your employees complete in order to run a successful trucking business.

6. Spare Parts For The Fleet

Another challenge that you are facing as a trucking company owner is finding genuine parts for your fleet.

If you are one of those who want to start a trucking company and rather inexperienced in this branch then there’s no need to worry.

Furthermore, I am certain that having a hard time finding spare parts worries you and makes you think you are to blame for.

However, you are wrong.

The theory says that the spare parts come as another challenge in the list of the trucking company owners.

In particular, this is due to the fact that it is hard to find quality providers of truck parts. Notably, this depends on the place the trucking company is headquartered.

Having said this, there are quality truck part providers for the trucking company owners and they are the following:

• Husky Liners
• O’Reilly
• Ryder Fleet Products
• Freightliner Parts
• Kelderman

The best part about these truck part manufacturers is that you can order the spare parts you need online.

Thanks to the internet, some challenges that trucking company owners face can be completed.

In this way, you can see the parts first, check their price and then consider whether you are financially stable to purchase it.

On the other hand, you can make a comparison between two or several products.

Having said this, you can either compare parts by the same or different manufacturers.

For example, you can take advantage of their capabilities. In other words, if you think one manufacturer is better in truck lights, purchase them.

On the contrary, if you consider another manufacturer better at truck tires purchase them.

Continually, if some of them have a discount or have a better offer which is a budget-friendly, you can consider purchasing it.

In this way, you will have the best parts for your truck, and probably get them at a reasonable price.

7. Truck Breakdown and Repairs

Same as the truck cost and maintenance, the truck breakdown plays a great challenging role for the trucking company owners.

Having said this, there are trucking companies which do not have a budget to buy new trucks. Correspondingly, they would lease a truck or buy used trucks.

With this intention, there is a situation where the trucking company owners face trucks break down.

In this case, they need further expenses to repair it. There are the parts of the truck’s equipment involved here.

Having said this, they need to be changed and replaced eventually for new truck parts and accessories.

Consequently, this costs, a lot.

Furthermore, in case of a truck breakdown, you need to wait days until the vehicle is repaired and prepared again to hit the highways.

To be honest, even if the truck is new bought or leased, there will come a time when the trucking company owners need to face these expenses.

However, everything is solvable.

To put it in a different way, you could hire diesel mechanics for instance. On the other hand, you could make a deal with some mechanics and leave it in their hands.

In this way, you will spend much less if you work with familiar diesel mechanics and more importantly, familiar costs.

Thus, you will avoid those truck mechanics that would like to take advantage of your business, money and time.

8. Unprofessional Truck Drivers

Generally speaking, the trucking industry is facing with a lack of professional truck drivers. Due to this problem, they are constantly facing the opposite – hiring unprofessional truck drivers.

To put it in a different way, some of these inexperienced truck drivers are unfamiliar with the regulations of the Government.

For example, there are those who probably did not take the truck driving lessons and are unfamiliar with some U.S. rules.

Having said this, there are unprofessional truck drivers who are not familiar with the following regulations:

• Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

Continually, if you own one of the oldest trucking businesses then you could allow yourself to hire new truck drivers.

For example, if you already have experienced drivers, it is a great plus since to hire new employees can learn tricks from a young age.

Since there is a huge difference between the professional and new truck drivers, the new ones can learn a lot from the professionals.

Conclusion

To sum it up, it is not easy to own a trucking business. Although it is everyone’s dream to have its own company or a business, it certainly is a tough field.

Generally speaking, facing the challenges in the trucking industry is not easy at all. Further, not all of the trucking company owners will accept and complete the challenge.

In the end, the trucking industry is about progress. There are so many other industries which depend on the trucking companies.

All things considered, completing the challenges is the best success for your trucking company.