Trucking news and briefs for Monday, Nov. 23, 2020:
Ryder to distribute $30M in pandemic bonuses to employees
Ryder System (No. 13 in the CCJ Top 250) announced it will provide $30 million in bonuses to nearly 30,000 of its frontline workers in North America for their work during the pandemic.
Eligible full-time Ryder employees in the United States will receive $1,000, while part-time employees will receive $500, to be paid out ahead of the holidays on Dec. 14. This investment by Ryder will result in a one-time expense of approximately $30 million in the fourth quarter.
“As an expression of gratitude to Ryder’s drivers, technicians, service employees, rental counter agents, dispatchers and warehouse employees who have been the backbone of Ryder’s response to the pandemic, we will be granting a special recognition bonus,” said Ryder Chairman and CEO Robert Sanchez. “Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, these dedicated employees have made extraordinary efforts to keep our company strong, our communities healthy, and our economy moving, and I am incredibly proud of how they faced this pandemic head-on to support our customers.”
TFI helps fund digital broker Loadsmart’s latest investment round
Digital freight broker Loadsmart announced Friday it has raised $90 million in Series C funding, which includes investments from TFI International (No. 8 in the CCJ Top 250) and ocean shipping giant Maersk. Loadsmart says the latest round of investment cash will be used to expand its services around freight mode offerings to its shipper customers and optimize its freight pricing models.
The company says that its revenues have grown 250% since January. “As the secular shift from analogue to digital has continued to accelerate throughout the logistics industry, in which volatility has become the norm, we are proud to help our customers leverage Loadsmart’s technology to secure capacity and exceptional service,” said Ricardo Salgado, Loadsmart co-founder and CEO.
Convoy updates drop-and-hook program
Digital brokerage Convoy announced this week updates to its drop-and-hook service, Convoy Go:
*Predictive trailer routing will proactively route empty trailers to Convoy’s shipper customers’ facilities. Convoy says the program uses a machine learning model to predict weeks in advance how many trailers will be needed at shippers’ facilities across the country for use in the drop-and-hook program.
*Automated reloads with batched routes, which Convoy launched last year, now will be available in its drop-and-hook program. The automated reloads and batched routes options will allow carriers to combine three or more runs into a single multi-stop job within the Convoy app. In addition, automated reloads can now combine multiple drop and live loads into a single trip.
*Lastly, the new Smarter Trailers program, aimed at its shipper customers, will provide visibility into where a freight shipment is, if the shipment is on time, if a trailer is ready to load, if a trailer needs maintenance and how many trailers are inbound to any one facility. The system allows Convoy to make adjustments at any point, the company says, including up to the time a trailer is preloaded. Convoy has equipped all of its trailers with telematics systems — enabling the Smart Trailers platform.
