Episode 1 - About Trucking For Millennials

On this episode, we have a brief conversation about our vision for the Trucking for Millennials podcast as well as a little background for how the show got started. 

You can expect many more episodes to come that include topical discussion, expert interviews, more voices from the PDQ America office and much more!

Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss an episode and keep the conversation going by joining our Trucking for Millennials Facebook group.

Never miss an episode by subscribing to the Trucking for Millennials podcast on these platforms:

Michael: Welcome to trucking for millennials, where we engage with the future of fraid happening now.

My name is Michael Clements.

Aaron: And I'm Aaron Dunn, and we're here to help trucking and logistics professionals stay up to date and ahead of the curve as our industry evolves.

Michael: We're connecting with every step of the supply chain as part of our mission to increase transparency and provide world class freight solutions.

Aaron: This is the first episode of Trucking for Millennials. What are we doing here?

Michael: Well, I think we're going to talk a little bit about trucking, a little bit about millennials, and a little bit about trucking for millennials.

Aaron: Awesome.

Michael: I think we can do all those things on the show.

Aaron: Well said. So I guess first off, what do you know about trucking? Let's start there. Why trucking?

Michael: Well, I think trucking…this industry is one that since I've been in it only only a handful of years, so I'm no seasoned vet by any means, but six years now in the trucking industry, this is just an industry that I've seen the landscape change so much since day one. With getting in and understanding the industry, but then seeing everything from electronic logs to how technology has really impacted the industry. What it's done is it's leveled the playing field for millennials in our age group everywhere because it's such a new industry that it was just less than half a decade to a decade ago.

Aaron: Yeah. So to give a little bit more context there we're are at PDQ America. What is PDQ?

Michael: PDQ is Purpose Driven Quality.

Aaron: And you're the president.

Michael: I'm the president.

Aaron: Right on. So why did you start PDQ?

Michael: So PDQ started off as a hotshot trucking company that was originally called PDQ trucking and it ran into that name for a couple of years. Going into a bad oil and gas downturn, I'm telling you it's starting a business at the start of a downturn is it's not a good combination. But what it does do is it, it did help us understand business in a new light and that it's not all just wonderful and, you know, rainbows and butterflies. There's a lot of difficult challenges that can happen to you. And what happened was we just had a ton of trucks and we got overloaded and we didn't have the loads to keep our drivers and all of our staff busy. So we had to, we had to really rethink our strategy. And in 2015, we rebranded as PDQ America, and we really launched as a freight brokerage that has some assets with it. So we still do some minor trucking, but we are now probably 80% of freight brokerage

Aaron: That gives some insight into your background in trucking.

Michael: So for two years, I got the deal with all the freight brokers and that was was basically what enticed us to do this because the customer service was so poor in those two years and I just didn't like how we were treated by the broker. So we said, Hey, you know, we can do this. I figured, well, you know what I think between me and chase Patterson and the people that we can end up getting to join us on this team, I think we can teach a better customer service experience for carriers and for customers alike. And I saw an opportunity there that we're still seeing is there.

Aaron: Yeah. Love it. So but the millennial aspect, you know a lot about that as well, I guess.

Michael: Yeah. So this business is basically it's ran by millennials. So you have myself here identify with the millennials. So I like things that other millennials like like Sunday fun day and you know, hanging out with friends and avocado toast and brunch and I like all of those things. So you know, I fall right into the category, I identify with the millennials. But anyways, really we have a lot of them on our team, our entire freight broker staff. Really everybody in our office with the exception of our intern, he’s Gen Z-er, but everybody here is a millennial. So we definitely have some insight into how millennials and how the trucking industry, how it's all working together.

Aaron: Yeah. When, you know, we were talking before I joined the team about, you know, this podcast in particular, that's one thing that the name of this show really enticed me because you don't think of trucking as for millennials, you don't really think of the industry as for millennials. Now, the millennial generation is big. It's the largest generation. You look up an article and everybody's got kind of a different opinion, but that one's the most substantial… the biggest authority, I would say on them on on what the demographic is, and it's 22 to 38. So it's a pretty wide swath of with of age ranges and, you know, perspectives and that kind of thing. But still young. 38 is still pretty young, still young. And, you know, we need to… what piqued my interest about Trucking for Millennials, is that there was there is really not that there's a lack of conversation about the younger generation in trucking,

Michael: And the impact that it's having on the industry.

Aaron: Yes. And, and that's something that, you know, me being new to the industry, you know, of course, is totally, totally invisible to me, you know, if somebody on the outside looking in, nobody understands that there's a lot of millennials working in the industry today that are making that impact. And what was really interesting to me is, you know, in the face of the driver shortage, driver retention issues, the the new technologies that are entering the market, the disruption that's happening, all the innovation that's happening, all these are, you know, all these things that are happening that are really big and making that impact Millennials are in the thick of it, and are in the future of it at the same time. And I think that's just a really interesting thing, and which is, you know, it gets to why we're, we're sitting across each other today. It's like, we agree on how this is an important thing that we can, we can tackle and I think that PDQ is in a unique position to lead the conversation about what the millennial generation…what role it plays in the future of logistics.

Michael: And the fact of the matter is one day is the millennial generation will be running logistics. That's just…it's an inevitable process that we're in the very early stages on but we already see great impacts being made. One thing that I think has been really cool is just since we've started talking about Trucking for Millennials in this podcast, just since we've just started, started discussing it…we've had so many other millennials that are in this industry already reaching out to us. So through our Facebook group that we've got created Trucking for Millennials, as well as some phone call interviews that you've done. We've been able to reach out and we're now connecting with a lot of different millennials in the industry. And so we had this idea that this could be there. And we thought that this could be a place where other millennials and people could identify and say, hey, that's, that's who I am. That's, that's who I identify with. That's who I want to be a part of. Well, we are here in this industry. And I think there is a large group of us that as we keep doing this, I think we're going to start to see a lot of millennials coming out in the trucking industry saying, Hey, I'm making a major impact and I love my job.

Aaron: Yeah, yeah, there's a lot of young people that do love their job. It's just there's not a lot of outlets for them to share that. Or and, you know, it's it's kind of difficult to see yourself in trucking and logistics without somebody on the inside saying, Hey, come on, you know, and I think that, you know, I'm excited about playing, you know, helping, helping do that, you know, in the same way that PDQ is working on bridging the gap between drivers and brokerages, you know, improving that relationship between carriers and brokers. We want to improve the relationship that trucking has with millennials and and vice versa and let people know and understand that hey, you know, this is multi billion dollar industry that is ripe with opportunity. Just because you know, you might have a particular view of what a trucker is, and what trucking is, and logistics is, everybody has some kind of perception on that. It doesn't mean it's entirely accurate. And, you know, I, like you said, I just talked to a driver the other day, who, if you saw them on, you know, on the road or at a Starbucks eating avocado toast or whatever, you wouldn't say this guy was just in a truck, you know, driving, you know, state to state, you wouldn't. But at the same time, he loves his work. And he chose the industry, and, you know, takes great joy in it.

Michael: Yeah, I don't think this is going to be an industry that driver, you know, with the driver shortage, and you know, how we're going to fill in gaps is automation going to be here in time and so forth. You know, basically just the landscape of this industry is changing. And I don't think that by any means we're in dire straits in this industry. I just think you're just seeing a change in it, you know, with the companies that have gone out of business here in 2019, some major trucking companies. I saw the other day, over 2500 jobs lost just between six companies that have went out of business this year. Like that's a lot of truckers that are having to go find a job somewhere else or in another industry. And, you know, you hear stuff like that. And you also hear the argument of a driver shortage, which, you know, there's multiple stances on that in the trucking industry. But you hear that I just… that gap’s gonna have to get filled somehow, and I really do see it being our generation. But with that, there's going to be a new age of truck driver in a new age of broker and a new age of just transportation personnel. It's going to be a completely different industry.

Aaron: Yeah. And we're, we're here for it.

Katie: Hi, this is Katie at PDQ America. And this is the first of many conversations to come on Trucking for Millennials. Remember to subscribe, so you don't fresh perspectives on what's happening in the industry. You can also join our Trucking for Millennials Facebook group and the Transmitter, which is our weekly newsletter for anyone playing an active role in the future of freight. You can also follow us on social media @PDQ America. And if you'd like more information about our show, or have a topic you'd like us to cover, send an email to podcast@pdqamerica.com. Thanks for listening.