The Many Directions of Transportation

In logistics, things rarely go exactly as planned.  NATCO Transport’s three decades of experience is based not just in moving freight, but in adapting when challenges pop up.

Whether it’s a hurricane disrupting shipping routes or a sudden surge in seasonal demand catching retailers off-guard, NATCO’s network of qualified carriers means we can scale quickly when it matters most.

When natural disasters hit and traditional routes shut down, disaster recovery requires quick thinking and creative problem-solving. NATCO’s team excels at finding equipment and alternative routes while navigating regulatory hurdles in real-time.

Then there are the seasonal rushes that happen every year but still challenge supply chains. Halloween candy shipments and the Christmas retail wave often produce capacity crunches that can overwhelm unprepared operations. NATCO’s approach? Planning ahead and lining up the right carriers before demand spikes. From flatbeds to temperature-controlled trucks, dry vans to specialized heavy haul: we match your needs with the right equipment so that seasonal inventory reaches warehouses before shoppers start demanding it.

What makes NATCO different isn’t just our range of services or our reputation from handling tens of thousands of shipments. It’s our commitment to clear communication and personalized service when the pressure’s on. When your supply chain hits a bump—whether it comes from Mother Nature or Black Friday crowds—you need a 3PL partner that can think creatively and deliver results.

Since 1992, NATCO has demonstrated that real versatility in logistics isn’t about having every answer ready to go. It’s about having the experience, the connections, and the problem-solving approach to find solutions when the usual methods won’t work. It’s often all about flexibility. And that’s NATCO.

The post When Supply Chains Need to Pivot appeared first on NATCO Transport.

NATCO VP Cori Eckley-Ritchards

As the trucking industry explores autonomous vehicle technology, one innovation stands out for what it reveals about the irreplaceable value of human drivers: External Human-Machine Interfaces, or eHMIs.

These visual communication systems — typically light displays mounted on autonomous vehicles — are trying to replicate something our professional truck drivers do naturally every single day.

When our experienced NATCO drivers roll up to an intersection, they catch a pedestrian’s eye. They give a friendly wave to let someone cross. They flash their lights to help out a fellow trucker. These quick, human moments help to keep our roads safe and everyone moving.

eHMIs show us that the tech world has figured out something important: autonomous vehicles have a real problem on their hands. How do you replace decades of human judgment, road courtesy, and just knowing what to do? These systems use colored lights, symbols, and patterns to tell others what the vehicle plans to do.

Research shows that cyan-colored, flashing displays work best, but here’s the rub: while human error does cause accidents, even the fanciest eHMI can’t match the adaptability of a well-trained driver who’s learned from experience. Our professional drivers combine their hard-earned skills with modern safety technology to make better decisions than either humans or machines could make alone.

Here at NATCO, we see this technology development as proof of what we’ve always known: our drivers bring something to the road that you just can’t quantify through an algorithm. Not yet, anyway.

While we’re all for innovations that make things safer and more efficient — from collision avoidance systems to smarter route planning — technology today does seem to work best when it helps our drivers shine, not when it tries to replace them.

The whole eHMI story tells us something worth remembering: the autonomous vehicle folks are working overtime to artificially recreate what our professional drivers bring naturally. As we look ahead, NATCO stays committed to investing in both smart technology and the skilled professionals who remain the backbone of safe, reliable transportation.

Our drivers aren’t just steering wheels — they’re the gold standard that technology is still trying to reach.

The post The Human Touch in Autonomous Technology appeared first on NATCO Transport.

Truck driving can also provide a path toward stability.

Deep inside this year’s annual report, “Evolving Truck Driver Demographics: Issues and Opportunities,” from The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), there’s an extraordinary section on foster care and trucking.

ATRI’s definition: “Foster care provides temporary, court-monitored placements for youth when their home environments are unsafe, with kinship care being the preferred option. When family placement is not possible, children may live with non-relative caregivers or specialized services, and/or in congregate care settings.”

The numbers:

• 73.2 million children in the United States in 2022.

• About 1 in 128 (0.8%) were served by foster care at some point during the year.

• West Virginia (3.3%), Alaska (2.2%), and Montana (1.9%) have the highest shares of children in foster care.

• New Jersey (0.2%), Utah, Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland (0.4%) have the lowest.

Youth in foster care tend to have a lower high school graduation rates (56%) than the national average (86%), and ATRI’s connection is that housing instability and education are factors affecting a stable future.

Along come national, state, and local programs to help move foster care youth in a positive, more stable direction. Big Brothers Big Sisters has a mentorship program. Foster Care to Success has career counseling, internships, and scholarships.

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act ensures those with housing instability have access to essential services and education. This legislation is one way that the trucking industry is able to reach foster youth and connect them to the possibilities of stability and income. It does so in part through programs like the Foster Care Transition Toolkit.

ATRI words the scenario respectfully and straightforwardly:

“As a society, including the trucking industry, it is important to recognize that foster youth should not be defined by their past experiences. The proper support can help ensure that they surmount any barriers to becoming reliable, motivated, and hardworking employees. By focusing on targeted outreach, inclusive hiring practices, mentorship, and career development opportunities, the industry can help break down stigma and leverage the strengths that foster youth bring to the workforce.”

Transitioning into adulthood is challenging enough, and those with housing stability have an extra set of challenges. Kudos to those in the trucking industry who provide them with an opportunity to go on a career path that can help with stability and a promising future.

The post Foster Care and Trucking appeared first on NATCO Transport.

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) issued a report this summer: “Evolving Truck Driver Demographics: Issues and Opportunities.” It’s a goldmine of information about our nation’s truck drivers.

About halfway through the document, ATRI presents this table and discussion:

ATRI: Summary Statistics for Top Transportation Occupations

There’s much to unpack here. First, the caveats: The chart is not exclusively for tractor trailer drivers, and that $1,005 median weekly earnings for drivers doesn’t factor in any bonuses. (ATA’s driver compensation study lists that average at $1,470 per week. or some $76,420 per year). Still, we can see that the driver average is, in fact, average when held up with the entire U.S. labor force.

ATRI groups these top five transportation sector occupations to show a scope of industry numbers and then, cleverly, the study pivots into how the industry might effectively confront its perpetual driver shortage.

Which explains the title of that section: “Opportunity: Recruit Younger Employees from other Transportation Occupations.” As they describe the situation:

From which pool do you recruit talent?

“Driver/sales workers and truck driver not only have higher average ages but also higher median weekly earnings than other occupational groups … Consequently, motor carriers (and other transportation companies) may possess a pool of younger talent that is well-positioned to transition into truck driving roles (those with average ages in the upper 30s). Individuals in these positions may already be familiar with the requirements, lifestyle, and expectations associated with truck driving. This presents an opportunity for fleets to leverage their existing non-driving workforce to internally recruit and develop younger drivers.”

Here’s the rub. ATRI’s very next section in the study is “Issue: Declines in Teen Licensing May Impact Younger Adult CDL Applicants.”

Yep. It seems the percentage for those who are eligible to have driver licenses (16 years or older) and don’t is remarkably high. New York: 25%. West Virginia: 24%. Texas: 21%. Hawaii: 21%. Oklahoma: 20%. (All of these percentages are from 2023.) The national average of those without driver licenses was 14%.

So, some people need rides. Uber and Lyft are probably not complaining.

This presents yet another challenge for expanding a commercial driver pool that’s increasingly aging out. ATRI has a solid idea here: Pull from those potential drivers already involved in the transportation industry through aligned jobs. Yes. Start with what you know.

The post The Transportation Jobs appeared first on NATCO Transport.

For commercial truck drivers and logistics professionals, the months between Labor Day and Christmas mark the true peak season in freight logistics. Consumer demand surges as retailers prepare for the holidays, and the pressure on the supply chain ramps up. Meeting this demand calls for detailed planning and patience on the road, always with a focus on safety.

The first big hurdle is freight volume. Holiday shopping, fueled by Black Friday and Cyber Monday, floods the system with orders. Truckers find themselves hauling more loads on tighter schedules. Pair that with the ongoing truck driver shortage, and the capacity crunch drives up costs, delays shipments, and strains every link in the supply chain.

Then there’s the increased traffic, making routes slower and more dangerous. Add in unpredictable winter weather conditions, and drivers must rely on defensive driving skills and longer hours behind the wheel. Meanwhile, seasonal labor shortages — some of that from drivers and warehouse staff taking well-earned holiday time—push companies to pay premiums to keep freight moving.

Even with these challenges, the industry has always found ways to adapt. Carriers and brokers rely on logistics technology, weather forecasting, and constant communication with drivers to stay ahead of bottlenecks.

Somehow, it continues to work. Yes, sometimes with enormous hurdles (i.e., a pandemic, bottlenecks, and those perpetual driver shortages). Trucking has long been an extremely resilient industry.

Just as important as trucks delivering is the flow of information. Clear communication between 3PLs, shippers, and receivers keeps freight moving, especially when the system is under stress. Real-time updates on details like pickup windows, dock availability, and delivery schedules help prevent bottlenecks and wasted miles. When all parties stay connected — whether through logistics platforms or old-fashioned phone calls — loads are more likely to arrive on time, and drivers spend less time waiting. In peak season, strong communication isn’t a luxury; it’s the glue that holds the supply chain together.

That long season from Labor Day to Christmas proves once again that commercial trucking is the backbone of holiday supply chains—with drivers leading the way, one shipment at a time.

The post Peak Season Trucking appeared first on NATCO Transport.

Adopter of early technology. Code name: “Rusty.”

There’s this perpetual tug-of-war. Old school vs. new technology. John Henry vs. the machines. Luddites vs. technology. And a good deal of Don’t Tread on Me vs. Big Brother.

With that in mind, here’s yet another acronym: ADAS — advanced driver assistance systems.

The ADAS technologies “use various sensors and cameras to monitor the vehicle’s surroundings, providing warnings or even taking control of certain functions to help drivers avoid accidents or navigate more easily.” Says Wikipedia.

This is, in a way, just another advancement on safety devices that we’ve put on vehicles since at least 1908, when J.E. Francis gave us the Slip Prevention Regulator for Rail Vehicles. That evolved into the anti-lock braking system (ABS), which, um, keeps our wheels from locking up while braking.

ADAS involves a lot more:

• adaptive cruise control

• collision avoidance

• obstacle alerts

• lane departure

• lane centering

• satellite navigation

• traffic warnings

• automated lighting

So, maybe to ease us through that Don’t Tread on Me approach, they’ve come up with ADAS levels. In Level 0, ADAS simply provides information. (think of a chirp or flash in your sideview mirror when you veer out of your lane). Level 1 works to take over one function. Level 2 assumes control over multiple functions. Levels 3 to 5 angles toward fully autonomous vehicles.

Think of adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency brake assistance, lane centering, lane keeping.

As our friends at Transport Topics describe it, “FMCSA has reported that trucks with both automatic braking and forward collision warnings were associated with about a 40% ­lower crash rate compared with trucks without ADAS.”

Those numbers are quite impressive in terms of increasing safety on our roads.

Also on the horizon? Get ready for automated valet parking, which “allow(s) a car to park itself in certain parking lots or garages, without a driver in the vehicle.” And don’t forget to tip your programmer.

The post ADAS Adoption appeared first on NATCO Transport.

⏤⏤

Homework? No homework. NATCO took care of that already.

We were one of Truckstop’s first customers. At night, we faxed in our loads to this place in Idaho, and the next morning they were posted.

I was asked to participate on the Truckstop customer advisory board: it took place on the basement of a cruise ship. (And no, they didn’t make us row the boat.) They put up the Truckstop logo and they’re like, “When you see this, what do you think?”

And I quietly — quietly, I thought — said in the back row, “Walmart…maybe a little on the cheap side.” I didn’t realize that Scott (Moscrip, Truckstop’s founder) was sitting across the aisle from me. “Cori, please say that louder.”

So, I did. and it was kind of a turning point. (My idea was) Truckstop has matured. It’s grown. It’s a good-sized company now. Let’s have the image and the logo and the marketing behind it to support that.

If you ask Scott, he says I called his 18-year-old baby ugly. That’s how he took the comments. We laugh and joke about that quite frequently.

Truckstop has always strived to be a partner, a partner with both carriers and brokers. Very on the medium ground: they want to be at service to the industry. It’s very evident of when you talk to somebody within Truckstop on any level of the team, they are “how can we better help you?”

I think that’s key because they’ve always valued customer input, and I think that’s the partnership that goes a long ways in this industry.

Happy 30th birthday, Truckstop. We appreciate everything you’ve done for NATCO Transport and the transportation industry over the years. Looking forward to the next 30 years together.

⏤⏤

You can watch Cori’s tribute to Truckstop.com HERE.

The post At the Truckstop (Meeting) appeared first on NATCO Transport.

And, well, the commercial transportation industry finds itself in a familiar, yet no less serious, pickle.

First, some numbers from the report:

• The United States relies heavily on truck drivers, as they moved roughly 72.6 percent of the nation’s freight (by weight, in 2022).

• Since 2011, truck drivers alone have accounted for approximately 2.2 percent of the workforce.

• In 2024, 3.58 million people were employed in truck driving roles, with some 57.6 percent of them working as tractor-trailer truck drivers.

• The remaining drivers primarily operate in local, last-mile, or direct-to-customer roles.

So far, so good. Right? Not exactly.

For example, “During moderate to strong economies, nearly every motor carrier will decline profitable revenue loads due to a lack of truck drivers; this reality creates a ‘de facto’ driver shortage that is not easily addressed by motor carriers alone.”

Other challenges include an aging driver pool, women accounting for only 4.1 percent of truck drivers, the average truck driver age now at 47 years old, and a faster pace of retirements.

So far, pretty bad, Right? Again, not exactly. Over the next select entries, we’ll dig into the downsides and upsides of the industry’s always-fluid driver situations ⏤ that’s situations, plural, because there are always variables that complement and compete.

Autonomous Trucking. Former Foster Youth. Justice-Involved People. With so many current and potential ways to get deliveries from point A to point B, there’s always friction among the actual competition and whatever’s on the horizon.

That said, NATCO’s success with driver acquisition and retention is still hiding in plain sight. We always emphasize clear communication, and we always treat our drivers with the respect and the appreciation they deserve.

Part of that approach is rooted in our rich history in the transportation industry. Cori Eckley — VP of NATCO’s operations since 2005 — represents the fourth generation in the family business. The value of transportation drove Eckley family dinner conversations then as surely as it drives Cori’s business strategy today.

Watch this space, and we’ll show you how that Eckley dinner talk has contributed to transportation.

The post Who’s Driving That Truck? appeared first on NATCO Transport.

NATCO on Cooking Oil ( ! )

The march toward reducing CO2 emissions in our industry is moving forward, in fairly dramatic ways.

At issue is the pollution from diesel-powered vehicles. Diesel burns dirty. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration:

“In 2022, diesel (distillate) fuel consumption accounted for about 25% (464 million metric tons) of total U.S. transportation sector CO2 emissions and about 10% of total U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions.”

Addressing the problem, the fuel industry has been developing multiple alternatives to diesel. The list is eyebrow-raising in possibilities. Andrew Cullen, senior VP of fuels and facility services at Penske, says:

“When we look at all of this from a fleet perspective, it … seems like fleets are faced with this dizzying array of options to not only meet regulatory requirements but to meet their own sustainability goals or their customers’ sustainability goals.”

Somewhere down the road and in the tank, winners will emerge in this pretty healthy competition for cleaner fuel. Note to file: the winner isn’t always the most viable or economical, and in this case it may not provide the cleanest mass-produced fuel possible. A lot depends on supply-and-demand variables, on marketing strategies, and on consumer adoption.

Still, the net results have many advantages, including:

Fewer emissions. There’s an average of 65% reduction in carbon intensity with renewable diesel compared to petroleum diesel.

Flexibility. Renewable diesel can fully replace diesel or be blended with diesel, which is especially advantageous in a transitional environment.

Compatibility. Renewable diesel doesn’t require vehicle engine rebuilds or replacement.

Renewable diesel is “chemically identical” to petroleum, and that’s what allows it to be mixed with standard fuel. It’s typically derived from used cooking oil, soybean oil, corn oil, canola oil, and tallow.

That’s promising progress . . .

Chart: American Transportation Research Institute

Chart: American Transportation Research Institute

The post On Renewables appeared first on NATCO Transport.

NATCO: At the Ready

Without further ado, we give you a sampling of the essential Frequently Asked Questions Team NATCO receives from our potential customers. (See HERE for our full Q&A.)

Do you have available carriers in my region?
Most probably yes: We have more than 9,000 carriers who have previously worked with NATCO. We are continuously prescreening and adding carriers to our network, adding some 75 new carriers per month.

How much do you charge?
Every quoted load is based on your requirements and specifics. This depends on reviewing those specs and requirements for the order; we determine your priorities and proceed from there.

How much time do you need?
We can turn around basic quotes in about 30 minutes. If you have particular, specific requirements, most often we’ll still produce a quote by EOD.

Where are you located?
NATCO’s headquarters are in Arlington, Texas; with today’s technology, our reach is truly national in scope.

What kinds of equipment and services can you provide?
NATCO’s capabilities are extensive and include:

• Overdimensional & Overweight

• Flatbeds

• Dry Vans

• Reefers

• Local

• High Value Commodities

• Specialized

• Expedited

• Team Drivers

• Produce/perishables

• Hazmat

• Mexico/Canada

How quickly can I initiate a delivery?
Depending on the market statistics, average coverage is most often located within 2-3 hours for a standard legal move and we can typically initiate within 24-48 hours. That said, we specialize in rush orders. Contact us at (800) 846-2826, and we’ll readily work with you.

The NATCO Difference: We proactively assess market statistics to evaluate availability. This allows us to tap the pulse of trends and provide shorter lead times.

How do I pay?
We have various options, including credit cards and a credit application packet to establish credit with us.

What are your certifications?
Cori Eckley, NATCO’s vice president of operations, is a Certified Transportation Broker, the highest broker certification and the most widely recognized distinction in the transportation industry.

NATCO is a proud member of the TIA: Transportation Intermediaries Association — the gold standard of 3rd-party logistics groups.

What if I need to reach you at off hours?
The NATCO team is on call 24/7. Messages are forwarded from voicemail to email. We ALWAYS have access to and respond to your communications.

The post Essential Q & A appeared first on NATCO Transport.