Read the monthly column of NPTC President & CEO Gary Petty in Fleet Owner magazine. Click on an issue below to view.
	Grease Fleet (September, 2006 issue) Restaurant Technologies, Inc. is one of the nation's leading — and fastest growing — providers of bulk cooking oil management services to the food industry...
	Second to None (August, 2006 issue) The corporate slogan for Shaw Industries — "Where Great Floors Begin" — appears on all 3,720 of the company's trailers ...
	Marathon Fleet (July, 2006 issue) The Transport Operations group of Marathon Petroleum Company LLC (MPC) operates 134 tractors and 154 trailers throughout the Midwest. With over 400 employees ...
	Best Fleet by Night (June, 2006 issue) The automotive replacement parts business is demanding and highly competitive. One of the top players is General Parts, Inc./CARQUEST...
	Bygone Age (May, 2006 issue) It was a pleasure last fall for me to spend a 12-hr. shift with Erwin Deelsnyder, a driver at the BOC Carbon Dioxide Plant in Pekin, IL. This is a glimpse...
	Behavior-Based Safety (April, 2006 issue) How does a company change an institutional culture for better safety results? The answer lies in both "top down" and "bottom up" changes...
	Best Fleet for the Final Run (March, 2006 issue) With $650 million in annual sales, Indiana-based Batesville Casket Co., a division of Hillenbrand Industries, Inc., is a leading U.S. casket manufacturer...
	Bright Future (February, 2006 issue) The fortunes of private fleets will continue on the upswing for 2006, with many planning to expand capacities...
	Two-Percent Turnover (January, 2006 issue) In a recent webcast on "Avoiding Negligent Supervision," sponsored by NPTC and J.J. Keller & Associates, panelist Alex P. Jankauskas of Kraft Foods Global, Inc., reported that the Kraft Private Fleet...
	Big Win for Truck Leasing (December, 2005 issue) Among the most unfair anti-business laws are those that impose liability on businesses when the customer does something wrong. It's called "vicarious" liability...
	Driver Outsourcing (November, 2005 issue) The use of contract drivers continues to be a growth business in the private fleet truck market. Indeed, over the past 30-years...
	Heavy-Duty Dining (October, 2005 issue) Diets of many truck drivers are killers. Truckers, like most Americans, pick hamburger, fries and the like as their food of choice when eating out...
	30 Years and Counting (September, 2005 issue) When Greg Mathein was hired by SENCO Products, Inc. in the 1970's, his "marching orders" from the company's owner were...
	None for the Road (August, 2005 issue) In many parts of the country, police crackdowns on drunk driving through checkpoints set up on holidays and weekends...
	Rolling Billboards (July, 2005 issue) At its Annual Conference in Pittsburgh, NPTC announced that developments were under way for a new membership benefit, the Fleet Justification Program. ....
	What a Ride (June, 2005 issue) For many who grew up in the '50s, carnivals represented brightly lurid worlds of forbidden fantasy and adventure. Who can forget ....
	Best in Class (May, 2005 issue) This year's class of Certified Transportation Professionals (CTPs) is exceptional. For the first time in the program's 12-year history, all candidates ....
	Crawl, Walk, Run (April, 2005 issue) In the best selling book, "Good to Great", author Jim Collins identified Walgreens as one of 11 companies that had performed an average of seven times better than the stock ....
	The ABC's of Driver Pay (March, 2005 issue) A few years ago, a growing, high profile private fleet faced a labor crisis. Driver hourly rates and overtime costs were rising while productivity was falling....
	Bessie's Longer Rides (February, 2005 issue) Every day thousands of direct-store deliveries (DSD) are made to America's wholesalers and retailers. These deliveries — so vital to our economy and essential to meeting consumers' daily bread-and-milk needs...
	Fleetseek and Ye Shall Find (January, 2005 issue) If you look in the Yellow Pages under "trucking," you'll find a list of for-hire motor carriers operating 1.3-million commercial trucks and tractors. What you won't find are the 6-million trucks and tractors...
	Fingertip Training (December, 2004 issue) A few years ago, the National Private Truck Council, in partnership with contributing sponsors International Truck & Engine Co. and Idealease of North America...
	Terrific Program (November, 2004 issue) The NPTC 2004 National Safety Conference held this fall in Northern Virginia now ranks as a premier event in the Council's annual calendar of training services....
	Stars Shine Bright (October, 2004 issue) During the past year, NPTC launched a special membership classification called the FIVE STAR MEMBER program. Participation in the program...
	Get Certified (September, 2004 issue) Not only is The National Private Truck Council's Certified Transportation Professional® (CTP) program one of the top industry certification credentials in the U.S...
	Safety Summit (August, 2004 issue) The National Private Truck Council has scheduled its second annual National Safety Conference for September 16 - 17, 2004, in Dulles, VA. The conference will include...
	Standing Ovation (July, 2004 issue) This year's NPTC Education Management Conference and Exhibition, held in Atlanta, GA, May 2-4, ranks as one of the finest annual meetings of the Council...
	Be Present to Win (June, 2004 issue) Private fleet managers apply cost-benefit analyses to everything - tires, driver-leasing contracts, on-board technology, equipment buy versus lease...
	Fleet-a-Foot (May, 2004 issue) The "road" from Supai to Haulapai Hilltop, Arizona, is unpaved, rock-strewn, narrow at points, and very dangerous. More aptly called a wide path...
	Best Practices (April, 2004 issue) This month, the National Private Truck Council launches its highly innovative "Best Practices Safety Guide®" program, an interactive, online safety resource...
	NPTC Institute Gets High Marks (March, 2004 issue) Attention private fleet managers: Mark your calendars for January 15-19, 2005. These are the dates for the next...
	The Million Dollar Fleet (February, 2004 issue) The private fleet of Bridgestone-Firestone North American Tire, LCC, is among the top 100 private truck fleets in the U.S...
	Texas Pete's Fleet (January, 2004 issue) The story of Texas Pete® Hot Sauce begins at the dawn of the Great Depression in l929. Founder Thad W. Garner became the new owner ...
	Learning On-line (December, 2003 issue) The National Private Truck Council (NPTC) has launched the Fleet Learning Center, a comprehensive on-line training program ...
	Nothing Runs Like a Deere™ (November, 2003 issue) Here's a good example of a private fleet that has grown-and made money. Moline, IL-based Deere & Company has a private fleet that...
	Tax Shakedown (October, 2003 issue) For all practical purposes, the State of Illinois is the trucking capital of the world. On any given day...
	A Wonderful Life (September, 2003 issue) I received a surprise call one morning this summer from a calm, lovely voice. It was Mrs. John C. White...
	Engine Evolution (August, 2003 issue) In the event you haven't been keeping up on all of the recent press regarding Class 8 emissions regulations...
	Cream of the Crop (July, 2003 issue) Exceptional people come in all walks of life, but few are more impressive than the drivers in this year's NPTC Hall of Fame...
	Farmers' Fleet (June, 2003 issue) It "links farmers to almost any market in the world," envisions a "global food economy where every crop will grow where it grows best"...
	Small Accident, Big Impact (May, 2003 issue) Before patting itself on the back too hard for having one of the best safety years in company history, the management of a major private fleet...
	Cargo Theft Wake-Up Call (April, 2003 issue) What happens when one of the top private fleets in America has three straight cargo thefts in the span of a few weeks?...
	The Truck's in the Mail (March, 2003 issue) Mail trucks rarely make headline news. Even fewer are the subjects of a police chase shown live on TV. However, one United...
	The Little Store That Could (February, 2003 issue) Eighty-one-year old Walter Hachborn shows up for work every day, still passionately committed to his dream. He is founder...
	Time to Speak Up (January, 2003 issue) The countdown for Sept. 30, 2003 has begun. On this day, the historic Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century...
	A history of NPTC (December, 2002 issue) The National Private Truck Council traces its lineage back to l939, when a rift developed between the private...
	The case for UCR (November, 2002 issue) The American Trucking Assns. (ATA) and the National Private Truck Council (NPTC) are supporting legislation …
	Behind the wheel (October, 2002 issue) Leading private fleet managers make driver appreciation a way of life year-round — not just during …
	Earning its keep (September 2002 issue) Boise Cascade has one of the most successful private trucking operations in the …
	A 30-year man (August 2002 issue) I asked Ed Nieuwenhuis, retiring vice president of logistics for Meijer Inc., Grand Rapids, MI, what advice...
	The gold standard (July 2002 issue) For over fifteen years, the National Private Truck Council has sponsored a Driver Hall of Fame program...
	Amber waves of grain (June 2002 issue) One of the most glorious vistas on a sunny summer day is the "amber waves of grain" that coat...
	Secure enough? (May 2002 issue) Thousands of cargo containers from overseas vessels are off-loaded at U.S. docks every day. Most of the...
	Sleeping on empty (April 2002 issue) Driver fatigue is emerging as a new frontier in risk management. We must recognize that drivers' on-duty...
	Saluting a unique fleet (March 2002 issue) This month marks the 50th Anniversary of Marvin Schwan's dream. In the early 1950s, Schwan and his parents...
	NPTC's Fleet Career Center (February 2002 issue) The challenge of finding and keeping good, long-term employees will only grow more difficult in the years...
	Fleets deliver second harvest (January 2002 issue) Donated shipping services of private trucking fleets and for-hire truckers play a big role in reducing...
	Alive and well (December 2001 issue) Private fleets are alive and well! That's the overall conclusion one can reach from a recent Heavy Duty...
	Start drilling (November 2001 issue) A major energy crisis looms large over our nation's future. Rolling blackouts and steeply spiked gasoline...
	Keep Mexico in mind (October 2001 issue) Imagine doing $500,000 of business every 60 seconds. Half a million dollars a minute. That's the amount...
	NPTC awards program (September 2001 issue) Honoring individuals and companies to show that conduct matters
	Going strong (August 2001 issue) National Private Truck Council gets a "buy" rating
	Hours of standstill (July 2001 issue) Start making best use of highways now
	Spinning the web (June 2001 issue) Putting the Internet to work for logistics
	The A-team (May 2001 issue) Private fleet initiatives could help frame federal safety regs
	The gold standard (April 2001 issue) CTP: Cutting-edge credential for private fleet professionals
	Calling all private fleets (March 2001 issue) Join NPTC now — the action group for working professionals