Top 12 Traits
of High-Performing Truckload Carriers
Chris Henry · President · KSM Transport Advisors
September 22, 2025
The 12 Traits
What separates the carriers who thrive from those who merely survive? After analyzing hundreds of truckload operations, we've identified 12 common traits.
Transparency & Financial Literacy
Delegation & Empowerment
Centralized Pricing Model
Network Discipline
Power Lanes vs. Spider Lanes
FreightMath — Network Profitability
Strength of Weak Ties
Data Sanity
Courage to Shrink
Maintenance Excellence
Safety Pays Dividends
Legacy-Focused & Humble Leadership
Transparency & Financial Literacy
- Transparency builds trust — the foundation of every high-performing organization
- Combined with financial literacy, it enables better decision-making at every level
- Makes it easier to identify high-performing talent and reward accordingly
- Creates a culture of entrepreneurialism — everyone thinks like an owner
- Collaboration between finance and operations drives profitability
If a team member thinks you're making 62% net margins, do you think they're really contemplating the cost impact of their day-to-day decisions?
Delegation & Empowerment Before Action
Free Up Leadership
Effective delegation frees management for strategic initiatives — working on the business instead of in it
Foster Innovation
Empowering employees drives engagement, accountability, and innovation from the ground up
Train & Communicate
Clear communication and training are essential — delegation without support is abandonment
Measure & Trust
Empowerment balanced with performance metrics creates confident, effective decision-makers
Centralized Pricing Model
To price freight, you need to know your costs — all of them — if you want to be profitable.
Think like an actuary, not a salesperson.
- Executive-level pricing ownership — not left to individual contributors
- Consistent discounts and upcharges applied across the entire organization
- Centralization enables better cost control and profitability analysis
- Utilize internal and external data to optimize pricing decisions
- Regularly review and adjust strategies for maximum profitability
The Result
Less 'finger-pointing' between sales and operations. Everyone works from the same pricing foundation, with a clear understanding of cost and margin targets.
Click to learn about a new precision pricing tool
Precision RFP Pricing for the Masses
A new tool from Nussbaum Technology bringing data-driven, centralized RFP pricing to truckload carriers of every size.
Network Discipline — The Art of Saying 'No'
Stop chasing the largest vanity metric in trucking — truck count. Stop saying "I have to keep my drivers moving."
Builds Efficiency
More loads in fewer markets = less deadhead, better utilization
Builds Velocity
Higher utilization = faster turns, more revenue per truck per week
Builds Profitability
Can't just evaluate freight based on rate per mile — network density is the multiplier
Network Discipline — The Art of Saying 'No'
Power Lanes vs. Spider Lanes
🟢 Power Lanes = More Profit
Most freight dense lanes. Top 25% by load count. Do more here.
🔴 Spider Lanes = More Loss
Least freight dense lanes. Bottom 25%. Begin to cut.
Define Your Network and Stick With It!
The 5-Step Exercise
The 'Hidden Cost' of Out-of-Network Drivers
Eastern WA → MO. 124 mi DH. 1,908 LOH @ $2.40 all-in. Margin: $210. Transit: 5d 7h.
DH 50 mi home. Sits 7 days. DH 315 mi to KS → Amarillo. 545 LOH. Margin: $332. Transit: 2d 7h.
72% of bottom-quartile yield drivers lived outside the network. Out-of-network drivers reduce velocity and dilute the footprint.
Measuring Network Profitability
Strength of Weak Ties
Backhaul is Outdated
One company's backhaul is another company's headhaul (unless you're based in Florida). Think network value, not one-way profitability.
Broker as Connector
Proper use of brokers allows carriers to efficiently connect good market areas to other good market areas. Can't just evaluate on RPM.
Network vs. One-Way
A load that looks marginal on a one-way basis may be highly profitable when you measure its full network contribution via FreightMath OR.
Data Sanity
Data Sanity > Data Vanity
- MUST continuously question the accuracy of your data
- Reliable data as a foundation — a significant issue among most TL carriers
- Build a Data Dictionary — define every metric consistently
- Audit current KPIs: what is actionable (sanity) vs. not (vanity)
KPI Focus
Re-define KPIs aligned with business goals. Focus on 3–5 organization-wide and 1–2 per department. Then rinse and repeat regularly.
Mapping KPI Success
Identify Metrics
3–5 org-wide KPIs aligned to profitability
Sanity Check
Is each KPI actionable? Kill vanity metrics.
Iterate
Review quarterly. Adjust as the business evolves.
The Courage to Shrink
- The most difficult trait — truck count is a misguided indicator of performance
- As the market erodes, the magnifying glass increases. Set a Minimum Margin Threshold
- Shrinking might mean parking trucks — often more advantageous than running at a loss
- Importance of brokerage/non-asset to maintain customer relationships while right-sizing
Stop saying "I have to keep my drivers moving." A smaller, more profitable fleet beats a larger money-losing one every time.
Maintenance Excellence
The Deepest Hole in Trucking
- Mechanically-inclined operators have a massive competitive advantage
- Benchmark relentlessly. Adopt "Stances" — SOPs + the Why
- Be relentless on inventory management
Safety Pays Dividends
- Top carriers have notably lower insurance costs — you can't get there without making safety a key objective
- Accidents erase profits. Severe accidents can erase a decade's profits
- High incidence rates erode profits in slower, steady increments
- Safety is essential for sustainable growth and societal well-being
Invest in safety culture, technology, and training. The ROI is measurable in lower insurance premiums, fewer claims, and sustained profitability.
Legacy-Focused & Humble Leadership
Legacy Focus
Understand their importance to the community. Foster continuous learning. Build lasting relationships.
Collaboration
Open communication drives innovative problem-solving and cross-functional partnerships.
Humility
Approachable leadership improves morale. Inclusive decision-making leads to better strategies.
Resilience
They've been through down-cycles. They prioritize sustainability and long-term viability.
Questions?
The carriers who embrace these 12 traits will be the ones standing when the cycle turns.
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