• Is the freight brokerage financially stable?This can easily be checked through RBCS (Red Book Credit Services), Dun & Bradstreet or BBOS (Blue Book Online Services). 
• How many years have they been in business? Look on their company website and see how long they've been in business. 
• What size surety bond do they carry - $10,000, $100,000 or $250,000? Most reputable freight brokers display this information in their literature or on their website.
• Can you easily get references? Make sure you talk to several companies who have done business with the freight broker under consideration.
• Is the brokerage a member of industry-recognized organizations such as TIA (Transportation Intermediaries Association) or NASTC (National Association of Small Trucking Companies)?

Taking these 5 simple steps will help ensure a long-lasting and trusting business relationship with any new transportation partner.  

• Equipment - The cab of an eighteen wheeler usually ranges from $80,000 to $120,000 new. The trailers usually range from $30,000 to $60,000 new. So all in all you could look at $150,000 for both if you get a good deal. (www.truckersreport.com)
• Maintenance - Some sources recommend $0.10 - $0.12/per mile for maintenance and others say 20% of an owner-operators weekly income is usual. Regardless if it's a per mile rate or the percentage of weekly income, it's a large chunk of money. (Tires alone average between $300 - $500 each, and remember, there are 18 of them!) 
• Fuel - this weeks average retail diesel price is $4.073/gallon. A truck can carry 300 gallons of fuel - that's $1,221.90 just to fill up once!
• Insurance - depending on the coverage, it can cost upwards of $6,500/year for a carrier to have the proper coverage.  There are many different insurance options available depending on whether it's for the driver, the trailer or both.

And of course there are just the normal costs of doing business such as tolls, permits, licenses and drivers' time.  With so many costs involved, it's no surprise that freight costs continue to trend upward and capacity (# of availalbe trucks) continues to get tighter.  

The Choptank Transport Business Scholarship - University of Maryland

Robert H. Smith School of Business ($50,000 Endowment)   

Choptank Transport recently attended the University of Maryland's Celebration of Scholarships on Friday, April 27, 2012. The occasion marked Choptank's final contribution to its $50,000.00 endowment fund.    

The endowment, name the "Choptank Transport Business Scholarship" will be available to any undergraduate student who plans to attend the Robert H. Smith School of Business beginning with the 2012-2013 school year. The scholarship is annual, requiring students to reapply every year. Students pursuing any major at the Smith School of Business are eligible for the award.  (Photo: L-R, Scott Jarrett, Corporate Training Manager, Choptank Transport and Brian Shook, Executive Director for Alumni Engagement and Philanthropy, University of Maryland)  

Read full press release  

Choptank is proud to announce that four of its employees recently completed and passed the Transportation Intermediaries Association rigorous CTB (Certified Transportation Broker) course. This is the highest level of accreditation in the industry and a true indicator that we take our customer's freight requirements very seriously!

(L-R) Jason Nickle, Cindy Binnendijk and Justin Hall

Justin Hall (Logistics Team Leader), Cindy Binnendijk (Logistics Coordinator), Jason Nickle (Account Executive) and Danis Muzzy (General Manager, Atlanta Office) are now part of an elite group of transportation industry specialists.

Danis Muzzy, Choptank's Atlanta Office

The program, developed by the Transportation Intermediaries Association(TIA), is an intensive three-month course designed to expand the student's basic knowledge of the brokerage and transportation industry as well as increase the professionalism and integrity of property brokerage. The four-hour final covers three sections: basic business principles applied to brokerage; traffic management and contracting for transportation services; and legal and regulatory issues. 

To become CTB certified, you must pass each of the three sections of the exam.

As part of Choptank Transport's continuing education and training program, the CTB course is offered gratis to all qualifying employees.  

Every quarter, a Choptank Transport carrier earns the distinction of being named Carrier of the Quarter.  The winner is selected using a number of criteria, including the volume of loads hauled combined with an excellent safety record.  For Q1 - 2012, the award goes to Abey Trucking out of Secretary, Maryland.  Congratulations, Tiny!  We appreciate all you do for us!  

Check out our jobs at Choptank Transport.

March and April have been very busy months with new sales and logistics associates joining the Choptank team.

In March, we added six new employees to the sales, logistics and computer technology departments.    

New Employee Spotlight: Two of our newest additions were in April,  Josh Slacum and Tracy Cohee (far right). Both have joined our logistics department and are adeptly covering loads and moving freight thanks to their intense 6-week, in-house training course.    

Tracy - "I love to play golf, to travel and I'm a big sci-fi fan. Other than being a mom to 4 great kids, one of my greatest achievements would be learning to SCUBA dive at 8 yrs old."      

Josh -  "I love to play modified softball in the summertime, my television stays on Sportscenter, and I try to go to as many games as possible throughout the year. My greatest achievements would be graduating from Salisbury University and buying my own house."