Field Notes

Insights from inside the dispatch office.

Practical analysis for trucking operators running 10–150 trucks. No theory, no fluff — just the numbers and patterns we see when we embed inside carriers.

Operations Ritual
June 2026 · 9 min read

Dispatcher Accountability: The Weekly Load-Review Scorecard That Closes the Leak

Dispatcher leakage averages 4–8% of gross revenue. The single highest-ROI fix isn't software — it's a 45-minute weekly scorecard ritual. Here's the exact format and the five KPIs that matter.

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P&L
May 2026 · 8 min read

What a Healthy Trucking Company P&L Actually Looks Like

Most carriers think they're at 6% net margin. The real number — once detention, deadhead, and dispatcher leakage are accounted for — is closer to 2%. Here's the benchmark.

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Driver Retention
April 2026 · 7 min read

Why Drivers Quit in the First 90 Days — And the Onboarding Fix That Halves Turnover

First-90-day turnover at mid-size carriers sits between 45–60%. Pay isn't the lever. Home-time predictability and dispatcher trust are. Here's the structured onboarding cadence that cuts churn in half.

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Fuel
March 2026 · 6 min read

Fuel Cost Control: The Three Levers Most Carriers Ignore

Fuel cards and surcharge math get all the attention. The real savings sit in idle time, route discipline, and tire pressure — boring levers worth $0.04–$0.08 per mile.

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Safety
February 2026 · 8 min read

CSA Score Recovery: What to Fix First When Your Insurance Premium Spikes

When your insurance line crosses 10% of revenue, you don't have a premium problem — you have a CSA problem. Here's the triage order: unsafe driving, HOS, vehicle maintenance, and why most carriers fix them in the wrong sequence.

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