Tony, Author at Premier Global Transportation

T is for Teamwork

Teamwork makes the dream work

Every company has core values. When PGT was started, having the right core values was vital. Those values had to drive honest success and bring values to everyone involved in our business.

We determined that T.I.M.E. was our most valuable asset. In every interaction, we strive to uphold our values to keep our team and your business on track.

What does T.I.M.E. mean for you?

Rather than expand on it all in one way-too-long blog, we will be breaking it down each week for the rest of the month.

Today’s focus: T is for Teamwork.

Everyone knows the phrase “teamwork makes the dream work,” right? That’s definitely what we believe at PGT.

Each account manager has relationships he/she has built with customers. But what happens when an account manager wants to take a family vacation or has an emergency? Or what if they are in a meeting or stepped out for lunch briefly? At PGT, your service will not change. Our team jumps on board to ensure we don’t miss a beat. Still need freight moved or an update on a shipment? No problem! Our team will get the job done for you and provide any answers you need.

Success is measured many different ways. It is always important to have individual goals, but at PGT we put a larger focus on team goals. We believe our success is based on your success, so we will build a team in our office to support the team in yours. Together we can master any challenge thrown at us. This industry can often be like a rollercoaster ride, so keeping focus on team goals is what powers us through the challenging dynamic of the logistics world.

Our team goals are simple:

100% on-time pick up
Proactive, daily updates on all shipments based on customer needs
100% on-time delivery
24-hour paperwork collection and processing
Save our customers as much money as possible

Do we achieve those goals all day, every day? No, but we will die trying! It’s obvious some things are out of everyone’s control- weather, tire blowouts, traffic- but, if we can control it, we will!

What is happening in the market?

Will rates ever return to pre-covid trends?

The short answer- probably not. Like most industries, logistics and transportation still feels the seasonal trend changes it did prior to the COVID pandemic. The problem is, rates skyrocketed drastically when the pandemic hit and to think they will drop back down to a pre-pandemic level would be wishful thinking.

That doesn’t mean we won’t see the traditional dips in various seasons or markets. It just means, the dips likely won’t be as big as the climb. The good news? They may not drop, but they seem to be holding steady early in 2022 per DAT industry trends- depending on what you are shipping. Dry van and reefer rates have seen a slight decrease in spot rates, but flat beds have seen a significant increase.

DAT spot rates by equipment through the first week of March can be seen below.

What is that doing to the rates?

Well, it depends what location the freight is shipping outbound from. All areas have held fairly steady through 2022 so far, but the averages only paint part of the picture. Where you’re shipping from will show you the other part.

According to DAT, the average dry van rates are highest in the north, lowest in the south and in the middle on both coasts.

To top it all off, fuel continues to rise with the transpiring of the global events in Russia and Ukraine. National fuel prices have
increased 1% to $4.10 per gallon. This is going to drive rates up and will likely change the direction of the trends discussed above.

Long story short- expects rates to trend upward over the next several weeks due to fuel. If nothing else, they will flatline, but you need to be prepared for significant rate increases over the short-term.

Meet Our President

The man behind PGT

Premier Global Transportation is a third party logistics company that got our official start in June 2020 when president Tony Uhrina decided to take a leap of faith and branch out on his own. Tony started in the industry in 2006 and has since held various roles in sales, logistics, transportation and supply chain. Most recently, he was the vice president of operations at a trucking company in the Cincinnati market. He believes his experiences in various facets of the logistics industry will continue to be the foundation for growth at PGT.

When starting PGT, Tony put a lot of thought into what values he believed in and what he wanted to build the company foundation going forward. He determined that TIME would be the core of those values. For us, TIME stands for Teamwork, Integrity, Meticulous, & Excellence (we will go into detail about this later in the month). Tony takes a lot of pride in these core values and they are on the forefront of his mind every day with the team here at PGT and in his personal life.

Outside of work, Tony loves spending time with his family. He married his wife Katie in 2013 and together they have two young boys. Both boys keep them on their toes and do their best to keep them young, even if they are giving him a few gray hairs! They enjoy watching Browns & Bengals football and UC Bearcat athletics together, most recently celebrating the Bengals & Bearcats post-season accomplishments. They enjoy traveling the world together and exploring as much as they can. Tony enjoys meeting friends on the golf course and is always looking to meet new people to join in on the fun.

Why do you work?

The million dollar question: why do you go to work every day?

In a perfect world, you love what you do. You enjoy going to work, wherever that may be, and you are genuinely happy doing it. That doesn’t always pan out, but you do it because you need a job to pay your bills. What if we told you that having both was a very real possibility? Here us out.

The pay.

The atmosphere.

The benefits.

The growth potential.

People often save the best for last, but let’s be real- this is what most people care about first. We pay above the industry average. We are always hiring sales brokers. Why? Because we are always growing to better serve our customers. Our brokers make base + 40% uncapped commission! No, that’s not a typo. FORTY PERCENT UNCAPPED COMMISSION! Why? Because we want you to join our team and stick around for the long-term. What better way to do that to pay you what you deserve?

Relaxed. Casual. Fun. Sound good yet? PGT is all of those things and then some. We want everyone to enjoy coming to work. Sure, there are always going to be bad days, but we believe there are more good days than bad here. There are TVs going, music in the background, and often jokes and stories flying back and forth. We enjoy simple things like casual attire, walks around the building, flexibility, and team events outside of the office.

Our list of benefits continues to grow as we grow. We currently offer a 401k with a 401k match! We want you to be with us until you retire, so let us help get you there. We pay a cell phone stipend and paid time off at time of hire. In addition, we can get you set up with medical, dental and vision insurance. Not bad for a company less than two years old, right?

New company = endless opportunities. We have a solid staff that has laid the groundwork for success, now we just need you to help build the foundation of our future. As we grow, so do the opportunities. The potential to move up into various other roles is endless. You can do as much as you want with us and go as far as you want to go. You control your destiny when you work at PGT. How far do you want to go?

Come join our team! Apply on Indeed at https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Premier-Global-Transportation/jobs or just give us a call at 513-453-6046 to set up an interview. You can watch a short video about PGT by clicking the orange button below.

Can a 3PL save you money?

Can a 3PL help cut costs?

That’s a common question in the freight industry.

The answer is YES! Absolutely! 100% it can. But what’s the catch? Selecting the RIGHT 3PL for you and your business.

Insert Premier Global Transportation.

Our goal is to take as much off your plate as possible. We know our customers have plenty to do, so we want to take on as much as we can to allow them to focus on other aspects of the business. So, how can we save you money?

You know the saying- “time is money.” We can free up your time. It’s that simple. We will take on the difficult, time-consuming task of finding the right carrier to move your freight and we are very diligent in the process. We utilize many different programs and tools to vet our carriers to ensure the best service possible. We handle that so you don’t to. We believe your time is better spent on other areas of your business.

We are in the business of moving freight. It’s what we do. It’s who we are. This is what we specialize in. Let us do what we do so you can focus on what you do. We promise we won’t let you down. Our goal is always to provide you with a smooth, flawless, and impeccable service with our expertise and proactive communication. We promise to keep you informed with the most accurate status update available to build an honest working relationship with you. Our goal is complete satisfaction on every shipment.

How do we uphold that promise? Here are the top reason:

Resources.

We have invested in top of the line, customizable technology solutions. Do you want notified with an update every time it is entered in the system? Our system can do that for you. Do you require your paperwork to look a certain way with specific information included? Our developers can do that for us quickly and precisely. Do you have specific insurance, equipment, or load requirements? We can set our system to block any carrier that doesn’t meet those requirements for you to prevent service failure. Long story short- our system is customized for YOU.

People.

We pride ourselves on our top notch team of people. We hire intelligent, hard-working people who have the ability to learn, challenge themselves, and succeed in a very dynamic industry. We proudly have over 75 years combined industry experience, but at the same time, have a very diverse group of associates that aren’t afraid to bring new ideas to the table. Everyone has the same goal: help our customers be successful, no matter what it takes.

Cost.

It is no secret that freight costs have skyrocketed, specifically since the COVID pandemic. It is our mission to drive your costs down, but still pay carriers a fair wage (and make a little money ourselves, too). The key to that is our lucrative pay scale for our associates. They don’t have to worry about their personal finances through large margins on your freight. Instead, they can focus on driving your costs down knowing that they will be taken care of financially. We are only as successful as you are! Since the most common metric driving success in business is cost, let us help you save!

Let us prove it to you. Give us a call at 513-575-7645 or email us at info@premier-globallogistics.com

Is there really a driver shortage?

The Driver Shortage

A hot topic in the logistics industry revolves around truck drivers. Is there really a shortage of truck drivers?

If you’re looking for a short answer, the answer is yes! But why are we facing this problem? The truth is, there are several reasons contributing to the shortage.

Let’s tackle some of the reasons one by one.

The lifestyle. To put it nicely, the lifestyle is less than ideal and it’s one of the first thing that people think about. A life on the road isn’t for the faint of heart. While some people see the job as “sitting behind a steering wheel, looking out the windshield,” the reality is that takes a major toll on someone’s body. The long trips across the country, trying to get from point A to point B as fast as possible under strict government guidelines – we will get to that later – can be exhausting. Trying to eat healthy and maintain a good dose of exercise is extremely difficult when you’re stuck in a truck all day and trying to sleep all night. Add to that being at the mercy of the rest areas and truck stops for restroom breaks, the physical impact driving a truck has on a body is much more than one would imagine. That doesn’t begin to mention the wear and tear on your back and muscles due to sitting so many hours of the day. Add to that a lack of home time, loneliness, and the stress of being on the road with the average driver- it doesn’t do much good for an individual’s mental health either.

The regulations. The government has taken a lot of control in the trucking industry in the last couple of decades. The strict hours of service guidelines, electronic logging devices, and constant changes in technology have pushed many drivers to leave the industry and has prevented new ones from taking that leap. Truck drivers have a lot of pressure on them to pick-up and deliver product as fast as possible, but due to these regulations, the time to do so has actually increased. You have to remember, many truck drivers get paid a mileage rate. A lot of the “good-ole-boys” (as the industry would say), are now delivering loads in three days that used to take them two or two and a half days. This decreases how many miles they can run each day and how many loads they can run in a week. Regulations are there for a reason, primarily safety and with good intentions, but these regulations have impacted the pocketbooks of many truck drivers. And let’s be honest- does anyone like their money being impacted? To kick them while they’re down- many of these regulations are paired with hefty fines if not followed correctly.

The generational differences. If you pay attention when you’re on the road, you’ll notice the average age of truck drivers seems to be increasing with time. You’re not just imagining things. The average age of over-the-road truck drivers is about 48 years old according to spotinc.com. About 40-50 years ago, there was a major emphasis on joining a trade and there was respect associated with those decisions. In the late 90s and early 2000s, the push changed to attending college and earning at least one degree. Now the trades are feeling the impact and truck driving is no exception. The crazy part- private fleets have reported the average age for their truck drivers to be closer to 57 years old. Younger generations have been pushed to continuing their education out of high school for a variety of reasons. Add the lifestyle of truck drivers into the mix, and it doesn’t seem to appeal to these new generations.

The pandemic. It was bound to come up for a couple of reasons- age of truck drivers along with new mandates the government and/or companies have created. Many companies across the country have required masks since the pandemic started in an effort to keep the doors open and product moving. Since the vaccine release, many of those same companies have required associates and visitors to be vaccinated. Put all of that together and a lot of truck drivers have gotten out of the industry. On the flip side, truck drivers are traveling across the country, using public facilities, eating in public places, and coming in contact with many people. The risk of contracting COVID-19 along with the fear of bringing it home to the family is very prevalent and has push many truck drivers out as well.

Are these the only reasons? No. This is just a start to the ever-increasing challenges the freight industry is facing due to driver shortages.

The real question is: How do we solve this problem? While we don’t have any inside secrets, we will attempt to tackle the answer in one of our blogs later this month. Check back daily to hear our ideas and what is already being done to fight this fire.

Did you know?

New to PGT - a monthly newsletter & daily blog!

This month PGT released our first-ever monthly newsletter AND our new blog site! You read that right- double whammy! Our newsletters will feature the monthly happenings of PGT, our top-notch associates, market/industry news and trends, and so much more. It will be sent out to our distribution list each month as well as posted here. Our blog will expand on all of those same topics daily while adding in some additional fun to keep things light!

Check out our first newsletter below!

#TodaysTipTuesday: subscribe to our distribution list so you are the first to get it every month! All you have to do is fill out the contact form at the “Contact Us” page above or give us a call at 513-575-7645!