Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/649008
32 | Overdrive | March 2016 BY TODD DILLS THE NEW FACE OF INDEPENDENCE: AUTONOMY, PARTNERSHIPS & TECHNOLOGY C hange is coming to independent truck- ing, says Dennis Brannon, a former owner-operator based in Columbia, S.C. He believes that as the Millennial generation (those born during the 15 or 20 years following the early 1980s) takes the reins of trucking, a more fluid, broadly connected business model will define the most successful owner-operators. Brannon, who heads Artisan Logistics, an independent agency in Landstar System's network, already sees a surge of interest among younger drivers in oper- ating independently, whether owning a truck or leasing equipment. "The Millennials want to be more independent," he says. "They want that flexibility. They're tired of working for the man, and they want results now." Brannon's not alone in his thinking. The ability to tie the financial side of the business seamlessly into the systems of carrier and brokerage partners will make it easier for independent contractors of any generation to run with their own car- rier authority, leading to growth in that segment of the owner-operator world. Helping to launch this trend is the profusion of networked mobile comput- ing tools and access to information for operational, financial and relationship- building purposes. It will help the owner-operator to evolve further into "a more business-minded person," says ATBS President Todd Amen, whose financial services firm works with thou- sands of owner-operators, most of them leased. Amen also looks forward to a genera- tion reared on smartphone apps and videos, eager to tinker with the business status quo of trucking. Brannon believes that the on-demand transactional mod- els that mobile communications technol- ogy and the Internet itself have begun to facilitate will become entrenched in the trucking business as that generation takes over. TOMORROW • Owner-operators' systems will be highly integrated into those of carrier and brokerage partners, thanks partly to networked mobile computing tools. • The traditional exclusive-lease model will give way to more blended leasing models where carriers share capacity. • Legal developments in California and the marketplace itself will create pressure for paying drivers and owner-operators by the hour. Max Heine REINVENTING THE OWNER-OPERATOR