K&J Trucking and Challenger overall winners in Best Fleets to Drive For

Steve Newton, Challenger Motor Freight, Inc. Director of Safety and Driver DevelopmentBest Fleets to Drive ForCarriersEdge, a provider of online driver training for the trucking industry, Tuesday, April 9, announced the 2024 Best Fleets to Drive For overall winners at the Best Fleets to Drive For Education and Awards Conference held at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in North Carolina. Now in its 16^th year, the Best Fleets to Drive For is an annual survey and contest that identifies the for-hire carriers providing the best workplace experience for their company drivers and independent contractors.

CarriersEdge presented the Best Overall Fleet in the small carrier category to K&J Trucking of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It’s the first time K&J Trucking has received a Best Overall Fleet award. This year also marks the third time K&J Trucking received recognition as a Top 20 Best Fleet to Drive For. This award is sponsored by Netradyne.

The Best Overall Fleet in the large carrier category was presented to Challenger Motor Freight, Inc. of Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. Challenger Motor Freight, Inc. has been named a Top 20 Best Fleet to Drive For five consecutive times and it is the second time the company has received a Best Overall Fleet award. The award is sponsored by TruckRight.

“The fleets that came out on top this year were especially exciting to watch — between the tough industry headwinds and the fierce competition in the Best Fleets program, K&J Trucking and Challenger Motor Freight exemplified hard work and excellence,” said Jane Jazrawy, CarriersEdge CEO. “Both companies showed that they’re progressive in developing innovative programs that truly make a difference in their relationships with drivers. Their overall winner awards are well deserved.”

Garner Trucking, Inc. receives inaugural Stratosphere AwardIn addition to revealing the overall program winners, CarriersEdge presented a new award – The Stratosphere Award – that recognizes the top-scoring fleet in the Best Fleets Hall of Fame. This year’s inaugural award, sponsored by EpicVue, was given to Garner Trucking, Inc. of Findlay, Ohio. To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, fleets must be named as a Best Fleet for 10 consecutive years, or seven years with at least one overall winner award.

According to Jazrawy, Garner Trucking, Inc. continues to elevate its driver programs and received the highest scores in this year’s evaluation of its Best Fleets Hall of Fame members. 

“The Stratosphere Award celebrates an achievement among the Hall of Fame competitors—a ‘best of the best’ performance,” said Jazrawy. “As the inaugural winner of this award in just their second year in the Hall of Fame, Garner has taken their performance to the next level and we’re proud to acknowledge their achievement.”

To be considered for the Best Fleets program, for-hire carriers operating 10 or more tractor-trailers must be nominated by a company driver or independent contractor working with them. Nominated fleets are then evaluated in areas such as driver compensation, pension and benefits, professional development, driver and community support, and safety record.

The highest-scoring fleets are identified as the Top 20 Best Fleets to Drive For and then grouped according to size. The highest-scoring fleet in each size category is named an overall winner.