Celebrating Our Drivers at the Iowa Truck Driving Championships

Congratulations to our incredible team at the 2025 Iowa Truck Driving Championships! This rigorous competition includes a written exam, interview, and a demanding driving course. Felix Perez Santiago took home the Individual Sportsmanship Award, and Irvin Kilburg earned 3rd in the Flatbed Division. We’re proud of all our competitors—Todd Ouverson, Felix, Chad Hazelton, and Irvin—for showcasing the skill, integrity, and professionalism that define Decker.

Wed, Jun. 18, 2025 · 1:00 pm (CDT)
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June 9, 2025
 
Re:  State of the Trucking Industry and Continued Optimism for DTL
 
Dear Team,
 
I wanted to again take this opportunity to share with all of you some updates from around our company and through the industry as we continue to battle the continued headwinds of the “great freight recession”. After 3 years of a downturn of this magnitude it is truly unlike anything the industry has seen before. From industry analyst, word on the street, to large public companies’ earnings reports the sentiment seems to be the same throughout our industry. This is the worst downturn the trucking industry has seen in over 40 years! That dates to the de-regulation era of the early 80’s. So, one could accurately say that in the form our industry is in - post de-regulation, this is the worst period in the history of trucking as we know it.
 
As you may recall in my last letter, I had an optimistic belief that things were starting to turn for the better finally after such a long downturn the industry had been experiencing. From looking at industry data I was correct in the sense that at that time there was a slight upward trend around the end/beginning of the year in terms of freight tonnage and rates. However, late January and into February that data shifted back to pre-beginning of the year volumes. A shift we did experience slightly but not far out of normal volatility. What was disappointing was the fact that the slow continued trend upward I was hoping for lost some of its energy.
 
When we analyze how our business functions, there are two significant factors: those we can control and those we cannot. It’s undoubtedly frustrating that the broader market continues to experience a rate and volume downturn, but these aspects are largely beyond our control. Shippers are still attempting to reduce their transportation costs by capitalizing on the persistent overcapacity in the market of trucks competing to haul freight. Often, this overcapacity is driven by operators who undercut rates below operating costs to stay busy and operate on extremely low, even dangerously low, costs. For instance, they may barely have insurance, neglect proper safe maintenance, fail to invest in safety mitigation technologies, and even skip equipment lending payments. This creates a disparity in the cost of doing business with fleets like ours, which invest in our company for all the right long-term reasons because we plan to remain in operation and in a healthy position for the future. Therefore, these operators are hauling freight at lower rates, allowing shippers to benefit from this pricing to maintain lower rate pressures on everyone while they can.

If I had to sum up where we stand in all of this it would be this statement “we are holding well in this market, undoubtably frustrated with continued low market rates and industry challenges, but we are firming up our position with many incremental quality wins as we take advantage of good opportunities that our whole team is EARNING with our customers”.
 
We’ve been diligently working on various fronts and have several updates to share with you all. Despite these challenging times, we’re persevering and making the necessary adjustments to ensure our long-term sustainability. In these challenging times, some decisions may be difficult, but they are essential for our long-term survival. Currently, this industry is in a test of endurance, determining who can endure this market and emerge for the future. By implementing necessary adjustments to preserve our longevity, we hope to position ourselves for a substantial advantage as the freight market improves. While many others are facing dire and desperate situations, I feel fortunate that we can operate in a position of perseverance rather than distress.
 
Instead of writing a lengthy letter covering a wide range of topics, I’ve organized them into categories for easier reading.
 

• Headlines From Around The Industry
  • With public companies recently announcing their Q1 ‘25 earnings, a common tone continues among most of them. They all continue to face this down market, which is significantly impacting their bottom lines. Even companies that have traditionally been industry leaders are struggling to regain profitability. Every week, I read in the industry news of more companies filing for bankruptcy and truck orders plummeting. An article I read in Freight Waves this week said, “Since Jan. 1, almost 30,000 freight-related job cuts have been announced, impacting workers in autos, food distribution, manufacturing, transportation and logistics.”
  • The industry has also been feeling the effects of the tariff wars. We have seen shippers canceling order and disruptions at the ports causing an oversupply of trucks and very little shipments driving rates lower in those areas. Hopefully, these are temporary issues and don’t cause longer term effects to our industry while we are trying to have a freight recovery.

• Best Fleets to Drive For
  • In January, we were honored once again for the fourth consecutive year as one of the Top 10 Large Carriers “Best Fleets to Drive For” in North America. This  recognition  is  a  tremendous  honor,  and  if  serves  as  a  testament to our unwavering commitment to fostering a culture that makes our company an exceptional place for drivers seeking a fulfilling and respected work experience. In addition to winning a top 10 recognition, we were named the “Best Overall Large Carrier” to drive for in North America for the first time. I want to express my deepest gratitude to our entire team, including the drivers, office, and shop staff. Your unwavering commitment and dedication to supporting one another have made our commitment to being an exceptional place for drivers to call home a reality.
     
• Driver of the Year Awards
  • On April 1st, we were delighted to honor our Drivers of the Year for each division and announce our overall Driver of the Year. This event is particularly special for me, as it allows us to reflect on the past year and recognize the numerous awards we received from our customers, industry partners, vendors, and industry associations. It’s also an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our drivers, who have consistently demonstrated exceptional performance and dedication.
  • This year we were proud to announce Irvin Kilburg as our overall Driver of the Year.

• Business Development
  • This spring has been an exceptionally active season for awards. The pricing and business development teams have been diligently processing 167 Requests for Proposals (RFPs) in the last 6 months from our top customers and exploring new business opportunities. In the past few years, this process was often dreaded, leading to declining volumes and rates, which in turn disrupted our network design. I’m delighted to share that in the past few months; we’ve witnessed a significant shift in our network design. Our team has successfully identified the volume and rate at which we must consistently improve our overall network. While raising the price of a lane may seem like a straightforward solution, it’s not always the best approach. Sometimes, increasing the volume to the next load area can be the most strategic move to capitalize on favorable rates in that area. Designing the optimal network is truly a game of chess, requiring careful consideration and strategic thinking. As a result of these strategies and the awards we’ve received, we’ve secured more freight than anticipated through numerous RFPs. We’ve also received numerous small wins, but two have been significant for us: the new Dryers business, particularly in the Georgia region, which has created new hiring opportunities for us, and a substantial award from our largest customer, Tyson. The Tyson award increased our weekly volume from 170ish loads to 220ish loads, but in reality, they have been tendering us more. Part of these volumes were reduction out of some locations that were costing us 7,000+ miles per week empty in exchange for additional volume out of locations that work much better for our network. Recently, we have been consistently overbooked with freight coming out of Iowa. This is a much better situation than we were experiencing before.
     
• Service
  • Service is always something we pride ourselves on at Decker. We have been known as a high-quality carrier for years. In these challenging market conditions where shippers have ample options for carriers, the most effective way to differentiate ourselves and justify a higher price is by providing exceptional service. Lately, we have been performing on-time for our customers at some of the best levels I can recall! With an even more enhanced focus on exceeding our customers’ expectations we have been doing very well. Our operations leadership team, who has twice daily, and daily weekend calls, carefully monitors any potential delays and devises solutions to prevent service failures. We are also grateful to our dedicated drivers who make immense sacrifices and put in the utmost effort to achieve this goal. Thank you.

• Equipment
  • Over the past few years, we’ve been diligently working to significantly reduce the age of our fleet. We’ve managed to bring down our average truck age to approximately 13 months, with a target trade cycle of 38-40 months. This is an exceptionally low age for our industry and fleet size. A key principle of our company is to provide our drivers with the best equipment and industry-leading amenities in their trucks while they’re out on the road, committed to their hard work. This is one of the feedback items we have received from the  Best  Fleets  Program that causes us to stand out even among other great companies. Despite the current market downturn and challenging times, we have made a firm commitment to upholding the appreciation for the hard work and experience our drivers have in their trucks. We are committed to providing drivers with the necessary safety, comfort, and convenience to make their trucks their “home away from home”.
     
• Logistics
  • With the decline in excess freight demand, logistics companies (brokerage) have faced substantial challenges in this market. This business model is inherently volatile, heavily reliant on the freight market’s demands. When freight is abundant, shippers seek broker partners to provide additional capacity, often paying a premium for their services. Conversely, when freight demand is tight, shippers can meet their needs directly through their contract carriers, reducing their reliance on brokers. Decker Logistics, like other brokerage companies, experienced significant success during the robust shipping market. However, we faced challenges during the subsequent down market and had to make necessary adjustments. In January, we closed our Nashville brokerage office and relocated the remaining workload to our Des Moines office. This move resulted in a decline in logistics volume. Nevertheless, I am pleased to share that after investing in new resources and team members in Des Moines, we have successfully recovered the volume decrease due to the closure. Moreover, we have achieved a remarkable growth in volume, surpassing our highest levels in a month, all while maintaining a significantly more cost-effective structure.

In closing, I want to express my sincere gratitude for your continued commitment, resilience, and professionalism. While we can’t control the market, we can control how we respond and I’m proud of how our team continues to rise to the occasion. As we navigate these challenging times, I remain confident in our direction, our people, and our ability to come through this stronger together.

One Team, One Goal – Driven To Be The Best
 
Dale Decker, CEO