Overdrive's 2023 Truckers of the Year: The 'exit interviews' toward the finale, Part 1

We're getting closer to the finale of the 2023 Trucker of the Year competition. This week's edition of the Overdrive Radio podcast features a roundtable of sorts with four among 10 small trucking businesses among the 10 total 2023 Trucker of the Month honorees, with a huge amount of operational diversity among them -- from food-grade and hazmat tanker to car-haul and RGN, flatbed and step deck, reefer, hopper, dry van and more.

In what is the first of two podcasts featuring Trucker of the Year contenders, owner-operators John and Sarah Schiltz with their independent Veterans Transportation Services business were joined by fellow independents and now-four-truck Tim and Shelley Pulli of Pulli Express, owner-operator Matthew Karr of K-Mac Trucking, and Texas-based car-haul owner-operator Crystal Rives.

Overdrive Radio's sponsor is What's been the biggest challenge this year for most? The revenue side of profit equation, whether shipper pushback on contract rates or the ongoing spot-market doldrums. For instance, it’s been been a tough year on the customer front for owner-operator Rives’ car-haul operation. One of her primary used-car-dealer customers decided to launch its own trucking company. Though she still hauls for them minimally, their move dramatically reduced the amount of work she got from them, for certain. Yet as with many a versatile independent, stick-to-it-iveness, hustle and a quick-on-her-feet nimble quality as a business owner yielded new opportunities, even in this market. 

Subscribe to the podcast on your listening platform of choice for early access to the weekly The same can be said for others in the roundtable, too, including Missouri-headquartered Matt Karr. When he was featured as our Trucker of the Month in May, Karr was playing the waiting game on final registrations, insurance and more to go back out under his own authority after a big profit year leased in 2022. 

The conversation among the four business owners was centered on the year just passed -- the challenges faced, and just how they chose to overcome (or at least start the process of overcoming) the worst of them throughout 2023.

Bonus: Each offers their best advice to new and/or aspiring owner-operators to wrap things up. Take a listen: