'Dump Trucker' at the Helm

(Michael James - TT) David G. McCorkle, new ATA chairman

In 1951, David G. McCorkle began hauling silage for $20 a day. Because he drove a truck with a 15-foot bed when most other trucks had only 12-foot beds, he figured the extra capacity should be worth a bit more. So he asked the shipper for $21.75 a day.

He quickly learned that it takes more than logic to raise rates.

"I got summarily dismissed that day," McCorkle recalled. "And I learned it takes a lot of skills to raise rates."

That early experience taught McCorkle that if you give good service and provide more value, you have a chance to get - and keep - customers. And if you don't like the rates, haul something else.

This story appeared in the Nov. 5 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.