Pickup Notifications for LTL is a new feature that allows customers to gain greater control and insight into their entire pickup process.  UPS Freight® is the first national LTL carrier to offer full visibility into LTL pickups when scheduled online.  Now, customers will be able to receive email alerts when the pickup is scheduled, when the driver is on his way and when the pickup is complete. 

Go behind the scenes with Team UPS at the National Truck Driving Championships

It was game on at the weeklong competition in Orlando, FL, that featured more than 400 of the best drivers in the business, including 19 UPSers who won U.S. state championships this year to qualify for the Nationals.

Competing in the nine classifications, the drivers were tested on their knowledge of safety rules and regulations, performance of pre-trip inspections, and on-course driving skills.

Top UPS performances were turned in by Robert Foskey, who finished seventh in the Twins division and Clarence Jenkins, who placed eighth in the Sleeper division. Making his second appearance in the Nationals, Tim Sproles from Bristol,TN, garnered a tenth-place finish in the Sleeper division.  

Check out the following video and find out why the worst thing you can do at the competition is run over a duck.

Here’s our all-star roster:

Tim Bailey, Jr. – West Virginia

Ty Bentley – North Carolina

Gregory Deterding – Maine

John Evans – Nevada

Robert Foskey – Florida

John Foran – Vermont

Don Gaston – Kentucky

Larry Hall – Maryland

Steve Hanna – Missouri

Todd Hester – Georgia

Clarence Jenkins – West Virginia

Roger Nicholson – Georgia

Kari Paulson – Illinois

Bill Raff – Illinois

Ron Raney – Iowa

David Sharp – Nevada

Vernon Smith – Nevada

Tim Sproles – Virginia

Alan St. Clair  – Illinois

UPS driver William Raff provides a recap from the event:

“Very early Saturday, all of the drivers were introduced to the spectators, walked across the stage to receive their State Champion (silver) belt buckles and shook about 30 officials’ hands along the way. We also received envelopes containing a participation certificate and a printout of our individual scores for the written, pre-trip and driving tests. The printout showed points possible, our individual score, class average and what rank we achieved. The top five scorers in each class received blank printouts as they are to drive again, a different course, this morning so that 1st thru 5th place for each class can be determined. Saturday we attended the Championships Banquet where those drivers ranking 1st, 2nd & 3rd in their class and the Grand Champion of the entire event were announced. The 1st place winners in each class received a gold belt buckle. We rooted for our good friend from YRC, Rich Seigle, who made the top five. For some reason Rich has a soft spot in his heart for us UPS guys. He befriended us back in the late 90′s at the state event and has been guiding and coaching us ever since. I love that guy. “

Kewill, a company providing integrated shipping options, has recently added UPS Freight capabilities to its offering. As director of product management for Kewill’s shipping products, Peter Starvaski is responsible for defining the product road maps for Kewill’s Clippership and Flagship products.

Tell me about Kewill and specifically the Kewill UPS Solution Kit.

Kewill has been supporting supply chains through innovative software for more than 30 years. While we provide a range of solutions for ensuring the efficient movement of goods, our multi-carrier shipping software, primarily our Clippership and Flagship products, move more parcels than any other 3rd party solution provider. 

The UPS Solution Kit provides support for domestic services Ground, Next Day, Two Day, Three Day, Hundred Weight, UPS Basic, Hazardous material support, etc., and International Services. A customer would be hard pressed to find a parcel service we didn’t support.

What are the customer benefits to the new freight offering?

Traditionally, freight and parcel have been separate functions for most shipping departments. Indeed they may even be separate departments operating at different ends of the warehouse or even in different warehouse.  

And visibility for one or the other often wasn’t integrated – basically the right hand didn’t know what the left hand was doing. Savvy customers, however, realize that having visibility into both operations on a single platform can provide benefits across their internal operations, including more efficient planning, better communications and the ability to better select the appropriate transportation mode.

Sample of Kewill’s Clipper Ship Bill of Lading:

More information can be found at kewill.com.

Columbus, Ohio plays host to this year’s National Truck Driving Championships. For UPS and UPS Freight, our team of competitors includes former National Champion and 14-time West Virginia State champion Clarence Jenkins.

Thirteen company drivers, all state champions, will go head-to-head with 400 of the nation’s best drivers competing in nine classifications in what is billed as the “Super Bowl of Safety” for professional drivers.

“These drivers represent the best our industry has to offer. Their commitment to safety and their driving skills are unmatched. To say the best professional drivers in America will be in Ohio this week is not an exaggeration,” said David Quinn, UPS Freight – Safety Director.

The competition includes an on-course test to grade drivers maneuvering skills, testing for equipment inspections and written exams covering safety policies and regulations.    

Leading our team this year is Clarence Jenkins, a UPS Freight driver from Charleston, WV with 34 years of accident-free driving. Clarence’s accomplishments include a record 14-state championships and a National title in 1988. In 2006 he received the Neil Darmstradtler Professional Excellence Award, which is the American Trucking Association’s highest individual honor. The award is for lifetime commitment to safety and promoting the tucking industry.

This year’s veteran team also includes UPS small package driver David Sharp, who captured his third straight Nevada championship this year and was named the state’s Grand Champion after registering the highest score for all competitors in the competition. Also, UPS Freight’s Steve Newsome, who won his fourth South Carolina championship in the past six years, and sixth overall, UPS small package’s Jeff Kalinowski, who successfully defended his Illinois Step Van title he won for the first time last year; UPS Freight’s Paul Savill, from Cincinnati, making his second straight appearance in the Nationals; and West Virginian UPS Freight driver John Hodges, who brings 30 years of accident-free driving into his second appearance into the National competition.

Other members of the team include small package driver Randall Stromlund from NV, and UPS Freight drivers Shaun Flageolle, CO, Jerry Guenon, UT, Bobby Johnson, NC, Roger Nicolson, GA, Scott Raper, MO, and Vernon Smith, NV.