This past year has been a chaotic year for the transportation industry, from upended emissions regulations to an ongoing freight recession. And, of course, concerns about the technician shortage and the upcoming ‘silver tsunami’ in shops and fleets across the country remain top of mind, even if some are faring better at retaining their talent than others.
The issue of retention and recruitment was an impactful one for me throughout the year, as I spoke to shop owners and fleet leadership and went to webinars and pored over research on the best way to keep talent where you want it. More often than not, I heard over and over that compensation and benefits weren’t the biggest factors (although they help, of course). Oftentimes, companies and researchers emphasized the importance of employees feeling heard, of feeling like they had a future with their employer, of having leadership that cared about them and would work with them to achieve their goals. Long story short, treating people honorably and with dignity was what really mattered.
I’ve enjoyed getting to see how this recognition and work to give transportation folks what they deserve functioned in an industry looking to re-up its talent pool. When I spoke with the technicians and shop owners in our readership, it seems to me that that work pays back a thousandfold in the pride they took in their repairs and the equipment they work on.
The following are my five favorite stories from this year that I think reflect that dedication to others that this industry is full of. They dig into the issues of recruitment, retention, and succession, while displaying the tenacity and ingenuity of the people who move trucking forward.
Performance Evals: A lifeline to lost employees
In this story, I enjoyed getting to reframe a prospect that most (myself included) somewhat dread: performance evaluations. It was interesting talking to leadership and HR professionals to learn how employers and employees can help each other improve, ridding their respective workspaces of the uniquely uncomfortable feeling of not knowing how you’re doing. As somewhat of an anxious person myself, I enjoyed getting to learn about how others remove the stress from giving and receiving feedback, and make it into a constructive experience instead.
How to iron out wrinkles in your hiring process
Speaking of recruitment and retention, I enjoyed getting to write this story because of its emphasis on connection with others. While we all know the drudgery of scrolling through nearly identical job listings, for this story, I got to hear about the creativity and passion transportation folks felt for their people and their workplaces. After all, one of the biggest parts of enticing new talent into your shop is to make sure they know what's special about it, and what you love about it. How to do that and find the right person for your organization can be a puzzle, and I enjoyed getting to hear how others tackle it, from working with their coworkers to leveraging social media and new technology.
Passing the torch: How a truck repair shop transitioned from father to son
It’s a pretty cold take to say that family is complicated. But one of my favorite parts of this job is getting to hear stories from smaller, family-run operations, because of those intimate dynamics and how families find their way through it. One such family-driven story was that of Liberty Fleet Solutions, which passed from father to son in 2019. While I interviewed Bob and Bobby Chambers, it was clear how much they cared about each other and the business, and their good humor made what could’ve been a dry story of succession into a personal story full of ups, downs, and trust. Plus, there was plenty of good advice on how to peacefully handle a business transition, regardless if it's to family members or not.
Work Truck Roundup: Firetrucks
During the first half of 2025, I wrote a small series of stories focusing on the specialized maintenance needed for work trucks, from crawler carriers to bucket and fire trucks. It was a fascinating project to delve into the details of the trucks I saw in my community each day, and I even got to interview my local technicians during this series. It was delightful to learn about how technicians in my town helped keep our firetrucks ready to handle wildfires and our tree-trimmer equipment to keep our parks neat. This story is the last one I did, but it links to all the others, and I loved getting to learn about even a few of the intricacies of maintaining these kinds of trucks.
Driver, firefighter, shop owner
If I may set the scene, I first met Jennifer Wilson in 2024. It was my first time at Fullbay’s Diesel Connect, and I was nervous. On the first full evening of the event, Fullbay hosted a dinner at Top Golf, and Jennifer and her husband, Steve, were kind enough to let a new, slightly uncertain journalist join their table. But what I didn’t know at the time was that she had had (and continues to have) a fascinating career in the trucking industry, running from driver to dispatcher to firefighter to shop owner. I had the good fortune to hear that story later, and share it in one of our sister publication’s (FleetOwner) Women in Trucking series.
About the Author
Alex Keenan
Alex Keenan is an Associate Editor for Fleet Maintenance magazine. She has written on a variety of topics for the past several years and recently joined the transportation industry, reviewing content covering technician challenges and breaking industry news. She holds a bachelor's degree in English from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.