Trucker 525 Spotlight Now

Spotlight on an American Trucker: Bruce McCray, Darrel James, and Spencer Crump

March 4, 2016

Now Logistics Transportation (NLT) was formed in 2015 to meet the local/regional same-day and next-day delivery needs of the Northeast business corridor. Now Logistics transports and delivers newspapers, individual household goods, and Amazon and Walmart products.

The company’s fleet includes 26-ft. Nissan UD 2600s, Nissan NV2500s, Nissan NV 200s, Ford 350 Transit vans, and a Freightliner CL 120.  Now Logistics Transportation is located in Carlstadt, NJ.

Owners: Bruce McCray, CEO; Darrel James, COO; Spencer Crump, vp-sales


Q: Do you think of yourself as a trucking company or one that uses trucks in business?
A: Yes, we are a trucking company.

Q: Do you have regularly scheduled routes or on-demand delivery?
A: We have regular routes, and we also do on-demand deliveries and same-day deliveries (Amazon and Walmart).

Q: How is maintenance handled?
A: We have an in-house, diesel-certified mechanic for the daily maintenance of each vehicle.

Q: How are major repairs handled?
A: All major repairs are outsourced to the manufacturer.

Q: What are three challenges you face with maintenance? How do you resolve each?
A: One major challenge is downtime; we resolve it through regular maintenance. Second is preventing accidents. We resolve them through daily truck inspections and also safety trainings once a month. Our third challenge is finding qualified mechanics.

Q: How do you handle maintenance on your trucks and/or trailers to minimize downtime?  What are your mileage/time intervals on preventive maintenance?
A: We currently have automated systems that send us maintenance alerts. Our PM interval is 3,000 mi.

Q: How do you ensure good mileage from tires?   
A: We check tire pressures daily and rotate tires during the 3,000 mi. oil changes. Proper freight weight distribution is also important.

Q: How do you determine when it’s time to replace a truck or trailer?
A: [We replace] when the truck is having too many major maintenance repairs. We also look at the current book value to have some equity for our next purchase.

Q: Are you able to find these on the used market, or do you order new trucks built to your specs?
A: We find trucks on the used market; however, in the next 10 months we will start ordering new trucks built to our specs. We are looking for creative ways to deliver freight into New York City [and will use these vehicles to do so].

Q: What do you enjoy most about what you do?  
A: NLT enjoys completing the task for our customers. For example, when our customers are expecting an important home delivery, when we make the delivery, their anticipation and smiles are priceless.

Q: What does your company do best?
A: NLT is the best at communicating with our customer, completing the task, and resolving any issues, along with developing our drivers’ customer-service abilities.  NLT’s focus is to ensure clients’ products get to their customers on time and in great condition.
 
We want to hear from you. Know of a trucking business we should feature? Send their contact information to [email protected].

About the Author

Tim Brady

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