Petty: Why earning your CTP can transform your career in fleet management

January’s Private Fleet Management Institute and the Certified Transportation Professional CTP Class of 2026 is approaching. The institute will be held January 17-21 at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate in Orlando. The CTP examination for the Class of 2026 will be conducted in a secure, digital format on February 14. An all-day CTP Exam Prep Workshop will be held at the resort on January 16, immediately preceding the institute.  

PFMI and CTP programs experienced dynamic growth in the past 10 years. PFMI classes increased from 50 to 60 registrations to an annual average of 110 to 115. Last year, the institute drew 140 attendees, the most on record, representing some 60 companies. Nineteen of the companies sent their “first-time” representatives. Among all attendees, about 80% are from fleets and 20% from allied companies. 

CTP classes typically range between 115-120 graduates but reached a record 135 CTPs in the Class of 2025. The total number of active CTPs at the end of 2025 stands at 957—more than double since 2015. About two-thirds of active CTPs are fleet management practitioners, and one-third are allied/supplier partners. 

PFMI provides a rigorous learning environment where attendees engage in a series of general session presentations, roundtable best practices discussion groups, structured networking activities, applied learning exercises, and team-building collaborations through case-study analysis on the final day. PFMI’s education content provides tools and resources for attendees to achieve a competitive edge of continuous improvement as fleet management practitioners and supplier partners. 

Every attendee is expected to have fluency in commercial truck transportation, experience in the private fleet industry, and be a contributor. They are expected to have a basic familiarity with the five core disciplines of private fleet management: safety, operations, human resources, finance, and equipment/maintenance. The institute’s five-day program is guided by nearly two dozen seasoned fleet expert faculty members representing a broad cross-section of private fleet companies.  

Feedback over time from hundreds of PFMI and CTP graduates attests to the enthusiastic ROI and enduring value of the program. Here are some examples: 

TJ Mummert, CTP, logistics director at Provia Logistics, top graduate in 2019: “It’s exhausting, highly rewarding, and humbling. Echoing everyone’s thought, I did not know half as much as I thought I did.”    

Mari Roberts, CTP, SVP, service and distribution, supply, and commercialization, Frito-Lay, former chair of the NPTC Board Institute and vice chair-elect of the NPTC Board of Directors: “The networking power of CTPs is just incredible. I appreciate the collaboration, benchmarking, and camaraderie shared among fellow CTPs for the past 15 years.”  

Steven Roberts, CTP, fleet manager at Deseret Transportation, member of the NPTC Board of Directors: “CTP was a great time in my career. I would gladly go through PFMI and CTP again.” 

Mike Schwersenska, CTP, VP of transportation at Brakebush Transportation, NPTC Board treasurer, NPTC Institute Board chair, and past chair of the NPTC Board of Directors: “I attended the PFMI with my boss, a family-member owner of my company. Our ROI was extraordinary. Based on what I learned at the institute alone, our company saved around $4 million within a few years. By coming back year after year to NPTC events, we continue to achieve great improvement and savings”.  

Tim Adam, CTP, industry business adviser at J.J. Keller & Associates (official sponsor of the CTP Program): “The CTP exam was the most challenging thing I have ever participated in. I learned so much and am happy to be part of this organization.” 

Tim Eckhardt, CTP, director of safety at Dot Transportation, NPTC Board officer/secretary and former chair, NPTC Safety Committee: “We keep a two- to three-year plan of employees we want to invest in and send through the PFMI and CTP programs. What we get out of NPTC is extraordinary. There is no organization like it. My expectations are exceeded every year.”   

Darla Roberts, CTP, safety compliance manager at Reliance Inc.: “PFMI exceeded all my expectations. The information shared was as impressive as it was extensive. Networking was priceless. My only regret is that I did not do this sooner in my career.” 

Tom Moore, CTP, NPTC EVP, master of ceremonies of PFMI and CTP for more than 20 years: “Ever since earning my CTP in 1997 (I was candidate #15 to earn CTP recognition), I have been reinvesting my time, energy, and insights back into this community, which has meant so much to me.  

“Today, looking back over the past 28 years, the payoffs have been extraordinary. Becoming a CTP transformed my career in so many positive and unexpected ways. I would not have achieved what I have accomplished career-wise, nor would I be in the position I am in today, without having earned my CTP credential.  

“It changed the trajectory of my life and all for the good.”