Nussbaum Transportation, an 80-year-old truckload carrier with 600 trucks, runs driver turnover in the 35% to 39% range — a fraction of the industry norm — and CEO Brent Nussbaum credits a 2018 employee stock ownership plan as a central pillar of that performance, according to FreightWaves.
The privately held Illinois company sold 45% of the business to its employees in 2018, and Nussbaum said a second ESOP sale is planned for the first quarter of next year. The ESOP structure means employees receive 4% to 6% of their annual salary in company shares each year, building wealth beyond a standard 401(k). The stock is independently valued each spring; Nussbaum said the share price was flat in the most recent valuation after several years of increases. “This last year it was flat, which I was thankful it didn’t go down after this market,” he said, as reported by FreightWaves.
Retention and Culture Programs
Beyond equity, Nussbaum layers in a certified RED safety-and-performance program that takes a full year to complete, rewarding graduates with a pay raise, a special hat and ring, and a company-wide celebration. Drivers who continue their safe journey can stack additional pay increases through the program in years when across-the-board raises were scarce. The company also began issuing profit-sharing checks this year, with the first disbursement going out at the time of the interview, according to FreightWaves.
Nussbaum described two operational habits he calls part of the carrier’s “secret sauce.” Each week he personally calls every incoming driver before their start date — a gesture he said consistently surprises recruits who say they have never heard from a CEO. He also reviews a weekly shop report and phones any driver whose truck earns an exceptional cleanliness rating. “I’ll have drivers that’ll say, yep, saw that. Just waiting for you to call,” Nussbaum said, per FreightWaves.
The carrier also offers a $2,000 early-exit bonus to any driver who decides within the first 90 days — after giving 30 days on the job — that the company is not the right fit, provided the driver returns the truck to a company facility and leaves in good standing. Nussbaum said the payout is rare because most drivers who clear the 30-day mark stay on. The company’s average driver age has dropped to 49 from 55, a shift Nussbaum said may reduce the subset of drivers who pull back miles after a pay raise, according to FreightWaves.
Growth and Technology
On the growth front, Nussbaum said dedicated freight carried the company financially through the recent soft market while over-the-road results were negative. The carrier is now scaling in both segments and expects to grow at least double its typical 3% to 5% annual rate this year. To support that expansion, the sales team was directed to push contract rates higher first — a process Nussbaum acknowledged is creating friction, including a request from a large shipper to meet directly with the CEO and chief sales officer in late August to understand the rate environment firsthand, according to FreightWaves.
Separately, Nussbaum said the company developed an in-house bid-pricing tool called BidRight, originally built for internal use by five company developers. The software consolidates shipper RFP data, normalizes fuel programs, and generates a bid in seconds. It is now being resold through KSM alongside a product called Freight Math, according to FreightWaves.
Comparative Turnover Data
| Metric | Nussbaum Transportation | Industry Average |
|---|---|---|
| Annual driver turnover | 35% – 39% | 80% – 100%+ (typical) |
| Average driver age | 49 years | 55 years (previous) |
| Annual growth rate (typical) | 3% – 5% | Variable |
Watch List
- Second ESOP sale planned for Q1 next year, which may expand employee ownership above the current 45%.
- Rate negotiations with a large shipper scheduled for late August, which could affect contract rate direction.
- BidRight adoption as the software is resold to other carriers, potentially changing industry bid processes.
- Driver age shift — the drop in average age from 55 to 49 may impact retention patterns and mileage behavior, especially if pay raises reduce miles driven by older cohorts.
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