Truck stop activity reflects ‘essential' role of freight sector

WESTLAKE, Ohio — Nobody needs to tell Jon Pertchik that we're living through some crazy times.

As the CEO of TravelCenters of America Inc., he has a unique perspective on how COVID-19 is impacting the Westlake-based business at hundreds of locations around the country.

What were some initial concerns by Americans about the coronavirus spreading from its origins in China, to a full-blown outbreak in the U.S. in a matter of just a few weeks, TravelCenters has had to pivot like the rest of the country and the rest of the world.

"All of a sudden, it went from that to 100 miles per hour and social distancing and masks. It seemed to happen so quickly," Mr. Pertchik said in an April 8 interview.

• This article appears in the April 13 print edition of Tire Business.

The company sells approximately 500,000 tires each year through its TA and Petro branded locations. The company also provides a mobile offering to make side-of-the-road repairs and has a service that travels to trucking companies' yards to provide service.

"Day by day as we were thinking about our business and starting to plan for the worst, the worst kept shifting in terms of what we were thinking. And so it really happened quickly. I think it took a lot of people by surprise by the abruptness of it," Mr. Pertchik said.

TravelCenters makes its money by providing a variety of different services to truckers and others driving the nation's highways, including food, fuel, showers and repairs.

"Overall, the tire business, year to date, we've done pretty well. We've done quite well. But demand is changing," the CEO said. "Our demand is up a little bit year-over-year."

"Particularly in the last month or month-and-a-half, we're doing a lot more used tires. There's a significant uptick there, the first in five years, I'm told," Mr. Pertchik said. "My guess is hunkering down. My guess is hoping for the best but managing for the worst."

"I think it's just a cost thing. They are just going with the low-cost alternative just in case this thing goes for many more months than people tend to believe," he said.

"There's nothing behind that except it seems logical. I don't have any further insights into that to share. That's really just intuitive based on what I think and the people who run that part of our business say," Mr. Pertchik said.

Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, a key competitor of TA/Petro, operates more than 500 travel stops across the country, including 380-plus with truck maintenance and tire services under the Love's Truck Care and Speedco brands.

"We've seen an increase in tire sales as professional drivers continue to work hard to deliver essential goods across the country," Love's said in an email interview.

Oklahoma City-based Love's operates five distribution and retread plants in the U.S. — with a sixth in the planning — that are keeping the company sufficiently stocked with tires, the company said.

With the federal government deeming travel stops an essential business, the company said, Love's has not seen any broad geographic differences regarding the impact of the current situation.

Some locations, however, are being required to adhere to more strict, local occupancy limits.

"Despite our classification as an 'essential business,' in some places, local enforcement officials are imposing rigid restrictions on travel centers' ability to efficiently serve the nation's truck drivers delivering emergency relief and critical goods," the company said.

"For example, some local officials are enforcing strict 'occupancy limits' of as few as five to 10 people (including store employees) in travel centers at one time as a means of implementing social distancing guidelines. This is creating exceedingly long wait times for truck drivers to buy food, use the facilities, and get back on the road," the company said. "What should be a 20-minute stop can turn into a more than two-hour layover."

On March 20, Love's announced it was giving hourly store employees a $2 per hour pay increase and a $100 bonus through at least May 1 in light of the hard work and dedication they've shown to truckers during a national emergency.

Looking past the pandemic, Love's also disclosed it's looking to hire more than 2,000 employees for its travel stops, country stores, truck care centers, Speedco locations and Oklahoma City headquarters.

"With the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and job market, it's likely a good time for some to explore opportunities they may have never thought of before," Love's President Shane Wharton said.

TravelCenters is not having any supply chain issues regarding the tire portion of the business, the CEO explained, and actually was overstocked with inventory heading into the crisis.

"We were heavy on inventory. So now that's benefited us a little bit," he said. "So between that and access to the used, we're not feeling it. But, like I said, demand has really shifted away from the new," Mr. Pertchik said.

Repair service business trends, including tires, typically mirror fuel sales for the company. When fuel sales are up, so are repair sales.

TravelCenters is finding evidence that diesel fuel sales are increasing in hotspot areas of the country where COVID-19 is causing problems, including the New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania region. While people are hunkering down inside their homes, there still is a need to transport products, including medical items, to these impacted areas.

"I would say based on everything I'm seeing, the repair business in general, and a very big part of that is the tire business, for us, has definitely been moving with diesel volume," he said.

TravelCenters did not have any specifics on tires themselves being broken out from the overall service trends.

Over at Pilot Flying J Truck Care, the Knoxville, Tenn.-based company has 35 locations that continue to operate providing "tires, repair and preventative maintenance services," said Jon Salter, director of shop operations.

"Our priority right now is protecting the safety of all who walk through our doors, while continuing to provide essential goods and services," he continued.

Specific safety measures include disinfecting truck care centers every four hours and hygiene training for all employees. The lobbies at each truck care center now spaces chairs at least six feet apart and the company is using "blue tape every six feet to reinforce social distancing guidelines."

Pilot Flying J Truck Care also sees two big trends emerging as the country battles COVID-19.

"Truck care overall has experienced an increase in tire, repair and preventative maintenance services," the company reported.

"More vehicle owners and operators are taking preventative measures in replacing or repairing items that have the potential to significantly delay or even prevent the pickup and delivery of their critical freight in the future."

The company also is having drivers handle in-cab functions whenever possible to limit employee contact with contaminated surfaces. This includes operating brakes, turn signals and the horn during inspections.

Love's has not experienced any impact from COVID-19 among its service technicians, the company said.

"Our team is as strong as ever and continues to work to take care of customers," the company said. "To address heightened health and safety concerns, we've implemented vigorous and frequent cleaning/disinfecting protocols and have taken proactive steps to help limit exposure to and spreading of the virus, such as practicing social distancing with each other and our customers."