Jim Burg, president and CEO of Jim Burg Trucking, has 1.2 million miles under his belt and a series of innovations that has built his steel hauling business into an industry mainstay.
Weight is money, Burg says, and he looked to exponentially improve his payloads by working with his suppliers such as East trailer to build products to fit his unique hauling needs. That includes an all-aluminum 50-ft., trailer and 53-ft., trailer, as well as working with the state of Michigan to allow multi-axle 53-ft., trailers.
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“There’s no money in the mundane, in the average,” Burg told suppliers at MEMA’s Commercial Vehicle Outlook conference during a ‘Voice of the Customer’ segment Tuesday in Pontiac, Mich. He uses spec’ing to push the limits of hauling and profitability through the more efficient use of materials and technologies for a safer, better truck and trailer, including working with suppliers to innovate and to refurbish old equipment in new ways.
For instance, the 53-ft., multi-axle trailer Burg helped design gained him 5,000 lbs. of payload with a lighter, safer trailer. East has also added rear egress steps to help keep Burg’s drivers safe.
“When we find more revenues, we’ve always found a way to enhance our safety processes,” he says.
For his trucks, Burg chose a Freightliner Cascadia. His 2025 models have 525 horsepower with a 12-speed automated transmission, disc brakes, tire pressure monitoring and safety equipment such as adaptive cruise control with automatic emergency braking, electronic stability control, blind spot detection and lane departure warning system.
Disc brakes are a great example of making an investment in value, Burg says. Disc brakes have fewer moving parts and better stopping performance, Burg says, with less maintenance in tough Michigan winters.
The trucks also have cameras that record safety events in the truck. Burg says those cameras aren’t about spying on drivers, but on providing opportunities to educate drivers on safety which saves lives and money.
“I’ve got an obligation to my employees that they come home safely,” Burg says. And those employees have an obligation to control the vehicle in any situation. Safety features like the cameras and even something as simple as a seat belt can help.
Burg’s trailers are all air-ride suspensions with steerable lift axles on spread axles and single wide-base tires with tire pressure monitoring systems. The trailers also have disc brakes and a roll stability system, coil well and load positioning posts and those rear steps. Burg says the tires are another innovation in his fleet. By using those instead of duals, Burg reduced the trailers weight by 1,500 lbs. over 10 axles while improving his fuel economy and reducing inventory costs.
In addition to talking to his suppliers, Burg also works with the industry, including the American Trucking Associations and Michigan state officials. He encouraged attendees to invest their time and get involved because suppliers don’t know what trucking companies need without having a conversation and he doesn’t know what suppliers can build for him without a conversation.
“I’m looking for value,” Burg says. “Your job is to sell it.”
