Celadon to exit the truck driver training game

Celadon Trucking announced today that it will close down its three truck driver training academies with plans to have them reopen as third party driver training schools.

According to a news release, Celadon plans to “exit” its Celadon Driving Academies located in Indianapolis, Laredo, and Richmond this year. Later, in those same locations, three truck driving schools will reopen under third-party management. Celadon says that they will then source new drivers from those third party truck driving schools.

Celadon Driving Academies To Reopen Under Third Party Management

Celadon says that the move is strategic and that the third party model is a more effective way for the company to acquire new drivers.

Company president and COO said that the move will allow Celadon to focus more resources on trucking:

“Highly qualified professional truck drivers are the lifeblood of our organization. We recruit and train thousands of drivers each year and constantly evaluate the optimal mix of experienced drivers, student drivers, and driver trainers. After a thorough review, we determined that using third-party programs and making additional investments in driver compensation and advanced training would afford a better investment of resources than continuing to operate the schools ourselves. We are trucking specialists, and we will focus on our core business.“

Celadon says that their driving academy employees could be hired by the third party schools or that they are welcome to apply for other open positions with Celadon.

Celadon Focuses On “Better Investment Of Resources”

Celadon’s announcement about their plans to outsource truck driver training comes just days after the company also divested themselves of their flatbed trucking division by selling it off to Alabama-based PS Logistics. Celadon says that the decision to sell off the flatbed division, like the decision to shutter the driving academies, was made in order to allow them to focus on what they do best, with the company noting that “we had neither the expertise nor the critical mass to compete in the flatbed sector.”