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July 5, 2000 10:28 AM, EDT

The relationship between drivers and dispatchers has always been a potentially stormy one.

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Drivers depend on dispatchers to give them loads, handle emergencies and breakdowns on the road. They also rely on the dispatcher to get them home when they want.

Management relies on dispatchers — who are also called driver managers and fleet managers — to keep trucks running, negotiate with recalcitrant shippers and do whatever it takes to keep drivers happy.

Torn between the demands of business and the needs of drivers, dispatchers are trucking’s quintessential middle managers and many carriers are beginning to recognize that a good relationship between driver and dispatcher is critical to retaining drivers and owner-operators.

For the full story, see the July 3 print edition of Transport Topics. .