ExpeditersOnline.com The Expedited Freight Information Center

2009 was a pretty bad year for most folks in the Expedite industry; a cursory glance at the EO forums will tell you this. Carriers went out of business, Owner/Operators and drivers left the business, miles and rates were down. All told, it seems like most folks were driving in circles, so to speak.

Question: My family is expanding and home prices and mortgage interest rates are low. The special $8000 tax credit for buying a home is due to expire December 1, 2009. Is this a good time to buy?

Answer: We ARE NOT about to recommend to anyone to buy a house...

It is a good idea to make IRA and pension-plan contributions now. Don’t delay making contributions for the year. Deposit the full amounts now, AND START EARNING TAX-DEFERRED INCOME SOONER.

For 2009, you can contribute $5,000 to a deductible or Roth IRA ($6,000 if you are age 50 or older by year-end). These amounts might be increased by the end of the year.

A tax projection is a mini tax return using actual results from current operations annualized to reflect what a full year result would be. When doing a tax projection, your tax professional uses that profit, annualizes it and uses the expected profit for the year with current tax information such as equipment changes to calculate and project your tax liability for the year.

Expediter truck fleet owners are people who own a number of trucks and contract with drivers. In general, the owner purchases and maintains the truck, the drivers run the truck and the revenue earned by transporting expedited freight is split according to the contract they have. Some fleet owners own just a few trucks, others own dozens.

TravelCenters believes this is the first rewards club that is designed specifically for the needs of the expediter community.

As you sit in your truck for days waiting for the next shipment, you have probably wondered about the economy and what factors cause you to be sitting. he reasons you are sitting more often and longer than ever before are too numerous to list; however there is one basic economic rule that will answer your questions. Supply and demand...

My stories from the road depict some of the adventures, and ups and downs Diane and I have experienced since entering the world of expedited freight transport over five years ago. These stories have been written mostly in good economic times.

An economic recession officially began in December, 2007 and continues today. It is the most severe economic downturn in our lifetimes. In our one-truck, owner-operator business, Diane and I began to see the effects in the last quarter of 2008. We saw a decrease in the number of loads to haul and lower prices being offered to haul them.