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Lawrence, Dreamer, et al, Is there on EO a place for expediter poetry? If not, might there be? A trucker at rest is pleased today Six thousand miles, at good pay He'll roll again but not today He is at rest. That is his way. Into a store he peacefully goes, to be among books, rows and rows...

The eruption of a volcano in Iceland and the ash spewed into the air has turned much of Europe into a no-fly zone. The immediate business impact is discussed in this AP article. Excerpt: "Airlines are already counting the cost of grounded planes, and there are growing fears about the...

Everyone talks about the cost per mile and cost per day (week, month, year) of operating a truck. Why is talk about profit per mile and profit per day (week, month, year) so infrequent? For whom exactly are expediters in business to make a profit for?

Link: An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking

Please see this item in the FedEx forum. Panther has been on electronic logs for some time. My questions to Panther drivers are: 1. Have you had similar encounters with the DOT? If so, what were the results? 2. What does Panther say about off-duty driving and using your truck as a personal...

As you may have heard, Panelite, a supplier of truck lights, recently suspended operations. Having 96 Panelite marker lights (a/k/a chicken lights) on our truck, this was not good news. I found a replacement as described in my blog entry today. I am asking readers here for any additional...

I know Panther has been using electronic logs for a while now. If a Panther contractor or driver needs to access log book information from say six months or six weeks ago, how is it done? See this post and this one for what prompts this question.

In another thread, Special K said, I grumbled yesterday to the company (phone call and e-mail to appropriate people) and concluded (1) that I am whistling in the wind, and (2) the IT capabilities of the company may be impressive but they are also bound by specific priorities and staffing...

Recent news reports (here and here) indicate that Tulsa based Arrow Trucking Company has suspended operations and thereby stranded hundreds of drivers on the road. Recent paychecks have bounced and fuel cards have been cut off, making it impossible for drivers to buy fuel. I understand that...

Excerpt from my December 12, 2009 blog. You know the story. We have all heard it. A drunk driver causes a fatal traffic accident and it comes out that the driver has been convicted several times before for drunk driving. People talk about it at work or coffee or worship. We wonder why someone...

This is too interesting to keep to myself. I happened upon it today while doing random surfing. I presume it is OK to share since a FedEx guy is doing the demo. The videos get geeky in places but are interesting just the same. Check it out

I know there are scale cops and other law enforcement types that read this forum. For you, I have a question. Private replies are welcome and will be kept confidential if you wish. With CSA 2010 soon to assign individual safety ratings to each and every truck driver, and with a new kind of...

Details highlight the shrinking expedited freight industry and the challenges expediters face. By Phil Madsen, ExpeditersOnline Bentz Transport Products, Inc. — a leading supplier of custom-made, aftermarket sleepers for expediter trucks — closed its doors on August 18, 2009. This...

Story here

This is in response to a thread in the FedEx Custom Critical carrier forum. The item discussed applies to all Open Forum members, so I am replying here to open the discussion to all. (Only members affiliated with FedEx Custom Critical can post in that carrier forum.) Regarding the post in...

Diamler Trucks North America recently announced that it is raising new truck prices $9,000 to account for the increased costs of manufacturing engines that comply with 2010 emissions requirements. Volvo engines are rising about $10,000 for the same reason. That is a lot of new money to put in a...

As many times as Diane and I have delivered freight in and out of the Chicago area, we have never gone downtown for tourist fun. We usually get dispatched out of here so quickly that tourism has not been an option. We know about the trains into downtown. If we decided to take a break of the...

Free truck parking, free admission, free shuttle rides to the park's attractions, 30 miles of walking trails, bike rentals and five miles of bike trails, a museum, a historically-significant site -- all can be found at the Valley Forge National Historical Park. The park is just 50 miles from...

I seldom post in the Soapbox but this is a special case. File it under items that make you wonder what the world is coming to. Diane and I visited the Valley Forge National Historic Park today, the place where George Washington's Continental Army wintered in 1777-78, and from which they went...

Fast forward a few months or a year; however long you believe it will be for the recession to be over. What exactly does that mean to you as an expediter? How do you expect things to be different? What, if anything, will you do different?