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The concluding phone call happened a few hours ago and I remain not just surprised but shocked by the positive and unexpectedly strong support Diane and I received from dispatch yesterday and today. A courier was in our truck from Monday morning through late Tuesday afternoon. The freight was...

GPS Problem

Am I blind or have one or more topics been removed from this FedEx Custom Critical forum without notice or explanation? I have looked carefully but have been unable to find the lengthy thread in which numerous contractors and drivers complained bitterly and very specifically about load offers...

The National Bureau of Economic Research is the entity that officially dates the beginning and end of U.S. recessions. It announced today that what has become known as the Great Recession ended in June, 2009. It began in December, 2007, making this the longest and deepest economic slowdown since...

Having had enough politics to last three lifetimes, I rarely read or post in The Soapbox forum but am making an exception today to share news that third-party advocates will enjoy. Independent and third-party candidates face formidable challenges in any election. Just getting on the ballot...

The Washington Post reports that pilot rest rules are under review by the DOT and FAA (story here). This debate and the truck driver hours of service (HOS) debate are similar. To me, the most frustrating part of these HOS debates is the assumption that a "science based" rule can be created at...

Are you missing the Sirius XM Weather and Emergency Channel like Diane and I are? It seems to have been discontinued without explaination. This is a significant loss for Diane and me. We travel all over the country to places at random on short notice. We have friends that do the same. We...

In a recent post, an Open Forum member urged members to "...get back to what this site is really all about!" It occured to me that members do not have a unified view of what this site really is all about, and that it might be instructive to hear what members think EO really is all about. So...

Diane and I were surprised to meet Terry O'Connell yesterday at the truck show (GATS) in Dallas. We were surprised because FedEx Custom Critical did not have a booth at the show and we had seen no company announcement that he would be there. He explained that he was there in his van because he...

Here is a link to a report of an interview with Nouriel Roubini a/k/a "Dr. Doom" of Roubini Global Economics. He correctly called the Great Recession and identified its causes well in advance. While he has his critics, I like to include his views when thinking about the mix. Regardless of what...

Looking at the exhibitor list for this weekend's GATS truck show in Dallas, I don't see FedEx Custom Critical. E-1 and Panther are listed but no FedEx? I see that free truck parking is available at the show. Does anyone know if overnight parking is permitted?

After seven years in the business this month, and with changes made at our carrier (not all for the better), Diane and I have taken a couple days off to take a deep and careful look at what we are doing, why and how. We have considered everything from staying put to changing carriers to selling...

CSA 2010 motivates us all to be more diligent in little things that did not seem to matter much before. Diane and I recently "remodeled" our windshield by moving transponders and stickers to legal areas. It's been a while but I seem to recall that when we got our EZ-Pass and PrePass...

So, I'm walking across the lot at the Amarillo, Texas, TA on Wednesday and I see this bumper sticker.... On this van .... Occupied by this driver .... Who gives a friendly wave. We had no time to talk as Diane and I were on a cross-country run. Guido, I would love to hear more...

This post was prompted by ebsprintin's deer strike survey thread. It is an excerpt from my March, 2009, blog. It's funny how one's perspective can change. When I grew up in small-town Wisconsin, men hunted deer. They regarded it as an important skill and the deer as wild game. I came to...

I was talking by phone to long-time dispatcher and agent Debbie Lee a couple days ago and she said she is retiring at the end of June. She put 20 years into the company and it is time to move on, she said. I know a lot of contractors who have more energy on Debbie Lee than they have on other...

I have written many times over the years about the property free lifestyle that Diane and I live as expediters. For people reading the older posts as a way of researching the industry, I feel compelled to post now that we are property free no more. We bought a house in Florida yesterday. It is...

Below is part of the text of a notice I received today. I will post the full notice as time permits. The .pdf file from Koester is too large to attach here. The remainder of the notice talks about product lines and gives company contact information. Related story (10/19/2009): The Downfall of...

Seeing the country is a reason cited by many people for entering the expediting business. Of course you have to run a profitable business to make a long-term go of it, but as far as seeing the country goes, you can certainly do so as an expediter. To provide readers with a visual of the ground...

In another thread TeamCaffee said, "Roll with it or spend your time being frustrated over something you do not have to power to change." She is not wrong, but I want to urge contractors to not sell themselves short when it comes to understanding the power you have. It is an important belief...