Search results

If you and Tina are employees, what person or entity is the employer? What person or entity pays the payroll taxes you refer to? Also, "payroll tax" is a generic term. When you speak of payroll taxes, what exactly are you referring to?

Generally, speaking, that's the difference between a tax accountant and a financial planner. The accountant is geared toward reducing your tax bill. The financial planner is geared toward increasing your net worth over time. The accountant's view is narrow. He or she looks mostly at your tax...

We never had an accident that stopped the truck but we were prepared because we maintained healthy cash reserves. In the event of a major wreck in which we were not injured and forced to stay somewhere else, Plan A was to tow the truck home and have it repaired there. That eliminates the stress...

One thing we noticed with both carriers we ran with (FedEx CC, Landstar Express America) was that, time-wise, the further out a load picked up, the more likely it was to cancel. A load that is sitting on the dock and is dispatched that day is a near-certain pick-up. A load that is booked a week...

For me, success is measured against the goals you set. It might involve money or it might not. It might involve certain lifestyle preferences or it may not. It might involve not sitting for prolonged periods or it might involve the exact opposite. The key is to have clearly stated goals. Those...

Those long, quiet stretches of the road are the best. There is little traffic to be wary of. You can be alone with your thoughts, podcasts or music for hours. There is ample time to contemplate a blade of grass, a strip of highway paint, the curve of the earth, something else or nothing at all...

Mentally and emotionally, we'll never leave expediting. Expediting provided ten great years and a fantastic adventure for us. Our view of the country is greatly enhanced because of expediting. There is hardly a place in the U.S. that we see on the news or otherwise hear about that we cannot...

That's sad to hear. We saw the beginning of that trend toward the end of our expediting career. While some very nice trucks were still being built, the sleepers were getting smaller and some of the features were being omitted. With standard trucks, it seemed that their age was increasing and...

I'm not sure I agree that the whole industry has been destroyed. I do note that technology is an important factor that must be considered when assessing long term trends. Early expediters crow about the good money they were once able to make. They also tell stories in which the good old days...

While Diane and I have been off the road for a while now, we continue to be interested observers of the expediting industry. Recent chatter in this forum about the FedEx CC load board sparked my curiosity. It is out of simple curiosity that I ask these questions: 1. Is it true, as one expediter...

The Obamacare noose continues to tighten. Details here

When thinking about the good old days and the way people interacted, keep technology in mind. We have cell phones now and drivers are never more than a finger swipe away from a meaningful online conversation, text from a family member, video call and other ways of instantly communicating. It's...

For 10 years as an expediter I took the do it yourself approach to bookkeeping, developing spreadsheets (which I know how to do) and a filing system for receipts. I did so out of stubbornness. I resisted the idea of putting data in the cloud. I resisted the idea of storing my info where a third...

Linda Caffee is spot on in stressing the importance of mastering your sleep as an expediter. It's a safety thing. It's a revenue thing. It's a quality of life thing. While the regulators prefer a one-size-fits-all approach to driver rest, sleep is a highly individualized experience. It pays to...

I don't think your average pay per mile question can be answered at all when you are seeking to compare carriers. First, that is not a number carriers generally publish. Second, even if they did publish it, the average pay per mile two drivers earn with the same carrier can vastly differ. The...

Express America acquired by Landstar. Ancient history and I am only reporting what a Landstar agent who said he once owned part or all of Express America once reported to me. As far as I know, this is a little-known development that happened in the very early days of expediting. While this was...

This incident happened in 2001. Additional details here.

One of the best things we did in researching the truck we built was ask every owner/operator we met, "If you were able to build your truck again, what would you do different and what would you do the same?" That question led to dozens of truck tours in which helpful expediters shared great ideas.

Excellent piece!

Very true. We considered it but chose against a day cab. That was one of the trade-off decisions made.