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I agree that the need to adapt to a new economy exists, but reject the notion that you need to adjust your expectations downward. People who partied on credit need to adjust their lives to live within their means but one of the things that makes successful businesspeople successful is their...

Tomorrow (Sept. 1) will be a big day in the history of Express-1 (NYSE Amex: XPO). Shareholders will meet and are expected to approve the deal that will make Bradley Jacobs CEO of the company, and his company -- Jacobs Private Equity -- majority shareholder. Shareholders are also expected to...

Diane and I are a married couple team having been on the road together for eight years, most of it with FedEx Custom Critical (we are now with Landstar Express America). I started a daily blog about our day-to-day experiences in July, 2007. Reading it will give you a sense of the kinds of...

Diane and I left FedEx Custom Critical in June. Our escrow money was returned with interest. What carrier does not pay interest on escrow money? Where is the problem?

Where did you take your two days of training and when?

Rather than think about cheap freight, Diane and I prefer to think about lucrative freight. That's what brought us into FedEx Custom Critical in 2003 and into Landstar in 2011. Don't position yourself to say no to cheap freight. Position yourself in a way that the lucrative freight will say yes...

Landstar takes a different approach. Instead of hosting a good natured competition with a handful of voluntary participants, they require all BCOs (contractors) to attend CABS (Continued Awareness of Business and Safety) training every two years and they pay you to do it. At LEAM, there is...

Good reports. Good advice.

I asked that question when Diane and I visited Landstar headquarters in Jacksonville Florida in July. The answer given was approximate. There are a little over 250 trucks in the Landstar Express America fleet, including one big rig, about 100 cargo vans of different varieties (traditional cargo...

At the risk of stating the obvious, you did some good thinking. Some people get thrown off their game and lose their heads when crisis situations develop. Some will drive toward the water instead of away from it.

That is exactly why big carriers like EOBRs. The technology reduces reliance on the driver. The more technology you put in a truck, the less skills a driver needs to have and the less self-directed he or she needs to be. EOBRs pave the way for carriers to reduce the minumum standards a driver...

You are close. A driver -- especially an employee driver -- may be in no condition to drive but because the real-time device shows a dispathcer that he or she is, the go-back-go-work call may indeed come. It can work the other way too. A driver has time to spare and again is in no condition to...

Alright. Scratch the word civil. I could have chosen my words more carefully. Workplace rules, contract law, whatever; the devices hold the potential for abuse against which certain laws are on the books now to prevent. Trucking companies are more known for abusing drivers than looking out for...

If all that was going on was the monitoring of a marginal driver, harassment would not come in. The concern is that the drvices will be used in ways that will harass drivers.

I know of no rule that prevents now a large carrier from putting EOBRs in all fleet trucks. If that is a choice they wish to make on their own, they are free to do so. However, the abuse of such devices to harass drivers or violate their civil rights could be grounds for civil action against the...

If FMCSA ignored the court ruling, OOIDA would go back to court to seek a contempt of court ruling. In the end, the courts have more power than FMCSA.

OOIDA represents drivers. OOIDA wins in court. Score one for drivers. Granted, some drivers want EOBRs but this driver does not. So, sitting on the side of the field I sit on, it's one point for my team. Technology always wins in the end, no matter who opposes it (birth control, stem cell...

OOIDA scores another one for drivers. This will not be the end of the story but it is an encouraging development, methinks. Report here

In eight years with FDCC, Diane and I never heard of skid pad training either. They told us about it at Landstar Express America orientation and encouraged us to attend. I do not recall the particulars but Landstar either pays for the training or helps with the cost. We plan to attend when we...

I am viewing now a live cam from Long Beach, NY and listening to the fire department feed that goes along with it. Google Maps and street view provides a good sense of the neighborhoods they talk about. A fire was reported at an address. I could look at a photo of the street and building. Minor...