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With most carriers, the fuel surcharge is paid on loaded miles only. With some, the fuel surcharge may be paid on deadhead miles depending on the arrangement. But the thing to watch is your personal, non-dispatched miles; the miles to the grocery store, truck stops between loads, home, tourist...

On March 20, I blogged about my decision made that day to write a book. Excerpt: Today was also a big-decision day. I made the formal decision to write a book about expediting. People have been encouraging me to do so for years. I have thought about it off and on but it was never a...

It is not the first published book on expediting. I know of at least two others.

That's just it. Every so often, someone starts a thread here in the Open Forum about professionalism. Members quickly jump in to talk about how professional they are and what it means to be a professional. Yet some of those same people talk in this thread about getting even. That is not...

Keep your eye on the CARB rules if you plan to run in California. They keep changing them so there is no telling what they will be four or five years from now. But a 2006 engine will be 13 years old five years from now and CARB is doing everything in its power to outlaw older engines, and if not...

We are not out here to arm our vehicles, do combat or win. We are out here to pick up, transport and deliver freight safely and on time. If you feel a negative emotion of any kind while you are behind the wheel, it is a sign that you are in danger of doing serious damage to your career if not...

Sadly, there are fleet owners out there who are clever and practiced at intentionally stealing money from drivers. They have been in business a long time and they remain successful in plying their dark trade. Their numbers are small but they have hurt a much higher number of drivers that have...

Get used to it, paullud. I do not know if shipit is a legitimate poster or not but the dynamic he or she is presenting is real. When Diane and I spoke at the ExpeditersOnline workshop in Monroe, there were several people in the room who had no experience in expediting but wanted to learn...

That thought crossed my mind as this thread progressed.

Where's the problem, Bruno? At least the guy thought enough of the truck to use the trash can. Look on the bright side! Count your blessings!

The easy entry into this way of doing business is appealing but I also wonder if it may also be its undoing. When I learned of this business model in February, and as I sat at my desk in our Florida vacation house, it occurred to me that I have everything I need to do what others are doing in...

As I said and as pearlpro's example shows, keeping a run journal can be very powerful.

My comment about carriers was driven by earnings reports posted by big, publicly-held companies in which strong profits are stated in recent quarters.

We can do an apples-to-apples comparison off your chart if we assume that a hypothetical load had no accessorials. I was under the impression that no fuel surchages were paid in 1997 because fuel costs were not the issue they are today. I did my comparisson including fuel surcharge in the...

So, to be fair and balanced, it is true that rates have gone down in recent years and that expenses have skyrocketed, making it increasingly difficult to run a profitable, one-truck expediting business. It is also true that by comparing 1997 Con-Way NOW rates to present-day rates (and...

If you equate retirement with the U.S. government social security program, yes, the concept of retirement is coming to an end. I have seen the program already fray around the edges. My retirement age under the program used to be 65 but the rules were changed to make it 67 now. When rules can...

Essential reading for anyone thinking about starting a trucking company: Have we seen the end of the trucking tycoon? I stumbled onto this piece this morning. Excerpt: "Trucking companies today face an overwhelming list of societal, human and compliance requirements that didn’t exist in the...

Diane and I do not experience this. People are people whatever kind of truck they drive. Some are warm, others are cold. And depending on one's mood, the same person in the same truck can be warm or cold. Next time a big rig cuts you off on the road, watch him for a while. You will likely find...

I think if you look closely, you will find that everyone or nearly everyone who replied to your inquiry believes in American drive and ingenuity. Indeed, most if not all who responded are entrepreneurs in their own right. As such, they, like you, are not ones to take no for an answer. But in...

I can't say for sure that Diane and I will not buy a new truck in the future but I can say that there is no way we would attempt to replace our present truck (full-featured, $251,000 new in 2006) in today's market. I would not dare finance a truck of any kind today. It seems that the Great...