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Thank you for posting this, Linda. I ordered a copy of the pamphlet today and will add it to our accident kit in the truck. Good stuff!

What's going on is a shortage of natural rubber that has developed in the supply chain and is expected to persist for years. I've checked around a bit. Tire prices from the factory have increased 20-30 percent in 2011. One major manufacturer has announced three price increases this year...

Not as much as you might think, if today's conversation is any indication. We certainly could have gone down that path but whatever issues we had with the company got resolved when we left. Emotions related to those issues may remain raw, but other topics were of greater interest. Also note...

I shared breakfast this morning with a former FedEx Custom Critical team who Diane and I got to know when we and they leased our trucks to that carrier. We went to one carrier. They went to another. It was nice to visit, talk shop, compare notes, exchange information, etc. As former FDCC...

A 3 under rule? What is a 3 under rule?

Uff duh!!!

Online sources for tire chains include: Buy Tire Chains from the Traction Specialists© and Tire Chains by TireChains.com

The exciting part of the XPO story to me is not the particulars about which company he will buy next or why he chose to begin his consolidation strategy by taking over Express-1. It is the longer-term, big-picture story in which a guy with his track record and available capital is taking the...

52% according to the most recent quarterly report. However, that number will become an item of historic interest tomorrow. After Jacobs kicks in up to $150 million and takes charge, only time will tell what the company will look like, what percentage of revenue will come from which operating...

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...