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Phil Madsen's Blog Learning Something New Every Day

Truck drivers Phil and Diane Madsen live, work and play on the road; transporting expedited and critical-shipment freight in their custom-built truck. Phil's blog is a blend of travelogue, brain dump and commentary on road-inspired topics.

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Blog entries are made so as not to reveal customer specifics or the current location of the truck when we are under load. Entries are updated to include location information after we leave the area.  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Sunday, March 1, 2009.  I learned today a number of things about the used truck market and the expediting industry. Learned by talking with a number of people.

We woke up this morning in the same parking lot we did yesterday, at the Volvo truck dealership in Syracuse, New York. We are waiting in a broke-down truck for Monday to come when the shop will open and the truck will be repaired.

One might think that a parking lot like this would be quiet on a Sunday when the dealership is closed. There is actually quite a bit that goes on. A number of people came to pick up their parked trucks. A husband and wife (we presume) drove into the lot in a car. We have seen that scene a hundred times. The man gets out of the car with a bag and into the truck. He fires it up and they go their separate ways. It will be days, weeks and maybe even months before they see each other in person again.

In the afternoon, we heard the old beater of a truck that was parked next to us start up. Concerned for our truck's safety, I went to the window. A man pulled the truck into the middle of the lot, took a photo of it and put it back. Curious, I opened the passenger door and greeted him through his open driver's door. He was a used truck dealer checking out the truck.

With him not being in a hurry and me looking for an excuse to avoid income tax preparation, we chatted for a bit. I know very little about the used truck market and its participants. After this visit, I know a little more.

Another task today was to get my articles in for the next issue of Expedite NOW. Interviewing people for those put me in touch with some new folks at a carrier other than FedEx Custom Critical. I love it when that happens.

Diane and I lease our truck to FedEx Custom Critical. We know a fair amount about how the company operates and what it is like to contract with them. We know less about other carriers. My other-carrier knowledge grew today. That's a good thing, since Expedite NOW is sponsored by numerous carriers. The more I learn about other carriers and their contractors, the better.

It has been a quiet, productive and relaxing weekend sitting here in the truck. Beyond the fact that our truck breakdown cost us a lucrative cross-country run, the only down side is the weather. It's cold! Not sub-zero cold but below freezing. We are having to run the generator the whole weekend to stay warm.

The generator is running great. The sleeper is toasty warm. We are saving a pile of money by running the generator instead of the truck engine (fuel savings). But the generator still needs fuel to run. Hours put on it bring it closer to its next maintenance or repair expense. It would be nice if the outside temperature was more moderate. But it's not, so the generator hums away. Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Monday, March 2, 2009.  I learned today about sponsored memberships at OOIDA. Learned by reading about them on the ExpeditersOnline Open Forum.

A sad story there moved me to act. Seeing the need and feeling a desire to do something to help, I called OOIDA and made arrangements to purchase four one-year memberships that will be given to truck drivers that cannot afford but can absolutely use them.

It's getting rough out there. Stories like this are bubbling up more and more. In the last couple days, I have personally talked to or heard from a couple that lost their house, a couple whose fleet owner stopped paying and owes them $12,000. A couple that had serious truck trouble last year and are hanging on by a thread now, and the sad story above. People are doing their best, and in some cases, their best isn't good enough.

Our news is better. Early this morning an eager and alert mechanic approached our truck, asked me to pull it into the shop and went right to work. Two hours later the truck was fixed and we were on our way.

The first stop was showers at a truck stop. Next was a grocery store. While there, we received and accepted a load offer. The load pays well, picks up tomorrow and takes us to a busy freight area....Yes!  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Tuesday, March 3, 2009. I learned today nothing new in particular. That happens, sometimes; not often, but every now and then.

We woke up this morning in Syracuse, New York. After eating breakfast in the truck, we drove to our nearby pickup. We have been to this shipper before so the routine was familiar. We next drove to JFK Airport in New York City and delivered the load to a familiar location late in the afternoon.

Not being under load and having no need to go anywhere after that, we went to a familiar corner of the air cargo area to wait out the rush hour and wait for load offers to come. If nothing came by the time rush hour was over, we would drive to the Petro truck stop in Bordentown, New Jersey, to spend the night.

Two offers came in that we declined. A third then came that we accepted. It was a short run that picked up and delivered in New Jersey tomorrow. It was not the best run in the world but it would get us out of the city and set us up for good loads tomorrow, we hoped.

An instant after we said yes to that load, another load offer came in that was much, much better. Not expecting much but thinking it worth the try, I called dispatch and said we were willing to take the better load. I had not even finished the sentence when the dispatcher said she would take us off the short run and put is on the long one. Unbelievable!

It turned out that the driver credentials and truck equipment required for the longer run were different than those required for the shorter run. Dispatch would worry about the shorter run later. They were glad we said yes to the longer one.

Before we got into this business, Diane and I figured out that being qualified and equipped to handle as many kinds of high-value and specialized freight as possible would be an advantage. It costs a lot of money to so equip a truck and it takes some time, effort and expense to acquire and maintain our credentials. But time and time again, we have profited from our decision to go that route.

So, having made a familiar pickup and delivery, and hung out in a familiar parking spot, we drove the familiar route out of JFK, on to a familiar fuel stop, and then to a familiar rest area where we spent the night. Tomorrow's load picks up at noon and delivers Thursday morning.  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Wednesday, March 4, 2008.  I learned today about a stretch of U.S. 40 in Pennsylvania that is better avoided if you are driving a truck. Learned by driving that stretch.

"Learned by driving it" is an understatement. This lesson was learned with wide eyes and clenched teeth.

We picked up freight today in Maryland and headed out on an overnight run to Saint Louis, Missouri. As with all runs, our carrier provided suggested routing. It us usually the shortest route that can be completed using federal and state highways, but it is not always the fastest, easiest or most safe.

Moments after heading out, we received a delivery confirmation message saying delivery would be at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. That converted the run from straight-through to a morning delivery and gave us several hours of additional time.

When heading west out of Maryland, I-70 and I-68 are the usual route. U.S. 40 through Uniontown, Pennsylvania has been recommended many times but we always chose the freeways instead. Doing so adds a few miles to the route but freeways are easier.

This run took us west in the daylight. The weather was pleasant. In fact, we were quite pleased to see the sun for the first time in a while. Having time, we decided to check out U.S. 40.

As expected from our map recon, the road was a fairly straight two-lane highway. It went fine at first but then we started going up and down long 9% grades (for non-truckers, 9% is a very steep grade). The tree-lined road was scenic. The traffic was light. A number of historic sites dotted the route. This would be a fun area if we were tourists, but we were not, at least not today.

We knew early into the road that we would not be taking it as a through route again. The truck can handle the grades just fine, but the hills suck fuel and slow speed limits cost time.

I asked Diane to figure out how much longer we would be stuck on this road and if there was an easy way back to the freeway. Her reply was not good. It was 50 miles to the freeway, and other than turning around, there was no good alternative.

That's when I started clenching my teeth; not because of the driving but because every minute spent on this road was one lost to sleep when we reached the delivery. Had we taken the freeway, we would have that much more time to sleep before the consignee opened in the morning. It did not sit well that we were wasting time, sucking fuel and giving up good sleep time too. None of that mattered. There was nothing to do but grumble and drive on.

Then this sign appeared, and another just like it further down the road. Large warning signs with white lettering and red backgrounds usually mean the people who erect them are serious. Great, I thought. We have been going up and down 9% grades with little notice and now they have a dangerous mountain to tell us about. That's where the wide eyes came in. I was more than a little curious to know what was over the next hill.

We next came to a truck-only stop sign and a wide spot on the road. A large sign there provided information about the three-mile downhill drive ahead. The stop sign was there to make sure truckers read the big sign and know the hazards ahead. Most disturbing was the 10 mph truck speed limit. I wanted nothing more than to get back to freeway driving but would have to drive 10 mph for three miles instead. Until today, I did not know our truck could go that slow for that long. It took forever to complete that stretch.

As we descended, I thought of decision we made last Friday to give up a $5,000+ plus load to instead sit over the weekend and get the brakes fixed on Monday. It seemed like a good idea then and an even better one now. Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Thursday, March 5, 2009.  I learned today that someone who goes to jail in Missouri is obligated to pay for part of the expense of keeping him in jail. Learned by overhearing a young man who is having that money taken out of his pay.

I did not meet this guy. He did not know I was listening to his telephone conversation. But when he occupies the stall next to mine in a public restroom and starts a telephone call, privacy is forfeited. Not having much else to do at the moment, I listened with interest as he described to a new girlfriend his obligations as a parolee for the next five years. To his credit, it was clear that he plans on keeping his nose clean and becoming what he called "a free man" in five years.

We delivered freight early this morning in Saint Louis, Missouri. Arriving several hours before the building opened, we got some good sleep in before the delivery. After the delivery we found a parking place and laid down to get the rest of the sleep we wanted.

We only received one load offer today. The pay was close to the minimum rate we try to get. While I was on the phone with dispatch to see if the pay could be bumped higher, another truck took the load. Had we said yes to the load at its original price, we would not have gotten it anyway as the other truck was ahead of us in the dispatch order.

With the sun going down and shippers ending their work days, hopes faded for a load that would get us running today. We drove to the Flying J truck stop in Pontoon Beach, Illinois (near Saint Louis), to spend the night.

I have a blog reader named Frank who lives in the area. He has corresponded with me before seeking a meeting. I sent him an e-mail letting him know we are in the area. He called and offered to buy us breakfast tomorrow morning. If we are not dispatched out of town overnight, we will meet. Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Friday, March 6, 2009. I learned today about a company named JS Logistics Incorporated. Learned by receiving a tour of the company and meeting with its vice president, and by having breakfast with the Director of Agent Operations of Network Global Logistics, a company that works closely with JS Logistics.

We woke up this morning in the Flying J parking lot in Pontoon Beach, Illinois. I wrote yesterday about a blog reader named Frank who wanted to meet Diane and me to see our truck and learn more about expediting. He showed up for breakfast as we had arranged last night. Diane and I answered the usual questions and gave him a truck tour.

During our visit Frank told us about his work. He is the Director of Agent Operations mentioned above. As I expressed interest, he offered us a tour of JS Logistics. It seems I have a blog reader or two at that company too. We finished breakfast, got the truck washed and drove 19 miles to get the tour. Diane was less interested than me so I want in alone.

According to their web sites, JS Logistics is a leader in on-demand rush delivery services in the Midwest consisting of a group of transportation and distribution companies; NGL is a premier provider of supply chain, logistics, and express services. Diane and I are truck drivers who specialize in expedited freight. Greg (JS Logistics vice president) and Frank were as interested in our life and work on the road as I was in their companies.

JS Logistics dispatches over 5,000 local courier loads a day using impressive fleet management and communications software. When I entered their central dispatch room I could not believe my eyes. I expected to see dozens of people fielding phone calls, typing away on their computers, passing notes and shouting information to each other over their cube walls. I expected to hear telephones constantly ringing. Instead, I entered a room that was dead quiet, and occupied by six people dispatching those loads. One of them was quality control.

Pat, the dispatch honcho (I did not get his official title), provided the tour. The dispatchers kept an ear open to my questions as they worked and offered comments as well.

There were no pens, pencils or paper on the desks. There was not a Post-it note in the room. One telephone rang one time while I was there. It was a personal call on a cell phone in one of the dispatcher's pockets. I asked where the computer servers were. They said they were desktop system units behind panels by their feet.

Some of the dispatchers helped build the company. They told me of a time when they had a map painted on a ping-pong table and moved pennies around to represent their trucks and locations.

On February 26, reacting to a camera-equipped wheel chock, I asked if you ever got the feeling that there were more technology solutions being offered out there then there were problems to solve? I was critical of the notion that technology is the answer to everything. Today I saw a company that has embraced technology and uses it to slash costs, gain huge competitive advantages, efficiently and effortlessly communicate with the fleet, and produce an astounding productivity boost.

It is more than that. This is a remarkable group of people who, not knowing what kind of technology and world was ahead, had the will, vision and determination to find their way from pushing pennies on a ping-pong table to viewing the world in real time and moving freight with a mouse click.

This system was developed over a long time. There are pictures on the wall showing the company's earlier days and the dispatch system in various stages of of its evolution. Computers and communications technology evolved over the same time period, as have shipper practices, customer needs, warehousing techniques, aviation rules, tax and employment laws, and everything else that affects this company's work.

Some of the dispatchers in the pictures were in the room today. They have less hair now, some of it gray. It was fascinating to see the fruits of their labor. In our prior careers and as expediters, Diane and I have been in and out of thousands of offices and warehouses. This is the first time I have seen the dream of the paperless office fully realized and technology applied with such grace and ease. These people have not developed technology and then technology work-arounds. They developed technology and used it as planned. The mindset is different than what is found in many companies. They don't work for the technology. The technology works for them.

Frank, Greg and I spent a lot of time together and I learned much more than I have space or time to write about here. Diane found herself back in the conversation when Greg toured the truck and ended up sitting in the sleeper and visiting at length with the two of us.

Suffice it to say it was a very interesting and informative day for everyone involved. I saw nothing that made me worry about new competition for the freight Diane and I haul. Our business is not local courier business. It was just plain fun to take the tour and learn about this leading-edge local courier company.

While we were at the truck wash, a load offer came in that we accepted. The pickup is on Monday, which leaves us in the Saint Louis area over the weekend. Frank will be bringing his wife to the truck to meet Diane. I have a generator oil change to do. The weather is wonderful. It will be shirt sleeves in Saint Louis this weekend!  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Saturday, March 7, 2009. I learned today more about JS Logistics and Network Global Logistics. Learned by meeting again with my blog reader Frank who works for Network Global Logistics.

I wrote yesterday about a fascinating company tour I received. I have not stopped thinking about what I saw. I modified yesterday's blog entry to include additional information and thoughts. If you are a logistics-interested or technology-interested person, you may wish to re-read the entry and follow the links.

Diane and I spent last night back at the Flying J in Pontoon Beach, Illinois. We have freight to pick up on Monday and are passing time until then. Frank returned for a second visit, this time bringing his wife Carol. Carol is not as interested in expediting as Frank, but he wanted her to meet Diane and see the truck. We were happy to provide that opportunity.

While Diane gave Carol a truck tour, I invited Frank to step into "my office." We moved away from the noise of idling trucks and took seats on the curb of the parking lot, where I questioned him further about the two companies mentioned above.

Now, let me tell you a little story and then come back to this.

When Diane and I first started expediting, neither of us had been to all 48 states. I vividly remember the first time I saw the desert in the American Southwest. I had been driving westbound overnight on I-10. As the sun rose behind me and the night gave way to day, the desert came into view.

First, distant mountain shapes emerged out of a colorless sky. As more light spilled over the horizon behind, desert details moved progressively closer; the hills, rocks, brush, pebbles, sand and finally the texture of it all.

As the sun rose to greet them, the colors stirred, dimly at first, mixing with each other. They then fully woke to begin their show. Long morning shadows outlined objects now brightly lit. The sun warmed the earth from a clear blue sky. The air was clear. With all traces of night pushed over the edge, I could see miles ahead. I gasped at each, as one spectacular vista after another appeared.

Diane was asleep in the bunk of the Freightliner Century Class truck we then drove. As I continued to cruise west on the open road, I breathed deep to take in the crisp bright air. A serene smile came across my unshaven face as I was moved nearly to tears by the beauty and peace of it all.

At the same time, my mind raced through every idea of the desert I had ever had. Having only seen pictures of the desert in books and views of it in movies and TV westerns, my mind whirred through those images like a hard drive being defragmented.

Now knowing what the desert really looked like, familiar images became more detailed. Perspective was added. Old shows became new. Black and white memories of the Lone Ranger and Tonto riding their horses Silver and Paint across the desert became colored. The dust at the horses feet became more real. I then understood why the Lone Ranger's cry, "Hi ho Silver, away!" does not echo back. I realized then that if you kept your eye on him as he rode away, the Lone Ranger would remain in view for a very long time.

Yesterday's tour of JS Logistics and information provided by Frank about Network Global Logistics is having a similar effect. My mind is racing through every idea I have ever had about computers, technology and fleet communications. I find myself thinking about dispatch groups, freight terminals, warehouses, shipping offices, loading docks, bar codes, paper, satellites, cell phones, desk drawers, routing, fuel, PDAs and a host of other things.

When I entered the dispatch room at JS Logistics, the sun rose in my mental desert. A subconscious upgrade is now in progress and I am now seeing and thinking about technology in ways I never did before.

These people do not work for the technology. The technology works for them. Technology masters or slaves? Masters they are. Technology trapped or free? Free they be.

Other than our visit with Frank and Carol, the day was quiet. We chatted with friends and family on the phone, did laundry, changed the oil on the generator, did some paperwork, read, wrote and mindlessly surfed the web. We will spend the night here and move closer to the freight tomorrow.  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Sunday, March 8, 2009.  I learned today that some trade show loads bound for the Mid-America Trucking Show are canceling at the last minute. Learned from a truck driver who had one cancel on him.

MATS is the biggest trucking show in the country. This annual event is where Diane and I discovered expediting in 2003, when we attended for the first time. It is a great show and great fun. Anyone interested in trucking should get to the show at least once. This year will be different than recent years in that, due to the recession, a number of major exhibitors have pulled out of the show. Still, it is a huge show and well worth attending if you have not been to one before.

The surprise news today came to me from a friend and big-rig driver who was scheduled to deliver a load to the show in Louisville, Kentucky. As his load was canceled, his dispatchers told him a number of show-bound loads are canceling at the last minute. This is different than the big exhibitor loads that pulled out weeks ago. My friend's load was still on and still confirmed to deliver. The shipper's decision to cancel the load was only recently made.

There is no way to know how much of this is going on or what kind of impact, if any, it will have on the show. That any load to the show would cancel is itself remarkable. In prior years, exhibitors were climbing over each other to get into the show.

A sign of the times, I guess.

Attendance could go either way. It might decline because fewer people are willing to spend money to make the trip. It might swell to overflowing as unemployed people who never considered trucking as a career before go to the show to research their opportunities.

We left the Flying J in Pontoon Beach, Illinois today to move closer to our Monday morning pickup. We are at a rest area now and well get a good night's sleep without running the generator. Good sleeping weather here.  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Monday, March 9, 2009.  I learned today that the Mid-America Trucking Show exhibitor count is down from 1,174 in 2008, to 900 for this year's show. Learned by reading the March 1-14 edition of The Trucker.

The Trucker web site provides some information. The printed edition is more comprehensive. It is distributed free at truck stops and available by subscription.

I wrote yesterday about a truck-driver friend who had a truck show load recently cancel. Today I read the officially reported exhibitor number. It may go lower than 900 if exhibitors continue to back out.

Honestly, I never thought I would see the day that the truck show shrunk. You can read the history of the Mid-America Trucking Show online. Even with a reduced number of exhibitors, it is still the mother of all truck shows. If you have not been to one, and if trucks interest you in any way, MATS is a show to see!

The Trucker, also reported some industry statistics that help explain the slow freight Diane and I have been seeing. These are industry-wide statistics but there are parallels in our tiny expedited freight niche.

• Lower diesel prices provided a working capital boost to marginal carriers during the fourth quarter, 2008, allowing them to continue operations and thereby exacerbate the imbalance between industry truck supply and freight demand.

• We are in a freight recession that began over 27 months ago.

• Shippers are having a field day with rate reductions.

• Some competitors are setting prices below their costs to "help maintain asset utility."

• Dry van rates could fall 7 to 10 percent.

• Shippers are extending payment terms to 60 days and in one notable case as far out as 120 days.

• Further industry consolidation is expected.

• Only 15 of the top 100 carriers that existed in 1982 are still in business. Only 68 of the top 100 carriers that were in business in 2000 are in business today.

• Shippers are redesigning the entire supply chain to feature lighter, smaller packaging and reduced transit distances.

A survey of 100 carriers by Lana Bates of Transport Capital Partners says:

• 21 percent of the carriers were likely to consider liquidating in the coming six months.

• 23 percent of the carriers would consider selling their businesses in the next 18 months.

• 42 percent of the carriers said credit was difficult, expensive or impossible to obtain.

• 75 percent of the carriers said at least some customers are pressing for unfavorable changes in the fuel surcharge formula.

Bates says most key freight metrics will remain negative all of 2009.

In other articles, The Trucker reported:

• Truck manufacturers are resigned to an unprecedented third year of declining truck sales and that January Class 8 sales have dropped to the lowest level since 1992. (For non-truckers, Class 8 refers to the tractor part of a tractor/trailer, semi, 18-wheeler or big-rig. Some heavy-duty straight trucks, like ours, are Class 8 trucks too.)

• Cargo volume at the nation's retail container ports was down 7.9 percent in 2008 and is expected to drop 11.8 percent in the first half of 2009.

• U.S. rail carload traffic in January fell 15.9 percent from a year earlier, marking the third straight record monthly decline. Car loadings of every major commodity fell.

• Carriers are reporting decreased returns on used truck sales

• Carriers are reporting unprecedented declines in freight volumes, decreased fleet sizes, and large numbers of employee layoffs, including many drivers.

Changing the subject, take a look at this picture. Isn't it the most beautiful sight you have ever seen? Look closely. There are bugs on the windshield and green grass on the ground. Winter is behind us. It is springtime in Memphis, Tennessee!

We delivered here today. The jackets are put away. The polo shirts are out. The truck windows are open. Neither the heater nor the air conditioner is on. Sweet!

I show the photo also to remind non-trucker blog readers that while truckers see some of the most spectacular scenery imaginable, we see the other scenery too.

No one sees the country like truckers do. Freight often originates in or delivers to industrial areas. The freight takes us to seaports, airports, rail yards, mountain tops, farm fields, mines, deep into the forest, remote desert locations, across the water on ferries and more.

People who become expediters to see the country will not be disappointed. If your carrier serves customers nationwide, you will see it all, including scenery like that shown here. You will smell it all too; everything from pine forests to feed lots.  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Tuesday, March 10, 2009.  I learned today about the Empire Chrome Shop in West Memphis, Arkansas. Learned by visiting it and having some truck work done there.

We delivered a load yesterday in Memphis, Tennessee. Our favorite reefer dealer is there and our truck is due in three weeks for its semi-annual reefer certification and preventative maintenance.

For readers who may be wondering, a reefer is a heating and refrigeration unit used to keep freight at a specified temperature while in transit. Examples are computers kept at room temperature, ink that can't be allowed to freeze in the winter and frozen food that can't be allowed to thaw in the summer.

After yesterday's delivery we crossed the Mississippi River to go to the Petro truck stop in West Memphis for an oil change. While there, I spotted a chrome shop down the street. We were, once again, having problems with the decorative running lights ("chicken lights") we added to the truck six months after putting the truck on the road. They were poorly installed and have been a source of many problems.

After the oil change and as the sun set, we went to the chrome shop to look for a better wiring solution. Diane has little interest in truck chrome. I went in alone and made sure she knew I left the credit card behind.

I learned that the Empire Chrome Shop does wiring work and has connectors I had not seen in chrome shops before. The owner quoted me a price to properly wire our chicken lights. I was sold and Diane was easily convinced. She has seen me too many times freezing my fingers off in bad winter weather, doing a hack job on the side of the road to get a light working again. None of the connections I have repaired has failed again but we both know that with 94 chicken lights on the truck, it is only a matter of time before another one goes.

We next bought a McDonald's supper to earn our keep, and parked for the night in the truck parking area at the McDonald's near the chrome shop.

We woke up at 7:00 this morning and drove back to Memphis for the reefer work. We went three weeks early because we trust this dealer's competency and ethics. The people at Crow's Truck Services have been fantastic to work with since they installed our reefer almost three years ago. We are far happier to get the work done three weeks sooner than required than to trust our reefer to a dealer that may not be as good.

We were in and out of Crow's without incident. Except for a minor problem in January, the reefer has been running great. No problems were found today and Crow's sent us on our way.

Our next stop was the Empire Chrome Shop. The wiring work is taking a while but I don't mind. I have to be in a chrome shop for a long time before getting bored. I am writing today's blog entry while sitting in the chrome shop waiting room.

Some truck owners spend tens of thousands of dollars on chrome. Some of them compete for prizes at the Pride and Polish truck beauty contest at the Louisville truck show (MATS). If you want to see some trucks that are over the top, that is a place to go.

I am not a chrome big-spender, but if I was, I would leave a lot of my money here at the Empire Chrome Shop. Their prices are quite good. Lights I have purchased elsewhere for $50 are priced here at $23.

We are getting a lot of good truck work done while in this area. Let's see ... The oil change was $230. The reefer service and re-certification was $355. The wiring work was ($Ouch!). Our next fuel stop will be about $300. In this business, the money can flow out fast.

It would be nice to get some freight and have some money flow in. That is not likely to happen today. There are 11 straight trucks in the area waiting for freight. All of them are team-driven. Seven are White Glove trucks equipped like ours. Five trucks are ahead of us in the order.

What's a driver to do? I know! I'll go back in and browse more chrome!  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Wednesday, March 11, 2009.  I learned today about a line of jewelry available from the Empire Chrome Shop. Learned by coming across it as I surfed the chrome shop web site.

The web site has a "girlfriends" section. I can buy earrings shaped like lug nut covers and a necklace that displays the ever-popular mud flap lady (nude sitting lady depicted in chrome). I thought about buying these for Diane as a gift but chose to live instead.

We are having a quiet day in the truck in the Memphis area today. Yesterday's buildup of trucks thinned out. We received and accepted a load offer for tomorrow. The freight picks up a few hours from here tomorrow afternoon and delivers the next day. Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Thursday, March 12, 2009.  I learned today about an expediter cargo van and driver that have disappeared. Learned by reading the ExpeditersOnline Open Forum, where the van owner posted the stolen van report.

The owner is a fleet owner. The driver is someone the owner contracted with to run the van. This is a typical arrangement in expediting. It is not typical to have a driver and vehicle disappear.

As a group, expediters cover a whole lot of ground in a whole lot of places in a day. Those aware of the report and inclined to help are keeping an eye out. Truckers helping truckers. It does not happen often enough, but it is a beautiful thing when it does.

Diane and I woke up this morning to sleet in the Memphis, Tennessee area and drove to Central Mississippi where we picked up our freight in routine fashion. The rain and sleet stopped early on. The remainder of the day was overcast.

From the pickup we headed north on an overnight run. We saved 50 miles by taking a two-lane state highway instead of the freeway. We enjoyed the break and saw part of the state we had not seen before by driving the byways instead of the highways.

By the way, why is it that you drive on a parkway and park in a driveway?  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Friday, March 13, 2009.  I learned today that we earned less than $2,000 this week and spent most of it. Learned by reviewing the numbers.

We have had slow weeks before. The difference is the recession erodes hope that better weeks lie ahead. Business continues to be noticeably slower than previous years and I see nothing in the financial indicators that suggests a recovery will begin soon. We continue to hang in and make the best of it.

We delivered a load in Saint Louis, Missouri this morning and headed straight to the Flying J truck stop in Pontoon Beach, Illinois. If that sounds familiar to you, it should. We spent last weekend in the same place. That was our week; start at Pontoon Beach, run two loads and return to Pontoon Beach for another weekend layover.

Expediting is that way. You might go months without being in a given place and then you will get there so often it will start feeling like a second home. We once took up saying that if it is Friday, we must be in Atlanta; that after ending up in Atlanta, Georgia five Fridays in a row.

Today was a maintenance day. We arrived at the truck stop shortly after sunrise and went to sleep. We woke around noon and spent the rest of the day doing a little of this and a little of that.

Contrary to what I suggested above, a better week lies ahead (though that isn't saying much given the low-money week we had). The load offer we accepted today pays more for a Monday pickup and Tuesday delivery than we made all this week. How much better next week will be remains to be seen.  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Saturday, March 14, 2009.  I learned today the plight of a truck owner-operator who is likely to lose his truck to his finance company on Friday. Learned by talking to him.

It was a typical truck stop conversation. At the Flying J in Pontoon Beach, Illinois, Diane is walking from the building to our truck. The weather is mild and the sun is out. She walks past a parked truck in which the driver is sitting behind the wheel with his window open. A "How are you doing?" greeting turns into a conversation. Diane returns to the truck and shares what she learned.

It is a long sad story that I won't go into here. We decided to give him $100. He was down to eating one meal a day to conserve cash in an attempt to catch up on his truck payments.

Freight is slow for teams like us. It is worse for solo drivers. He is not far from paying off the truck but lacks the resources to do so. All the work he did to pay off the truck this far will be for nothing if it goes back to the finance company. Freight has slowed and his cash flow with it.

The natural urge is to learn more and make suggestions. We did exactly that. Again, this is a long story. The short story is he is long on debt, short on options and out of time. It tore us up to see a trucker whose money-making ability will end on Friday when they take his truck. It's a story being repeated thousands of times these days in the trucking industry.

For non-truckers, please take a moment to think about this. Losing a truck is not the same as losing a car. It is more like losing your house and job on the same day. Your home on the road and revenue-producing equipment is taken away at once.

Where do you go and what do you do when something like that happens? Not to the unemployment office. Truckers like us are self-employed. There is no such thing as unemployment compensation for the likes of us. Do you find work driving another truck for someone else? That used to be the solution but with thousands of truckers now out of work, driving jobs are hard to find.

This poor man probably feels like crawling into a hole to die. I wish I had a happy ending to report, but I don't. Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Sunday, March 15, 2009.  I learned today what the neighborhood looks like around the Petro truck stop in Oak Grove, Missouri. Learned by studying it on a map and hearing about it when Diane returned from a morning walk.

We moved to this truck stop yesterday and spent the night. Our Monday pickup is nearby. Diane likes to take brisk walks in the morning if there is time and if it is safe to do so wherever we happen to be at the time. I used the satellite view on Google Maps to check out the neighborhood while Diane prepared for her walk. She told me about the neighborhood when she returned; 1950's era single-family homes.

Give it a try. Go to Google Maps and enter "Petro, Oak Grove, MO" and then click the "search" button. Notice the Petro location near the freeway (I-70). Click the "Satellite" button to view the truck stop from above. Zoom in on the large building with the dark brown roof. Notice the sidewalk that runs south (down) from the building to the parking lot. We spent Saturday night, all day Sunday and Sunday night in the third parking spot to the left of the sidewalk. The neighborhood just south of the truck stop is where Diane went for her walk.

And what of my blubber, you ask? What am I doing for exercise these days? I don't have the patience to walk. I'd rather run but am so out of shape now I would not make it a mile. I have been working out in the sleeper with small free weights and doing deep knee bends, push-ups, etc. to elevate my heart rate and keep winded for a time. With the outside weather improving, I'd love to get to the point where we can drive the truck to a not-busy public school and put the running track to good use. It's been done before. This photo is proof. It will be done again.

Whether business picks up or not, the days are getting better. We are almost done with taxes and caught up on paperwork. With that off my mind, I can re-focus on day trading. The weather won't kill us anymore if we go outside unprepared. The days are getting longer. The desire to exercise has returned. Yep! Things are looking up! (See also: A Trucker's Poem.)  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Monday, March 16, 2009.  I learned today that the International Space Station may have to be moved to dodge some space junk that will pass by. Learned from news reports.

The story is of special interest to us because part of us is on that space station; well, sort of. In August, 2007, we hauled freight to the Kennedy Space Center where the space station modules are built. The component that was once on our truck was built into the space station and is now up in space. We have even hauled things that have been up in space and brought back to earth; namely Hubble telescope components. We moved those from one laboratory to another.

The longer we are in this business, the more connections we develop to people, places and things in the U.S., Canada and the world. They range from events like Hurricane Katrina disaster relief, to the labels on the baby diapers you see in the grocery store, to blog readers who show up out of the blue and give interesting tours (See my March 6 blog entry).

We woke up this morning in the I-80 Petro truck stop near Kansas City, Missouri. We moved there over the weekend to be closer to today's pickup. Yesterday, we got a huge chunk of our income taxes done. The end is near!

This morning started with breakfast in the truck, then me fixing two lights on the truck (burned out bulbs), then fuel, then showers and then a 30 minute drive to the pickup. Fixing the lights involved some hand tools and crawling under the truck.

When the job was completed Diane got to listen once again to repeated speeches about how (play Star Wars music here) Master Mechanic triumphed over adversity and saved the universe. How drivers with less mechanical skills would have to pay to have these repairs done. How much money we saved, etc. She has to buy me an ice cream cone to shut me up. That's the deal. I fix the truck. Diane rewards me with an ice cream cone (even in the winter).

It is a spectacular day for a drive. It is shirt-sleeves weather, the skies are clear, the winds are mild and we have 24 hours of straight-through driving ahead. Sweet!

It is fun to drive a truck. With over 700,000 miles under our belts (350,000 each), it is as fun as it has ever been!  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Tuesday, March 17, 2009.  I learned today about graphite lubricant. Learned by buying some, using it and later reading up on it online.

Greetings from Raleigh, North Carolina, where we delivered a load today after driving overnight from Kansas City, Missouri. The weather for the drive was good, except for occasional areas of fog. It was not bad. We only had to slow down a few times and then not for long.

The animals were quiet. We saw very few road kills and only a couple of fresh ones. Fresh road kills are an indicator. If you see a lot of them, it means the animals are more active and more caution is advised. Caution is advised all the time, of course, but we heed the indicator just the same.

We have never struck an animal that we knew of, though one time we found a bunch of guts hanging off the side of one of our tool boxes. (Sorry to my squeamish readers. Road kills are part of life on the road too. I'll spare you the pictures.) Oh yea, Diane took out a rabbit once, which later meant an hour under the truck for me as I replaced the damaged piece.

Truckers are trained to hit the deer. Don't swerve to avoid it, slow down if you can to minimize damage to the truck and hit the deer. It is better to kill Bambi than lose control of a multi-ton vehicle that may then kill you and others. We have it in our mind to hit the deer but will never know if we will do so or instead instinctively swerve when a deer puts us to the test.

In the Army and when I worked at a prison (one of my technology gigs), rehearsals for adverse events were part of our training. While driving at night on the open road, I sometimes mentally rehearse hitting the deer and reacting to a blown steer (front) tire.

Hopefully, neither of those events will ever happen. It's not like you can get hands-on training for this. CDL schools don't offer deer-hitting 101 as part of the course. It would not go over very well with the animal lovers. So we mentally rehearse as best we can for something we hope will never happen.

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 believe the same thing.

Now I believe deer are pests and road hazards. I wish the hunters would use their range finders, shooting glasses, Velcro, Gore-Tex, GPS devices, satellite imagery, night-vision devices, helmet cameras, scouting cameras, camouflaged SUVs with heated seats and ATVs in tow, Rambo hunting knives, pocket weather stations, deer dung analysis field kits, portable sheds, tree-climbing gear, digital game sound amplifiers, camouflaged folding lawn chairs, red-dot laser rifle scopes, tactical vests, heated sox, environmentally-correct lead-free ammunition, face paint, buck-snort whoopee cushions, carbon-lined scent-suppressing underwear and all the other essentials that help them get in touch with their inner cave man, to prove their worth to society and blow away every deer they see.

After our late-morning delivery, we went to a nearby Lowe's store to park and sleep. After our nap I went inside to buy some graphite lubricant for the padlock we use on the back door of the truck. Road spray and salt destroys these locks. We bought a so-called weather-proof lock last time and now see the lock getting stiff. People have told me about graphite lubricant before but I kept using WD-40. Graphite lubricant is a dry powder, not an oil. I gave it a try. We'll see how it works.

There are a few trucks ahead of us here in Raleigh but they are moving. We expect to get a load out tomorrow. Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Wednesday, March 18, 2009.  I learned today that a preview of a book about expediting has reached home. Learned by calling home to find out what is in the mail.

Our home on the road is the truck. Our home at home is rented space in a relative's house. That relative also acts as our business agent and processes our mail. I was told today that the expected envelope is there.

The book (or booklet, I'm not sure yet, having not seen it), The Newbie's Guide to Expedite Trucking, was sent by my publisher at Expedite NOW for me to read and discuss with him. He received the preview (a packet of photocopied pages) from the author. I have yet to see it. The author, Linda A. James, has a web site for those of you who may be interested.

I said yesterday that we expected to get out of Raleigh, North Carolina today. The load came, but not quite as expected. We will deadhead to Newport Beach, Virginia, and spend the night there. The freight picks up tomorrow morning and will take us right back to Raleigh for the Thursday afternoon delivery. Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Thursday, March 19, 2009.  I learned today that, according to the Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller 20-city housing index, home prices have fallen 27% from their July 2006, peak. Learned by reading it in Business Week.

The magazine was a March 6 gift from Frank, a blog reader who came to see the truck when we were in the Saint Louis, Missouri area. In a thoughtful gesture, he brought a bag of business magazines for us to enjoy. Using the internet and satellite radio as our primary news sources, we seldom buy magazines. It was a nice treat to have a stack of business magazines to page through. It took me back to my pre-internet financial planning days when I used to go to my office early each morning for an uninterrupted hour or two of business reading before the phone started ringing and others showed up.

Many economists and pundits say the economic recovery will not begin for real until housing prices stabilize. I agree. The bad news is housing prices are continuing their decline.

Patience is required when watching an indicator like this. A bump up for a single month is meaningless. Three consecutive months of stable or slightly increasing housing prices will be a more clear signal that the road to recovery has begun. The bad news about that is three months are required just to develop such a signal. The recession has a way to go, I am sorry to say.

In our one-truck business, that means slow freight is likely to continue for a while. We picked up some of that slow freight today in Newport News, Virginia where we slept last night. The run paid well but the miles are short, taking us right back to Raleigh, North Carolina, where we just delivered a load on Tuesday.

We went to bed this evening waiting for freight with the Qualcomm unit turned off. Load offers received via Qualcomm are signaled with a single beep, which can be missed if we are asleep. When we are "off C-Link" (Customer Link, our carrier's name for Qualcomm), offers come by an automated computer voice over the phone. Hoping to be woken up by a good load offer, we set the phone, a note pad and calculator out and ready to use.

On such nights, waking up the next morning usually involves a series of questions that run through my mind as I move from deep asleep to half-awake to fully awake: (1) Where is Diane and is she OK? (2) What state are we in? (3) Were exactly are we in that state? (4) How is the weather? (5) Is the truck safe (and us in it)? (6) What are we supposed to be doing right now? (7) Is it OK to be in bed in a stationary truck? (8) Are we dispatched? (9) Are we under load? (10) Did any load offers come in last night? (11) What the heck was that prison dream about? (12) Is the truck free to move or did we get parked in last night? (13) Are there any tickets on the windshield or boots on the wheels? (14) I know there was something important I told myself last night to remember this morning. What was it? Dang! I really need to write that stuff down. Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Friday, March 20, 2009.  I learned today about a blog reader in Raleigh, North Carolina. Learned when he approached our truck and introduced himself.

We woke up this morning in a parking lot in Raleigh, North Carolina and have been here all day. Two good load offers came in. We accepted the first but it went to another truck ahead of us in the que. The second went to us. It picks up Monday, giving us another weekend off and closing off another week in which we hauled just two loads.

In this morning's e-mail was a message from someone I saw checking out the truck yesterday. People check out our truck all the time and I thought nothing of seeing a local truck driver walking around the truck. By e-mail, he let us know he was a blog reader and was delighted to see our truck parked where he parks his truck to take his lunch break. He returned today and we had a nice chat.

He said in his e-mail, "About a year ago, you and your web site almost convinced my wife and me to get into expediting." That scared me. A year ago we were doing well and had been for the four-plus years we had then been in the business. Freight has dropped off a cliff since then.

Regular readers of this blog know I have sugar coated nothing about how slow business has been. The problem today is that a lot of what I have written before was written in good times. To address that, I wrote a piece entitled, "How's Business These Days?" It is placed with my stories from the road.

Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Saturday, March 21, 2009.  I learned today a bit about the the early life of Albert Einstein. Learned by reading a book about him in a bookstore.

We woke up this morning in a Raleigh, North Carolina retail area. Living like the street people we sometimes are, we moved to another one. We have time to kill before Monday's pickup. Staying in one place too long sometimes attracts the attention of the police or security guards who will sometimes run us off. It is better for our egos to leave on our own.

We went to a bookstore and parked behind the strip mall in which it is located. Notice the fine dumpsters and graffiti-free walls. There is even a portable toilet here ... a first-class parking place if one ever was! Better still, there are good sidewalks and lots of room to walk in the neighboring office park.

I said last Sunday that I enjoy running more than walking. To get back into the shape where I can run again, I need to walk first. I took a vigorous walk today, using the hills to work my legs, and then went to the bookstore.

I did something there I have not done in a while; pleasure reading. Sick of reading about the economy, and stretching my mind by trying to learn Spanish, and writing about expediting, I decided to read something totally non-productive and fun. I wandered around the store sections waiting for something to catch my eye; philosophy, computers, the magazines (also known as the Obama rack), cooking, history ... nothing yet. Then, in the biography row, a book stood out; Einstein, a Life, by Denis Brian.

It is a well-written biography of Albert Einstein. As I read about his early years, I remembered how much life sucks for kids growing up; how high the highs can be, and how low the lows.

It is a constant process of learning something grand, only to have the new notion shattered later on; coming to trust something as true, or someone as reliable, only to have that trust betrayed later on.

A kid's peers are experts at being cruel. Parents are at the age where money and mid-career pressures render their memories of growing up long-distant and greatly embellished.

I think if you had an adult describe one's self as a child, and then sent that adult back in time to pick that kid out of a group of 100, the adult would have a hard time doing so.

Such are my thoughts when I set out to do some pleasure reading. Some pleasure, eh?

The path to adulthood is fraught with many heartbreaks. Much of what we do as an adult is designed to avoid a repeat of the pain felt earlier in life. Like hanging on to a stock or house that is declining in value, instead of selling it to cut your losses, because selling it would make you look stupid, which is something you learned early in life to avoid. Better to hide your mistakes than admit them in front of cruel friends and critical adults, right?

I think the next chance I have to spend time with a kid, it will be best to let the kid teach me how to be a kid, instead of me trying to teach the kid how to be an adult. Who knows what can be learned from someone who has experienced only a few years of the pain of being human? Kids don't need to be Einstein to be wise. Being a kid may be all it takes.

That's our day today; a bit of exercise, reading and doing business book work. Tomorrow will be more of the same. Tourist fun is out until we get our taxes in and book work done. We are getting close. There is a cinema in the mall. Maybe we will go to a movie later today, and then go someplace else to spend the night.  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Sunday, March 22, 2009.  I learned today that multitasking is overrated. Learned by finding my way out of the fog created by two blended projects.

Regular readers know I have been complaining about getting our taxes done and my procrastination about it for a while now. Today, we are essentially done with our income tax preparation. All we have to do is get the info to our accountant and the job is done.

Finishing this brought me to realize that the project expanded to include some spreadsheet work I am doing for a somewhat-involved article that I have been meaning to complete and publish for a long time. Tax preparation was more of a struggle this year than in years past because I blended two projects together and was working on both at once.  That was a mistake. Feeling badly about having neither project done, I tended to put both off, which then led to more bad feelings and more procrastination.

If I have two projects to do, it is best to let one sit and do the other well. That does not mean completing one before starting another. It means focusing on the single project I am working on at the moment. While it is fine to have several projects going at once, it is best to focus on them one at a time.

Multitasking is overrated, at least for me. When I lose myself in a project, there is no stopping me. Productivity soars and creativity flows. When I lose my focus and take my eye off the goal, it is a challenge to even start. Blending my tax and spreadsheet projects together blurred the goals and neutralized the desire to act on either one.

Sure, you can talk on the phone and drive at the same time. but can you do so safely? Sure, you can converse with friends while focusing partly on text messages to and from others, but what will you miss?

There might be people out there that can multitask well. I am not among them. My productivity soars when I prioritize my tasks and focus on one at a time. It falls to near zero when I try to do two or more things at once. I have also found that people really like it when you turn off your cell phone while talking to them. It is quite remarkable how interesting other people can be when you make a genuine effort to listen to what they are saying.  

Today will be pretty-much the same as yesterday. We are passing time as we wait to pick up freight on Monday. We will do more project work, probably make it back to the bookstore, and take full advantage of the mild weather and good walking area we discovered yesterday.  Monday's pickup is not in this area (Raleigh, North Carolina) so we also have some driving to do too.  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Monday, March 23, 2009.  I learned today that accounting is the language of business. Learned when I began a study of financial accounting basics.

At the bookstore yesterday, I bought a textbook to learn more about financial accounting. Tired of not knowing as much about it as I would like to, I began a formal study. I intend to put some time each day into this and work the book and its exercises through to the end.

Part of me says to do this and then take a for-credit online college course in accounting, to prove to myself that I can pass an objectively-administered test on accounting basics. We'll see about that. For now, I am happy to have found this book and begin my studies. This is interesting stuff, at least so far.

I began by reading the glossary which presents 215 accounting terms and concepts. Only a few were new to me, which was encouraging. Reading familiar words is one thing. Fully grasping them in the context of full-fledged financial accounting is another; thus the study.

We picked up our load in North Carolina this afternoon and will run overnight to deliver tomorrow morning. Before the pickup, we stopped at an off-brand truck stop for showers. The shower in the truck does the job but sponge baths and RV-type showers have their limits.

It has been several days since we have been anywhere near a truck stop. We easily could have driven to one but saved fuel by using the truck shower instead. We are headed to an area where name-brand truck stops are also scarce.

A real shower was in order. Using AITA's truck stop locator, we found an off-brand truck stop that was on our way to the pickup and purchased showers there. The price was $6.00 for a team shower (one shower, two sets of towels), which is not bad. Name-brand truck stops charge $9.00 to $10.00. Showers are free with the purchase of 50 gallons of fuel but we needed no fuel today.

This truck stop was a typical hole-in-the-wall truck stop. It had a dusty gravel lot with old tires and debris strewn about, but the showers were OK. Amusing to us were the names on the shower room doors. Every truck stop shower we have seen before was numbered. These were designated with names like Rainbow Falls and Black Lagoon. Perhaps the grounds could have been named Goodyear Acres, Firestone Falls or Pallet Pitch Parkway.  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Tuesday, March 24, 2009.  I learned today that a cape and a peninsula are the same thing. Learned by researching the question, why do they call a cape a cape?

The question was prompted by our delivery near Cape Cod, Massachusetts. This is new ground for us. We have not been this far east in Massachusetts before. It would be fun to explore but the weather is brisk. Truck-rocking winds and near-freezing temperatures make it more comfortable to stay in the truck. There may be some exploring to do later, but first we need to see what freight we will be hauling next, and when.

An expediter recently told me she goes online and reads the history of the area she and her husband are in or driving through. I can't believe I never thought of doing the same thing. What a great hobby! You can read the history of an area and, at the same time, look out the window and see the very ground on which the events occurred.

Maybe you have heard. Pilgrims once lived among the trees and Indians in this part of the country. As things turned out, neither the trees nor the Indians had much good to say about the Pilgrims once the Pilgrims showed their stuff.

We arrived in this area 15,000 years after the cape itself was formed, 10,000 years after the Indians, 389 years after the Pilgrims and one hour before sunrise today. I'm not certain the trees and Indians would approve of us either. Come to think of it, neither would the Pilgrims.

Being a bit ahead of the delivery time, we stopped at a nice rest area and got some sleep. The delivery came next, then a short drive to a retail area where we tried to sleep more, but with no success.

Sleep management is an ongoing task in this business. We may not always be able to sleep when we lie down, but we have learned to always lie down when we think our bodies may want to sleep. Sometimes that turns into a 15 minute rest. Sometimes it turns into a deep, four-hour snooze.

Sleep is a top safety priority. While waiting for load offers today, we will lie down anytime we feel drowsy. If our bodies need the sleep, we want to be sure to give them the chance to get some. Being in service and available, there is no telling when we will receive a load offer and when we will next roll again. It is essential for at least one of us to be well rested and ready to drive. If both of us are too tired to drive, we will go out of service to get the sleep we need. Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Wednesday, March 25, 2009.  I learned today that if you search "Phil Madsen" in Google, this web site — SuccessfulExpediters.com —  comes up at the top of the list. Learned by trying it.

Curiosity rose when I read a news story about Google changing the way it creates and displays search results. This web site making it to the top is new. I have not checked in a while but months ago, Phil Madsen, the singer in New Zealand, topped the list (music sample). There is also Phil Madsen the college professor in Denmark, Phil Madsen the automobile transmission mechanic in California and 40 or so more Phil Madsens found on Facebook (I am not one of the Facebook Phil Madsens).

I have never done a deep search on people who have the same name as me. It might be fun to try. Try it with your own name if you have not done so before. Go to Google, type your name into the text box, click the "Google Search" button and see what happens. If you enclose your name in quotes "like this" Google will search the whole name as one phrase and not as two separate words.

We woke up this morning at the same rest area we stopped at yesterday on our way to yesterday's delivery. Zero load offers were received yesterday, not even bad ones. We are less than 50 miles from Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island and did not feel a need to move closer in. We may do so today. Normally, there would be no need to move as offers would reach us here. But these are not normal times.

The problem with moving is that even if you move closer to a busier freight location (express center), you still do not know where your next load will come from. You could easily drive north to get closer to an express center, only to end up having to backtrack and drive farther south to get to your next pickup. On the other hand, moving closer in may get you a load that you otherwise would not get. But if you do that, the numbers for the next load change because of the deadhead miles you added to get closer in. If you sit, the numbers also change because you have ongoing expenses —  called fixed costs —  that continue whether the truck moves or not.

So goes the game.

UPDATE: After writing the above, an offer came in that we accepted. The load is not great but OK. The problem is, it picks up tomorrow, which puts an idle day between us and it. There have been a lot of those lately.

With our year-end bookkeeping done and first quarter, 2009, numbers soon to be complete, we will be looking closely at our run strategy. We know of trucks that are busier and taking in more money than ours. But to do so, they are running at lower profit margins and even at a loss in some cases. We might run one good load in three days while they take in more money running two marginal or even money-losing loads in the same time period.

We could run almost every day if we accepted every load our carrier offered, but at what price does it stop making sense to do so? Having seen the number of idle days increase between the load offers we accept and run, it is time to look anew at our numbers, the runs we previously declined and the fixed costs we pay to sit a day without freight.

We have been told by some drivers, "What is there to think about? You don't make money sitting. Take the freight and run! Even if you only break even, it is better to run than sit!"

I'm not sure about that. I don't think about this business in terms of running and sitting. I think about it in terms of making money or losing it.

Yes, it costs money to sit. But it costs the same money to run. Your fixed costs are just that, fixed costs. You pay them whether the truck is moving or not. They include things like insurance and finance charges on a truck loan. What many people seem to miss is that your fixed costs do not go away when the truck is under load and supposedly making money. Whether you take a load or not, money for such things still flows out of your pocket.

There are two kinds of costs in operating a truck; fixed costs and variable costs. Variable costs are zero when the truck is not moved, and must be paid when it is moved. They include things like fuel, tires, oil changes, etc. Typically, such costs are added up over a given time period and divided by the miles driven in that time period to provide your per-mile costs.

If you are taking a load where the pay barely covers your per-mile variable costs, or the pay is less than your variable costs, all you end up doing is put a bunch of low-profit, no-profit or even money-losing miles on the truck, that wear out the truck sooner and brings your truck replacement date closer.

Surprisingly few drivers know their true cost per mile and cost per day to operate their trucks. Failing to distinguish between fixed and variable costs, they add up some of the obvious things like their truck payment, fuel oil changes and tires. They often omit other less visible but very real costs like truck depreciation (replacement cost) fuel tax, and even a personal salary. Those are the ones heading for trouble if they have not hit the wall already. They will seem to be busy hauling freight and then the repo man shows up and takes their truck.

Revenues and expenses must be fully known and evaluated on an ongoing basis to determine your best price point, relocation (deadhead) and load acceptance strategy. With our revenues declining as they are, and the rate of decline accelerating (see: How's Business These Days?), we will be taking a good look at the last year and last quarter to see how to best manage in the months ahead. If strategy changes are indicated, we will make them.  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Thursday, March 26, 2009. I learned today about the curious onion dome that sits atop the old Colt Armory in Hartford, Connecticut. Learned as Diane read about it online and reported as I drove by.

Today's run was interesting in at least three ways. We picked up a load at a site in the woods in New Hampshire, read about the onion dome on the way to the Long Island, New York delivery, and completed an unusual delivery.

The load was one wooden crate, which is not unusual in our critical-shipment business. The entire truck is dedicated to the load. That is called exclusive use service. Shippers use it who do not want their important freight commingled with other freight.

Getting to the pickup was a little tricky. The narrow road had some curves, trees so close together there was barely room to squeeze the truck through, and steep drops off the edge. It was not a problem or cause for worry, just something to be done slowly and with due care.

The white stuff in the photo? That's snow. It has not yet melted in New Hampshire. Three things were running in New Hampshire today; mountain streams, maple tree sap and us with some freight.

Fifty! I said to Diane as I squeezed the truck through the trees. Fifty! again as I kept all ten wheels on the road while maneuvering around a tight curve.

We competed in the ATA Truck Driving Championships last year, part of which involved a truck-driving obstacle course. Fifty points could be earned by successfully negotiating an obstacle. Points are taken away for hitting an obstacle or missing it by too much. Think precision driving; tires rolling over tiny spots painted on the ground, trucks making tight turns around barrels, bumpers parked near objects, all for earned points that judges award by measuring the inches.

I got a perfect score today. No fifty was awarded, but all tree bark remained intact, no dents or scratches were put in the truck, and no crane had to be called in to lift the truck out of a ravine. I happened to be on duty this morning. Had it been Diane, she would have gotten a perfect score too. She is a competition-level professional driver and has the score sheet to prove it (story here).

I mentioned on Tuesday an expediter who goes online to read about the history of wherever she and her husband find themselves. Diane and I have started doing that and are loving it. I can't believe we did not think to do this before. What a great way to not just see the country but really learn about it too!

In Hartford, Connecticut, there is an old, decaying building with a strange, shiny, bright-blue dome on top. We have driven by it many times. I thought some Russian Orthodox congregation had taken up low-rent space in the old building and put up the dome to mark the spot. I learned different today. The story is here.

Gun maker Samuel Colt — a legendary salesman, I learned today — put the dome on top of his armory as an attention getter. It worked. Long after his death, it drew our attention. He got me, he got me from his grave. Look what I'm talking about right now ... Samuel Colt!

He got you too.

Proceeding through New York City, we made our way to the east end of Long Island for the delivery. It was to a residence with a crushed-rock driveway. After using the liftgate to move the crate from the truck down onto the ground, the task was to move the crate inside the garage.

Backing the heavy truck onto the soft-ground driveway was not an option. Dolly wheels and pallet jack wheels were no good as they sank through the rocks. Carrying the crate was out because it was too heavy. Standing the crate on end and using a two-wheel cart with pneumatic wheels was also out. Instructions and directional arrows required the freight to remain flat while being transported.

For the second time in 5.5 years of doing this and 500+ loads, I broke out our plywood decking sheets and put them to use. As we sometimes tend to do with our truck and equipment, we went over the top with our decking sheets. Most contractors that have them buy 4' x 8' plywood sheets and carry them along. We had ours custom made by a friend with carpentry skills. They fit our inside truck dimensions exactly, and have rounded corners and built-in hand holds for easier handling. Once finding myself at home with time on my hands, I stained and varnished them.

With the decking sheets laid on top of the rocks, it was a piece of cake to wheel the crate into the garage. As I pulled the pallet jack along, the sheet just traversed would be moved ahead and used again. The shipper had arranged for a helper to be at the delivery. He moved the sheets and built my path as I moved the crate.

Notice how the hand holds make the sheets easy for one person to handle. Also notice in the photo above how the crate is strapped onto the pallet jack. That keeps the crate from slipping off the jack, makes it easier to maneuver on an uneven surface and puts the customer at ease. We don't come cheap, but our customers always get their money's worth.

After the delivery, we headed west to spend the night closer to New York City but far enough out to avoid the nightmares the city can bring to a truck and its drivers. With no other trucks in the Melville express center (a town near the center of Long Island), we could cover any loads that might surface on the island, at the JFK airport and in the city too. No offers were received by bedtime and we settled in for a good night's sleep, as a welcome spring rain pattered the roof.

By the way, the people who named Long Island knew what they were talking about. It is 118 miles end to end. The west end features the mayhem and chaos of New York City. The east end features the upscale Hamptons, pleasant farm fields and quiet small towns.  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Friday, March 27, 2009. I learned today a new word; gantry. Learned from the news reports about the accident and closed a bridge and delayed us in New York City.

We woke up late this morning on Long Island, New York, having gone to sleep there the night before. That may sound funny to some, but normal to expediters. Expediters do not always wake up in the morning. Depending on the freight, they may wake up at any time of the day or night to go to work. With team drivers, it is common for one driver to wake up and ask the other, "What state are we in?" While one drives, you might go to sleep in one state, wake up in another, and shower two states after that.

A nice load offer came around 10:30 a.m. — a very nice one, actually. We accepted it but half-figured it would be awarded to another truck. The next beep on the Qualcomm surprised us. We got the load. It picks up Monday in New England which meant we could get out of New York. We ate a late breakfast, puttered away some time and finally got rolling around 1:00. That would get us through town well ahead of the rush hour and on our way to a more peaceful place to spend the weekend.

So we thought.

Shortly after we got onto the Long Island Expressway, traffic jammed up. Electronic signs told us the Whitestone Bridge was closed. That is not common and we knew it meant trouble. Our route took us across the Throgs Neck Bridge, but with Whitestone closed, traffic was spilling onto and clogging the Throgs Neck Bridge.

A good part of our day was spent trying to get through the city. Traffic reports on the radio said an overhead sign fell onto the Whitestone Bridge blocking all lanes on both directions. After finally clearing the Throgs Neck mess, another one developed coming out of a toll plaza further north on I-95. This photo is of that mess. Notice the white lines that mark the lane (trucker slang: zipper line). It took us 15 minutes to move from one line to the next.

It's an amateur psychologist's paradise, something like this. You can entertain yourself for hours trying to figure out why people are doing what they do. When you would rather be driving down the road at the speed limit, it's a challenge to keep your cool. More so when you have worked for two hours to get out of one mess, only to find yourself in another. I pity the people who drive in this crap every day.

Reading more online about the Whitestone Bridge accident, we learned that a boom truck with the boom positioned too high (a human error) hit an overhead sign, taking down the gantry that supports it. The metal system that supports the overhead signs is the gantry. Spanning all lanes, this gantry supported four large signs, all of which came crashing down onto the bridge deck when the gantry gave way.  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Saturday, March 28, 2009.  I learned today that our truck was sighted yesterday by a blog reader in Massachusetts. Learned by receiving an e-mail from that reader.

The reader resides in New Hampshire and spotted our truck when he was driving in Massachusetts. Months ago, he corresponded with me with questions about expediting, after which he and his wife decided not to do it. Given how the economy sank, that was probably a good choice.

It strikes me as really weird that blog readers are now surfacing as they are. It happened on February 13 in New Jersey, March 6 in Saint Louis, March 20 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and today in New England, though because of the distance now between us, a meeting is not practical.

Social networking and building a following of online friends is all the rage these days, but that is not why I write this blog. Notice that this blog does not have the interactivity and social networking tools that most blogs do. That is not an accident.

This blog is first a means of self-expression. It is fun being out on the road and having the adventures Diane and I do. It would be less fun if I could not tell the stories.

For that, I do not need thousands of readers. Two readers are enough; namely, Diane and me. That goes to the blog's second purpose. It serves as a personal journal that helps us remember what happened and when, and how we felt about it at the time.

Third, blogging is a very good way to keep interested family members and friends updated. We don't need to be pests and load up their mailboxes with news from the road. They can come here as little or often as they like to find out what we have been up to.

Finally, this blog is a way to share what we go through so other people may know, especially those who are thinking about becoming expediters themselves. Even though our experiences are unique to straight-truck, reefer-equipped FedEx Custom Critical White Glove Services® work, there is a lot about being out here that all truck drivers share.

We would have loved to have some expediter blogs to read when we researched the industry. Blogging was not big back then like it is now. Already blogging for the reasons mentioned above, it is no extra trouble at all to write with onlookers in mind.

Today is a quiet day in good weather. We are passing the weekend in New England, waiting to pick up freight Monday morning. That load takes us cross-country and will keep us busy until Thursday.

Highlight of the day so far: Diane did laundry at a laundromat. I will check the truck tires later today or tomorrow and add air if needed. Sorry folks, I don't have a Twitter account to broadcast such earth-shaking events to your cell phone in real time. You will have to trust me about the tires.

As we often must do in a parking lot designed for cars, we parked the truck well behind the laundromat, and found ourselves back by the dumpsters once again. Next time we go home and borrow a relative's car to get around, I might make it a point to park in front of a store and walk through the front door, just like real people. Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Sunday, March 29, 2009.  I learned today how to install a search engine on this web site. Learned by doing it.

You might recall the Dreamweaver study binge I went on in December, 2007. It was fun then and fun today to dig into Dreamweaver once again. The result today is the addition of a functioning search page for this site. That is, a real search engine, one that is internal to the site. None of those external, advertising-laden, tracking cookie placing, hidden-agenda search boxes here.

This web site is primitive by modern standards. It is also clean and peaceful, I like to think. It has little going on behind the scenes to generate special effects, so the pages quickly download. The print is large so it can be easily read by passengers in a moving truck and people at their desks while eating lunch. Colors used are easy on the eyes. The text moves to accommodate whatever size you like to make your browser window. If you think the lines are a bit wide, narrow your browser window to narrow the column.

Yes, I know the search page margins don't line up quite right, but the search engine works. I'll tidy up the rest later by resolving the CSS conflict I created by monkeying around. (CSS is the code that makes the pages look the way they do).

Resolve a CSS conflict — sounds impressive, doesn't it? It isn't. Compared to the professionals that develop web sites for a living, I know nothing. But I am having good fun learning the bits and pieces.

Give the search engine a try. Enter your home state in search page the text box and find out when Diane and I were there and what we were up to. Bob Sleasman also blogs on this site. His pages will come up too.

We are passing time in the truck on a cold and rainy day in New England. Our cross-country freight picks up tomorrow morning. On purpose, I stayed away from anything work related. I enjoy studying and it was fun to spend several hours in the Dreamweaver book. I also got to spend some time with the financial accounting basics book I bought last week.

Those of you who have asked or are curious about my day trading activities need not worry. That itch is still there to be scratched. I have been inactive for a while but will return to it soon enough.

A week or so ago, I ceased active participation on the ExpeditersOnline.com Open Forum. It is fun over there, sometimes too much so. Getting out for a while is clearing my head and making way for more productive recreational activities like web site development and learning the basics of financial accounting.

The one work-related thing I did today was wash the floor in the back of the truck. At the rest area where we are staying, the water fountains and faucets are still closed for the winter. I thought myself quite clever when I put a bucket under a corner of the truck where the rain water drained off, and used that water to wipe down the floor. It will get a better cleaning when we are near a better water source in warm weather.

Some day, eh? For both Diane and me it was a day in the truck filled with reading and computer plinking. Diane also spent some time previewing and buying songs online, using a gift certificate received from a relative last Christmas.

To us, this is a great day! We got into this business partly to have quiet times like this. When we have a good load to pick up on Monday, spending a weekend in the truck is a whole different experience than when we are sitting and waiting for a load offer to come.  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Monday, March 30, 2009.  I learned today that chewing tobacco can be bought in a tube of ten cans and costs $33 on sale. Learned by watching a truck driver ahead of me in line at a truck stop counter buy it.

I asked him how long the tube would last. He said he goes through two cans a day. That means one tube lasts five days, and at sale price, he spends $2,409 a year plus tax to chew. Diane and I don't smoke or chew, saving us that amount of money times two.

At $2.40 a gallon, that driver chews the monetary equivalent of 1,005 gallons of fuel, or, using our carrier's published average of 9 mpg for straight trucks, 9,045 miles. In other words, the driver puts enough money into chew to buy the fuel for three coast-to-coast trips.

Two cans of chew a day, 1,005 gallons of fuel, fuel for three coast-to-coast straight-truck trips it's all the same thing according to the monetary principle used in financial accounting. I don't have to study accounting basics, like I am doing now, to know that it is more profitable to put fuel in the tank than to put chew in your mouth. It is interesting, though, to be more dialed in to the flow and power of money as I begin to see things like an accountant does.

It is also my guess that a whole lot more accountants want to be truck drivers than truck drivers want to be accountants.

This morning's pickup went OK. We loaded two skids (pallets) and were on our way. Delivery is set for Thursday morning.  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Tuesday, March 31, 2009.  I learned today about the new trucks and truck gizmos that were announced at this year's Mid America Trucking Show. Learned by reading about them in the latest edition of The Trucker. More about that in tomorrow's blog entry.

We are on a cross-country run that began yesterday. We switched drivers at 2:00 a.m. this morning. Diane pulled into a truck stop to refuel. I got out of bed to get ready to drive. A few minutes later, Diane opened the driver's door and yelled in for me to get her some paper towels. Fuel islands are loud places with trucks coming and going. If you want to be heard, you yell. But there was urgency in her voice too.

When I got to the door and looked down, I saw her standing with her jacket soaking wet on one side, from top to bottom. She said it was diesel fuel. With her minding the nozzle, a pump did not cut off as it should have when the tank filled up and she got sprayed.

For non-trucker readers, a truck diesel fuel pump nozzle is at least twice as large in diameter as a gasoline pump nozzle. Because truck fuel tanks are large, diesel fuel is pumped at a high volume. It does not take long to pump 100 gallons.

After she blottered herself off as best she could, we bagged the jacket in a plastic garbage bag and her blue jeans too. That kept the smell and fumes contained until we got to a washing machine.

It is cold where we are going. Our route takes us through North Dakota where a blizzard is closing the roads. The jacket (actually a parka) will be very much needed. We carry emergency survival gear, including two extra parkas for situations just like this (parka becomes unwearable, cold weather ahead). Getting to a washing machine before getting into the cold means we won't have to dig out the deep-buried second parka.

We could have done laundry at the truck stop where the fuel splash happened, but one of us has to stay awake and with the truck because of the kind of freight we have on board. I had just gone on duty so Diane would be the one to do the laundry. But I did not want her alone in a truck stop laundry room at 2:00 a.m. She was ready to sleep anyway so into a bag went the clothes, off to bed went she, and onto the road went I.

As planned, we made it through Chicago just before the morning rush hour hit. Being several hours ahead of the load, and after Diane woke up, we stopped at a truck stop laundry to leave some diesel fuel behind. Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

Blog entries are made so as not to reveal customer specifics or the current location of the truck when we are under load. Entries are updated to include location information after we leave the area.  Blog author  Top of page  Bottom of page

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