Meet Irene Riley. When she and her husband Vern began driving expedite together seven years ago, Irene had just left her 30 year career in the print industry, where she served in a variety of roles, such as desktop publishing, customer service and sales. Today, they drive a 2012 Freightliner Cascadia for Jordan Transportation and are enjoying the expedite life. What led Irene and Vern to become expediters? What advice does Irene have for other women who may be considering a c...

The Expedite Expo has always been a driver-friendly event but never more so than this year's event, which will include the presentation of the first annual Expediter of the Year award. The finalists for this year's award have been announced, and they certainly represent the very best of an industry filled with outstanding drivers. The winner will be announced at the end of Expedite Expo, which will be held Friday and Saturday, July 14-15, at the Lexington Center in Lexington,...

The lease you sign as an owner-operator with a trucking carrier sets the guidelines for your income--how your pay will be calculated, when you'll get paid, and what fees and expenses you'll be required to cover. But it's your responsibility to understand all that's in the lease agreement before you sign it. Otherwise there could be unpleasant surprises that put your business--and financial future--at risk. So, here are five important terms to evaluate before signing on with a...

Meet Sandy Goche. She's a cancer survivor and now an expedite owner-operator leased to V3 Transportation. Before Sandy became a full-time expediter in November 2015, she had worked for a Department of Defense contractor for about 28 years, starting as a computer programmer and working her way up to systems administrator. Sandy and her significant other Stephen Halsted bought their first truck in 2012--"I was the owner. He was the operator"--while she continued working as a sy...

If you're going to be living in an expediter straight truck for several weeks at a time, you might as well make the sleeper as much like home as possible, right? Yes...and no. As an owner-operator, you're also a business owner. And that means you need to also think about the financial impact of your sleeper selection. So, the key is to strike the right balance between comfort considerations (sleeper size and amenities) and practicality (cargo capacity and sleeper cost). But w...

When a truck in your fleet is down, you're not making money--and neither are your drivers. So, how can you reduce the risk of unplanned downtime? One key is to ensure your drivers are conducting a thorough pre-trip inspection, where they examine in and around the truck to detect and report potential issues before they can become catastrophic mechanical failures. (For more information on FMCSA's pre-trip inspection requirements, see https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/title4...

When you talk to truckers about distracted driving, many of them will say that the biggest risk comes from the drivers of passenger vehicles on the road around them. "If you want to be the next zillionaire in our country, come out with a device that can disable the cellphone of the car operator in front of you by hitting a button because that would end a lot of distracted driving accidents in our country," quips John Mueller, founder of The Transportation Station LLC, a Toled...

Meet Tina Evans. When she and her husband Tom bought their first expedite straight truck in February 2002, Tina had just stepped down from her retail management position at a shoe store and Tom had left his job at a family-owned furniture store chain about a year earlier. Today, they are fleet owners with six straight trucks in their fleet. What led Tina and Tom to become expediters? What advice does Tina have for other women who may be considering a career in expedited truc...

Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, March 27, 2017 -- Premium asset-light logistics company Magnate Worldwide (MWW) has acquired Toledo-based Premium Transportation, LLC (PTL) in a move that expands the service offerings of both companies. Acquiring Premium Transportation, LLC "offers us the unique opportunity to grow our expediting business throughout North America," said Mike Welch, President of MWW North America. "Their 24-hour operations team and impressive fleet of trucks, main...

The compensation plan you agree to with your carrier sets the "rules of the road" for how you will make money with your truck. But it also impacts how much money you get to keep. So, how do ensure you've covered all your bases so you know what to expect and aren't blindsided by unpleasant surprises? Here are five factors to consider. 1. Mileage vs. Percentage Does the carrier pay by flat rate per mile or percentage of revenue on each load? If it's "percentage of revenue," fin...