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...

Meet Sandi Putz. Sandi and her husband John have been on the road together as expediters for 13 years, spending the first six years as contract drivers before they became owner-operators in 2010. What led Sandi and John to become expediters? What advice does Sandi have for other women who may be considering a career in expedited trucking? EO recently spoke with Sandi to learn more about her journey--how she got started in expediting, the lessons she's learned along the way, ...

Load One, LLC, Taylor Michigan and App Nouveau Canada (ANC) Software Consulting Group have reached terms for ANC to act as Load One's exclusive transportation technology consultant and developer. ANC is a Software as a Service (SaaS) and mobile application development company serving government and private corporations with custom software and application solutions to meet their needs. This company is a newly formed corporation and was started by three experienced local devel...

A few years ago, Bob and Linda Caffee were about to arrive at the shipper in downtown San Diego to pick up a load of explosives at 2:00am when a speeding car careened around the corner and smashed into the rear of the Caffee's truck. "The police were very thankful the explosives weren't already loaded on the truck," Linda quips. But the impact still caused $27,000 of damage to the truck--and two-months of downtime for the Caffees. During that time, they drove for Expediter S...

The expedited trucking sector got its start in the early 1980's, not long after deregulation. And it began to flourish in the 1990's as automakers and other manufacturers turned to "just-in-time delivery" as an innovative strategy to reduce their parts inventories and improve production efficiencies. So, what has changed in expedited trucking since those early days? Quite a lot. But here are seven big changes that have played a major role in shaping the expedite business toda...