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Don't you just hate technology? The growing use of debit cards has probably cut this income source in half. :(

Having read all the comments here and with Diane and I having discussed it, we tend to agree with Soxydon and aristotle. In the winter, we would be unlikely to accept an Alaska run. Never say never, but it seems to us that the risks outweigh the rewards. In the summer, we'd go in a heartbeat...

What Doggie Daddy said. Click the truck specs link in my signature. DD's reply suits me just fine. I have been off line for a day and unable to respond as quickly as DD did. Answer is the same I would have given. By the way, there is no way we would even begin to spec a truck like this in these...

No. You already have that option by getting your own authority or selecting a carrier that allows you and makes it easy for you to find and book outside loads.

Time will tell.

Having shared how and why I use a spreadsheet, I'd rather not get into a debate about the value of spreadsheet use. Readers who are spreadsheet inclined can choose to use them. Readers who are spreadsheet adverse can choose to not use them. Those who are in between can use them a little bit...

You can put as much or little effort as you wish into analyzing your business income and expenses. There are very few expediters out there that drill down to the level of detail Diane and I do. We don't keep track of just deductible expenses. We track every penny. If I find a nickel in the...

Yes. You are wrong.

Trailer shops sell it. Look in your yellow pages for trailers or truck trailers. Look for Utility, Great Dane and other trailer dealers.

There is your way, my way, and I am sure a host of other ways practiced by other expediters. I hope a good number of people can feel free to share their ways here without feeling the need to defend them. If they do so share, this could be a tremendously infomative thread. My post was not...

Now you are scaring me. If you are out here trying to make money as an expediter and don't have the funds to cover next week's payment, you are living dangerously. See this example. This guy gave it his best for over a year but business costs and slow freight brought him down. With the benefit...

I don't suppose anyone will ever know just how many people EO has helped in those ten years. You can be sure it is a bunch. Diane and I first learned about expediting by stumbling onto the EO booth at the Mid America Trucking Show in 2003. EO became our gold mine for researching the industry...

Good idea to start this topic. Our technique is to maintain a running spreadsheet that tells us the cost per mile to operate the truck in the last twelve months. In that number, all costs are considered; everything from oil changes, to tires, to truck depreciation (replacement cost), to...

We might take it but would do some checking first. Our first step would be to talk to dispatch and ask if we could have more than 10 minutes to evaluate the load. If the answer was no, we would decline the load and offer our best to the truck that gets it. If more time was granted, we would...

Absolutely. I don't know enough about how other people think, feel and make decisions to talk about how they operate. I share our way not as the way, but as a way others can consider. You do that a lot, talk about how we are different than everyone else. In some ways we are. But the fact that...

The techniques described above work as well today as they have anytime we have been in the business. Our actions differ because external circumstances have changed for the worse. The decision-making process with an eye on profitability remains the same. Our profits are down as the freight has...

When it comes to scoping out express centers ahead of time, there may be some fog but we are not operating in the dark either. First comes the ahead of time part. Once you get to know the system (VRU in our carrier's case), it does not take long to get a feel on a few express centers. Doing...

Our straight truck holds its alignment well so we don't check it once a year as some recommend. We will have it checked and aligned as needed if a tire wear problem develops. After buying the truck new, we went through a couple sets of steer tires and a couple of alignment checks before we...

This has been a good week for us too. For the first time in a long time, we have had three good runs, one after another. One week does not a trend make, but it feels good to be running like we did before. I spoke above about carefully considering loads going to California. Jack's post...

You make a good point. It is easy to beat your chest and crow about maintaining your price points and discipline when push does not come to shove. So far, we have been able to maintain a good acceptance rate and still accept only loads that meet our price point. But what will we do if costs...