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The link to the above mentioned news story has been repaired. News story: IdleAire expansion stalling

The 2005-2006 FedEx Custom Critical revenue sheet (available from recruiting on request), shares the following information. It may be helpful to some in doing their C vs. D analysis. (Wouldn't it be nice of all expedite carriers issued revenue sheets like this?) Solo C-unit (Surface Expedite...

There is something that does not quite ring true in Swift's statement that Swift is not the target of the investigation, and that Swift operations will not be disrupted. It strikes me as strange that reporters are taking the Swift statements in their press release at face value, instead of...

This is not late breaking news, but it was news to me to learn that IdleAire is now struggling to survive. I have never been much impressed with the IdleAire concept or company's prospects. As expediters who wait for freight, sometimes for days at a time, we have a stake in this story and in...

I did not talk about comfort, but since you brought it up, I will mention that our fold-down bed has a Select Comfort Sleep Number matress. It is the most comfortable bed we have ever slept in, at home, in a hotel or in a truck. Whatever kind of matress you use, the fold-down bed consists of a...

You forgot the part about how much we love the job.

As others have mentioned, sleeper designs are highly individualized. Ideally, a sleeper will be configured to meet the needs and desires of its occupant(s). One thing I would recommend for all sleeper owners who want a dinette (table and bench seats) in the sleeper is to get the kind where the...

One company, 4.5 years.

Time is money, but money isn't everything. When we entered the expedite business, we did so with five stated goals. Only one of them was financial. If expediting was for us ONLY about the money, we would be in an ER-unit powered by a tractor with a modest custom sleeper. By moving into a...

Other self-employed expediters may look at it differently, but Diane and I don't even think about how much money per hour we make in our one-truck expedite business. We think in terms of gross revenue per month and per year, and profits after expenses. In this business, as with most...

Point taken. When it comes time to discuss indicators of business health in my Business Planning for Successful Expediters series, it will be apporpriate to include ROI. But do not expect my definition and use of it to match yours. You are of course free to promote your definition and use of...

That is true in some cases and untrue in others. I know of C units in the FedEx Custom Critical fleet that outperform comparably equipped D units. There is more to the revenue equation than truck size alone. Just one example would be a C unit with a bigger sleeper that enables a team to stay...

Life itself is a terminal condition. Before long, every one of us will be dead as a door nail. Live like you mean it.

As I said, Dave, we live in two different worlds. ROI is important in yours. It is not in mine. 'Nuff said.

RichM, you are absolutely correct. Your comparison of a $5 million dollar hotel business to a one-truck expediting business is especially informative. Diane and I are headed to the poor house for sure. Specialized units are the kiss of death.

A dealership is one of the last places I would choose to park a truck for a week or more. Most dealerships I have been in have signs posted about not being responsible for the contents of your truck while it is parked on the property. I have asked about the signs and have told about truck...

Well, according to some here in the Open Forum, we are left with no profit whatsoever with a $255,000 CR-unit. We are living in a world of self delusion, happy and comfortable in our full-featured truck, which we do not realize is taking us on a ride straight to financial ruin. The truth is...

I too will be brief. ROI is a figure that can be twisted to mean pretty much anything anyone wants it to mean, depending how it is spun. Therefore, in and of itself, ROI is a meanless number. It is only meaningful when taken in the context of other business health indicators and the assumptions...

Dave, You frequently mention "return on investment." For those of us (including me, it seems) who do not understand why this is important, would you be kind enough to explain just what ROI is, why it is important, and what an acceptable ROI number is to you? For people contemplating a...

Free donuts?