The State of Expediting Today

[ATeam]

Diane and I entered the expediting business in 2003, ran eight years with a large carrier that had centralized dispatch, and then moved to a smaller one where dispatch is not centralized.

That move has broadened our view of the expediting industry. Before, there was our carrier and everyone else. That worked just fine while it worked. Now, there is us, the people we get freight from and a host of own-authority operators, load board people, fleet owners and others who have suddenly become very interesting to talk shop with.

Lawrence McCord once estimated that there are 15,000 expediter trucks hauling freight out there. That means the largest carrier in the business makes up less than 10 percent of the industry.

Lawrence is also a guy, like many who are still in the industry today, who can remember getting his freight by stopping at telephone booths to call in every so often.

To the seasoned expediters out there I ask, as you look at the industry today, how have things changed and how have they stayed the same?

 

[ATeam]

Along the same lines....

Old Fart Expediter's Glossary

Load Board: Something you drive nails into to keep freight from shifting.

Google: Something you say back to an infant when he or she is learning to talk.

GPS: Girls Prep School, located in Chattanooga.

Internet: Opposite of Outernet

Direct Deposit: Delivering freight after hours.

PrePass: When a car passes you and one or more other vehicles at the same time.

Panther: An animal that lives in the jungle.

Bolt: A piece of hardware that helps hold your truck together.

App: A word, the remainder of which remains to be spelled out.

Laptop: What you spill your coffee and place your grandkids on.

Download: Moving freight from a loading dock into a cargo van that is not dock high.

Super Single: See old maid.

IdleAire: Gas best passed when alone in the truck.

CARB: A device on a gasoline engine that mixes fuel and air, and meters it into the intake manifold.

Driver: A person who operates a car or truck. Also a type of golf club.

Sleeper: A compartment behind the truck cab that contains a mattress used for sleeping.

Search Engine: What a mechanic does when you bring your car into the shop with a complaint.

Low Sulfur: A mineral found deep underground.

Smart Phone: Smart what?

 

[fastman_1]

To me the internet was the change that made the biggest impact, thus letting more mom and pop carriers into the field.

 

[davekc]

Without a doubt, technology has changed the whole industry. Some of it good, and some not so good. No longer are people getting lost with GPS, standing in phone booths, calling every broker looking for freight thanks to the Internet. The good news is, many carriers have to act with more transparency. The downside is there is much more competition. What was a handful of companies, has mushroomed into many.
Expedite trucks we use to have were Ford 350's with a coffin sleeper. They don't even exist today. Now many trucks are rolling RV's that cost well over 100k for the basic.
I remember buying our first FL70 from Dan Shultz at the pit and thought we were overpaying at 55k a truck.
Operational costs have skyrocketed while the rates you see today were here over ten years ago.

What has stayed the same is hanging on to alot of great people we have met years ago. Fighting sleep cycles, weather, and roads that keep falling apart. Still a pretty decent gig if you watch what you are doing.

 

[fastman_1]

I wouldn't want to do anything else.

 

[davekc]

Can't forget EO either. What a huge change in the way many communicate verses years past. A huge thanks to Lawrence for bringing it to the industry along with some great events.

 

[scottm4211]

Can't forget EO either. What a huge change in the way many communicate verses years past. A huge thanks to Lawrence for bringing it to the industry along with some great events.

It's like Craigslist minus the serial killers (I think )

 

[Doggie Daddy]

To the seasoned expediters out there I ask, as you look at the industry today, how have things changed and how have they stayed the same?

Things that have changed in our nearly 10 years of expediting:

The price of everything keeps going up,shop rates fuel, trucks, equipment, food, everything.

Things that have stayed the same in our nearly 10 years of expediting:

The rates that they are offering to us to haul their freight.

 

[LisaLouHoo]

When fuel went up 28% in a year's time and carrier pay rates 5%, that was the final straw for Jeffman. On top of everything else that had started happening in the business, this occurence was his See Ya Wouldn't Want To Be Ya moment.

"Bruises fade and bones will mend-but a psyche can be ruined FOREVER" : LisaLouHoo, c. 2008

 

[redytrk]

After 23 years with FECC/Roberts I would like to tell you of all the changes. Trouble is I can`t remember remember that far back.

I do remember those four hours call ins to dispatch. Such fun when the time happens in the middle of Chicago.