It's a Team's Life

Mother Nature and Unexpected Holidays

Mother Nature and Unexpected Holidays

Mother Nature sure did put a dent in our plans for the first full week of the year. We were on our way to pick up a load when the phone rang with the news that our load had cancelled. Fortunately, we did not drive in any of the ice and snow covered roads that were on our route. The shipper informed us that they lost power and had a water leak. They wanted to address those issues before they began shipping again.

Prior to accepting the canceled load we were offered a load that would have put us right in the middle of Mother Nature’s storm. We decided to pass on that one and then accepted the load that canceled because we felt it had a safer path between shipper and delivery. Now we will wait to see what loads become available in the days ahead.

Another thing that is becoming a challenge is the Federal holiday that popped up to honor the late President Jimmy Carter. Our biggest customer is the federal government. Many of our pick up and delivery points do not work on Fridays. Then having Thursday off limits us as to when we can pick up freight or deliver it. So this week may turn out to be a bust.

Depending on if we can find another load tomorrow we may end up just heading back home to regroup and start over. One thing that we have learned over the years is that everything happens for a reason and what follows is usually better than the load we originally would have done.

Finally, in making the decision on which load to take we found that we were struggling to choose a load that was being offered to us. After talking with a dear friend and mentor we made a decision on how to decide what load to take or not take. If we have any hesitation on the load we are considering, we will not take the load. Maybe the load is going to a place that is not in a good lane. Maybe the weather will prevent us from staying safe. Maybe the load does not meet other criteria such as piece count, weight, or pay. Some decisions are easier than others. Today was one of those days where the decision was not so easy. So Mother Nature made the decision for us.

I am sure that everyone who reads this blog has had a similar situation as ours. How do you determine what load you take? Do you even have the choice? Do you take weather into consideration or do you just make your way through as best you can? In any case, I wish you:

Millions of safe and profitable miles.

Kelly Plumb