Driver Lifestyles

On Tonight's Evening News - Expediting!

Expediters Online recently received a phone call from Lori Blaney of Con-Way NOW alerting us to an upcoming segment on the CBS Evening News.  This story profiled Andy and Kay Younger, a Con-Way NOW straight truck owner-operator team from Michigan. 

The segment focused on how retirees like the Youngers had discovered second careers in expediting and how much they enjoyed their new vocations.  Overall, the piece presented a very positive image of both expediting and the couple, so we made arrangements to meet the Youngers (telephonically) and tell their story.

Andy says, "We're very happy with expediting, I wish we'd found it years earlier." 

"We weren't able to adequately convey in the TV report, the absolutely incredible sense of liberation and freedom of having a boss telling us what to do and when to do it. 

We don't miss punching a clock, being told how to dress, being told what to sell and what not to sell.  It's a wonderful feeling that we enjoy every single day that we're doing this!"

Kay was born and raised in Rochester, Michigan.  Andy describes himself as being an "Air Force brat"  who, since attending Michigan State University, claims Michigan as his home.  The couple now call Davisburg, Michigan home, where they built their "dream home" in the middle of their nine acre property.

Andy has a degree in Broadcasting with a work history that includes producing commercials for ABC along with fifteen years of producing training videos for the state of Michigan.  Just prior to entering expediting, he worked in furniture sales for eight years.

Kay was an accountant for the state of Michigan for close to thirty years and she says, "I had been retired for a couple of years when Andy came up with the expediting idea.  We've been married 33 years and so far, expediting is like being on a honeymoon because we get to spend all of our time together."

"Kay was an "online widow" for months while I researched the business on Expediters Online and other web sites.  I learned a lot reading the various threads on the forums and emailing back and forth with the people I met online."

"I felt we were pretty well informed when Kay and I went to the Expedite Expo 2004.  I was convinced that I wanted to do it based on everything I had read and the conversations I had had with people on the web site."

"At the Expo, we looked at all of the expedited carriers and liked what we saw with Con-Way NOW, along with the fact that they were a Michigan-based company.  There have been times when we needed something and the company has helped us out - they're good people."

Andy says that Kay didn't believe he was serious about until he began studying a CDL booklet and other material.  He needed to get some hands-on time in a truck as well, so he negotiated a deal with a truck driving school that would provide classroom instruction, a couple of hours driving time and rental of a tractor for his CDL driving test.  And, he would do it all in the same day!

"If someone would have put a heart monitor on me that day, I'm sure it would have gone off the scale," he states.  "Here I am, driving a Class 8 tractor with a six-speed that refused to stay in second gear and I've got an instructor sitting next to me while we're driving around the streets of Detroit."

We took the advice of many in expediting and decided to drive for an owner first.  Con-Way NOW put us in touch with one of their fleet owners, DJ Trucking of Perrysburg, Ohio.

"Joe Manley, DJ's Operations Manager, was great to work with, he helped us through the process of learning the business.  Kay was able to develop her skills with a temporary permit while driving Joe's truck and took her test with a few months of driving behind her."

In return, Joe Manley gives the Youngers high marks:  "They're great people and very focused.  They know what they want and they go after it.  Andy and Kay got up to speed very quickly and they were one of our best teams.  We wish we had them back with us!"

Andy says, "We drove one of Joe's Century Class Freightliners for about eight months and we discovered the difference between Class 7 and Class 8 trucks.  We made the decision within three or four months that we wanted to own our own truck." 

"It took us a long while to find the right truck.  Finally, on May 5th of this year, we bought a 2001 Volvo tractor from the GATR dealership around White Cloud, Minnesota.  It has a 465HP Volvo engine and 10-speed Eaton Autoshift.  And, depending on how fast we drive, our mileage runs between 9-11 mpg."

Andy continues, "My son drove me up there to pick up the truck where we had a trailer hitch welded on the back and we used a U-Haul towbar to pull his car the 900 miles back home."

"I took it up to the Michigan "thumb" area, had the frame stretched, then took it to Pontiac, MI and had a box put on it.  By mid-June, we were ready to go."

"The Volvo 770 the Youngers selected is equipped with a double bunk sleeper with fridge, microwave, TV and is "very quiet and comfortable."  The truck mounts a 22' Morgan box and with tandem rears, the truck is permitted at 46,000 lbs.  They've put 30,000 miles on the unit in the two months they've had it on the road."

With Kay's background in accounting, guess who does the books for the Youngers?  She says that it's essential for expediters to know their cost-per-mile (CPM).  "Our CPM ranges between $.26-$.30 per mile, depending on where we buy fuel.  The fuel surcharge certainly helps as do the accessorial charges.  Every little bit helps."

Kay relates, "When an offer comes over the Qualcomm, we analyze and discuss the run - basically go through the numbers.  We talk about the fuel surcharge, the likelihood of getting a run out of that area, etc.  I'm the paperwork person, and Andy's the "heavy thinker."

She adds, "I like expediting very much, but one of the eye-openers of driving is just how rude the four-wheelers are!  After all, without trucks and truckers those people would have nothing, especially their cars.  They dart around and cut in front of you, particularly SUV's.  They have no idea how long it takes a truck to stop, they're terrible!  A lot of times, when they give us the finger, that earns them a blast of the air horn."

Since beginning their expediting adventure some ten months ago, Andy and Kay have visited 42 states and Canada. 

The Youngers say that they had wanted to travel for a long time and for what they have invested in their truck, "we could have had a really nice RV, but instead we have a small RV that makes us money as it's rolling.  We call it, 'the view from nine feet up.'"

Andy says, "We've visited relatives across the country, gone to museums, and done some sightseeing.  The truck is too big for some places so we've taken cabs and rented cars on occasion." 

The Youngers say that they enjoy the western U.S. - places like the New Mexico, the mountain areas of Utah, Colorado and California - "beautiful beyond what words can describe."

Kay adds, "Until we had a load that took us to upstate New York in the fall, I had no idea how beautiful it is there."

"During the few times that we've taken loads to the west coast, we've been able to find expedited freight that brings us back east.  We have had trouble at times finding freight that will get us out of the Laredo, TX area."

When asked if she feels comfortable driving the truck after almost a year behind the wheel, Kay says, "Absolutely!  Andy had some eye surgery done and was out of the truck for a week.  I took the truck out for a week by myself and did four or five loads.  It really built my confidence knowing that I can do this by myself."

"The only place I felt really nervous when I was alone was Newark, NJ.  There were a lot of shady-looking characters there and I didn't want to get out of the truck."

Kay says that the couple holds to an oil change interval of 15,000 miles and a lube about once a month.  She says that they are fortunate to have in the family two sons, one of whom is a mechanical engineer, the other a mechanic. 

"Andy and the boys get out there and do a lot of the work on the truck.  Our youngest son, the mechanic, can get the oil in 55-gallon drums, so that saves us some money as well.! 

Kay says that making the CBS video report that introduced the Youngers to the world was "pretty exciting.  They came to our house and spent about five hours with us on a really hot day - it must have been 100 degrees."

"We love expediting, we can't understand why there aren't more people in it!"