Developing a spreadsheet for expediters

Updated Apr 2, 2012

I learned today about the spreadsheets certain expediters use. Learned by viewing them.

Diane and I woke up this morning at the rest area on U.S. 395 near Independence, Calif. We are working our way (deadheading) down to Los Angeles from Reno, Nev. to get to a better freight area and wait for load offers there. Not much is expected out of Reno.

The spectacular scenic drive that began yesterday continued today. The morning sun lit up snow-capped mountains displaying them in crisp detail. Then the mountain scenery gave way to the high desert. Then traffic built as we got closer to the city. Then the clear sky gave way to clouds and rain as we made the final descent down the steep hills into Greater Los Angeles.

I say final descent because this trip put us over 8,000 ft. above sea level yesterday (Conway Summit, 8,138 ft). We parked the truck today at the TA in Ontario, Calif., elevation 750 ft. That kind of drop might be good for fuel economy but there are a lot of uphill climbs along the way, and, once again, high winds hurt us. As I said a few days ago, Mother Nature owes us some healthy tail winds. Strong headwinds have been the norm since we got back on the road, it seems.

• When we parked the truck for the night I went to work on spreadsheets. A couple of expediters have shared theirs with me and I am hoping to set up a small discussion group for us to mix thoughts about our spreadsheets. Other expediters have shared their spreadsheets with me over the years and I have them buried in my email archives someplace. It’s time to dig them out.

I want to develop a good spreadsheet that all expediters can download free of charge and use. I set up a private Google group were interested people can talk about spreadsheets. I also set up a private Google Docs site where members can view each other’s spreadsheets. Group participants are involved to share their ideas, learn from others and help produce a spreadsheet that others can use.

If you have a spreadsheet to share and would like to be part of this group, please let me know (email). The price of admission is your spreadsheet. It will be posted with others to be discussed with the others. The finished product will be posted where all expediters and other interested people can view and download it free of charge.