Off the top of the podcast this week, February Trucker of the Month Adam Mackey, headquartered in Mustang, Oklahoma, tells a bit of the origin story of his "AfterSolo" Youtube channel. Mackey's been documenting his journey through owner-operated trucking there since 2022.
Named after his dog, Solo, whom he'd sadly lost around that time, the channnel's videos feature plenty in the way of DIY care put into the Freightliner Columbia and Utility flatbed that carry Mosermackey Trucking forward. It's a remarkable repository for the owner-operator’s maintenance and modification projects, likewise all manner of other topics around trucking as an independent.
First things first, though. Anybody else feeling a little diesel deja vu?
Greetings from Nashville, Tennessee. Four years and just a single penny separate these two shots, showing the advertised credit price at the Trinity Lane Love's at I-65 in town. The left shot was taken early March of 2022, the right this morning -- March 9, 2026.
Been quite a while since I've seen a 5 in the dollar column on that sign. Overdrive's Alex Lockie's talks with oil-market analysts last week illustrating a "runaway market" in the offing have borne out.
If you’re in a leased operation or working with shippers where you benefit from fuel-surcharge rate adjustments, here’s hoping those are updating quickly to cover rapidly increasing costs.
If you’re working with brokers, don’t be shy about educating them in your negotiations, such as they need it, about your own cost-offset needs in the rate.
Howes sponsors Overdrive Radio. The longtime trusted provider of fuel treatments like its Howes Diesel Defender all-weather mileage booster and winter Diesel Treat anti-gel / Lifeline rescue treatments to get you through the coldest temps. Find more information about all of Howes' products at the company website.
[Related: Spot market's recent strength solidifies after SCOTUS tariff ruling]
For the bulk of this week's podcast, hear the Mosermackey Trucking business owner’s story, in his own words, also chronicled in the feature attendant to his February Trucker of the Month nod a couple weeks back.
In business with authority since before the COVID pandemic, after years hauling as a company driver with Old Dominion Freight Line and some other outfits, Adam Mackey has trucked with authority from the very start. He's focused most closely on flatbed loads, filling in with power-only work of various types, too.
[Related: Has the diesel price run-up obliterated owner-ops' recent profit gains?]
He’s solidified a relationship with a go-to broker for much of his oil-field-related freight today. That freight stands to benefit from the oil market run-up, yet added costs for his and every other trucking business out there make bedrock profit more complicated, to say the least. Take a listen:
As mentioned in the podcast:
- Enter your own or another deserving owner-operator business to compete for the 2026 Trucker of the Year award via the short form at this link.
- Find Overdrive's Load Profit Analyzer here.
[Related: How to do more than just live with the horror of high fuel prices]
