Tag: business: Page 7

Business

Used truck prices surged 10 percent in 2018

Steve Tam, Vice President at ACT Research, says dealers report used truck sales continue at a very high pace, with the only immediate dark clouds being that there are not enough trucks to meet demand.

January 29, 2019

Business

Down another 4-5 cents/mile: Average spot rates in the last week, all segments

Truckload capacity, with more truckers advertising their availability to haul via the load boards, is building in the first weeks of 2019. National average spot rates for dry van, reefer and flatbed are going the other direction. Showing signs of the mid-Winter seasonal slump getting well under way, the number of trucks on the spot […]

January 24, 2019

Overdrive Radio

Growing pains of small trucking: Midnight Xpress on blown motors, hiring mistakes and more

In the half-year since we first talked with Midnight Xpress co-owner Andre Jackson for the Overdrive Radio podcast, small fleet expansion plans continue to be implemented, though they’ve shifted with a breakdown of the first truck Jackson and partners added, among other issues — including hiring mistakes made.

January 18, 2019

Business

Trucks flooded the spot market last week returning from holidays — rates fell 4-6 cents/mile nationally

Holidays are over, it’s certain. The large majority of the trucking world is back to work. The number of trucks posted on the spot truckload freight market increased 77 percent last week, well ahead of the 9 percent gain in available loads.

January 17, 2019

Channel 19

Govt. shutdown ripples out — though not toward military freight

And leased owner-op Jerry Boyd’s somewhat sanguine view on the year just ended, at odds with some independents running spot freight: “Everywhere you went,” Boyd said, “you could get a load of freight [with a good rate] – I’ve never seen it like that, just unload and reload.” …

January 16, 2019

Business

Spot market: Rates tick up, demand’s flat, and fuel is falling

For the week ending Jan. 5, Capacity imbalance produced big gains in national average load-to-truck ratios for flatbed, though reefer and van were stable or unchanged. That could spell little movement in vans and reefers this week.

January 11, 2019

Voices

POLL: Independents, will sale of the business figure in financing your retirement?

Do you expect to be able to sell your business, including direct-ship accounts and other assets? How significantly do you expect the proceeds to figure in financing your retirement?

January 10, 2019

Channel 19

The broker-margin transparency federal law already affords to carriers who request it

Owner-operators have a “right to review” amounts paid by shippers, collected by brokers and disbursed to themselves in any brokered freight transaction. But a right does nothing for anyone if not exercised — too many truckers, watchers contend, just aren’t aware of this one.

January 9, 2019

Voices

Grease distribution: Easy, neat and quick

The first in Overdrive’s new monthly “Highway hacks” series details owner-operator and 50-year trucking vet Gordon Alkire’s system of hoses and aluminum blocks engineered with guidance from a fellow trucker more than a half-decade ago to keep his back off the ground — and his history free of citations for excess grease.

January 8, 2019

Channel 19

2019 outlook: More owner-ops cautiously optimistic than not

What’s ahead for your business in 2019? If you’re like about a third of owner-operators responding to recent Overdrive polling, expectations of good things to come abound. This year, though, most movement from last year’s polling is toward a measure of stability expected.

January 4, 2019

Business

5 ways to prep for the downturn: With the economy cooling, owner-operators must be ready for leaner times

Owner-operators, especially those who’ve recently transitioned from company driver to leased owner-operator, or from leased operator to independent with operating authority, are perhaps most at risk in the next recession. Here are five key areas to help any owner-operator lay the groundwork for survival.

January 4, 2019

Voices

POLL: Your business outlook for 2019?

Surveying where you are today and potential for the year ahead, how do you see your business trending in 2019? Better than the past year? Worse? Weigh in via our annual trends poll here.

December 31, 2018