Tag: overdrive: Page 91

Overdrive Extra
Recovery on the back burner
As recently as April, manufacturing still looked mostly bad, notes the latest weekly roundup from Bob Costello, chief economist for the American Trucking Associations. April output grew for autos, paper, wood products and nonmetallic mineral products. It shrunk for furniture, primary metal and fabricated metal products. From a year ago, manufacturing production was down 14 […]
May 18, 2009
Overdrive Extra
Oink!
As one of my former editors was fond of saying, “The stuck pig squeals the loudest.” You can hear a little squealing from the headquarters of pork consumption, Washington, D.C., in this blog entry from U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. He tries to discredit a recent Associated Press report saying that federal stimulus spending on […]
May 11, 2009
Overdrive Extra
Some positive trends for the first quarter
First quarter figures from ATBS show a few encouraging notes. Among all hauling segments, clients of the Denver-based owner-operator accounting firm saw average income rise from $3,892 in January to $4,074 in March, due in large part to low fuel prices. Flatbedders had a steady rise in miles, from 7,216 in January to 8,303 in […]
May 8, 2009
Overdrive Extra
Trucking meets swine flu in a variety of ways
Reports on trucking and swine flu have proliferated this week. Many media outlets picked up the Knoxville, Tenn., newspaper interview with Professional Drivers Medical Depots (cited here earlier), but other angles have followed. First, two on the lighter side: Everitt Mickey, one of the writers who contributes to International Trucks’ Life on the Road blog, […]
April 30, 2009
Overdrive Extra
Truckers and swine flu
News coverage of the spreading swine flu has pointed out the role of air travelers in spreading contagious disease. If you’re thinking that truckers, likewise being a highly mobile group, could help the swine flu bugs get around, you’re thinking like Dr. John McElligot, CEO of Professional Drivers Medical Depots.      He has put his […]
April 27, 2009
Overdrive Extra
Topics for coming webinars
Well over 100 owner-operators turned out Wednesday evening for Overdrive’s first webinar. Kevin Rutherford, our Dollars & Sense columnist and the host of ATBS Trucking Business & Beyond on Sirius XM, had a lot to say about “Surviving a difficult economy.” The overall reviews were overwhelmingly positive, and that’s saying a lot, coming from a […]
April 24, 2009
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Landstar rides out the storm
When the economy’s in a tailspin, some observers like to speculate that the owner-operator is about to become an endangered species. Indeed, many contractors have fallen out in recent months, but there’s no doubt about the potential for good operators to make money. The biggest owner-operator fleet, Landstar Systems, recently announced it earned $14 million […]
April 17, 2009
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Diesel: Cheaper than gasoline?
If you’re still smarting over last year’s outrageous diesel prices, you can take a little comfort in a prediction from the U.S. Department of Energy. The feds forecast diesel will average $2.19 over 2009, and $2.51 in 2010. “The expected continuing decline in diesel fuel consumption in the United States this year as well as […]
April 13, 2009
Overdrive Extra
Protecting your plastic
I doubt there are many Americans who haven’t been stung by greedy credit card companies’ sneaky tricks of raising interest rates for lame reasons to levels well over 20 percent in some cases. Owner-operators have more than their share of whelps. You often having to rely on credit while far from home. When the economy’s tough, […]
April 7, 2009
Overdrive Extra
Smile for the traffic camera
Traffic cameras are being used for more than red light monitoring these days. The Wall Street Journal gives an excellent update on how cities are increasingly using them to catch speeders and others by way of reading license plates.   The core app of red-light spying is still popular. And profitable. Tiny Schaumburg, Ill., put […]
March 31, 2009
Overdrive Extra
Hurray for homebuilding, retail and manufacturing
Martin Crutsinger of the Associated Press this week notes that five key economic areas show potential early signs of a turnaround, in spite of continuing signs of worsening problems.   Three of the five directly impact trucking: new homes, retail sales and durable goods. Each also was accompanied with a “reality check” reminding readers […]
March 27, 2009
Overdrive Extra
Schneider raises the bar on applicants
Schneider National is taking a variety of measures, some different than their competitors’, to cope with the downturn. Last week at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky., the VP for driver recruiting, Michael Hinz, reviewed Schneider’s latest developments with me and Linda Longton, the editorial chief for all our magazines here at Randall Reilly […]
March 23, 2009
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