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WUTR Article Archive

          Weekly Newsletter

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The State Of Trucking In 2007

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
Timothy D. Brady
December 27, 2006   
The state of trucking going into 2007? If you're a CEO or stockholder of a major trucking company, 2006 has been a pretty good year...

A Holiday Wish For Truckers

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
Timothy D. Brady
December 20, 2006   
Wow! The holiday season is upon us once again. The season of giving and celebration of life is on the minds of everyone. Truckers are juggling their schedules and loads to land at home for the holidays...

Being Prepared For The Tax Man

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
Timothy D. Brady
December 13, 2006   

Your most important plan is not how you'll purchase your next tractor or trailer, or house, or investments. It's your income tax plan...

New Or Used -- That Is The Question

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
Timothy D. Brady
December 6, 2006   
 The time arrives in every Owner/Operator's life when he asks the question: Should I replace my current truck with a new one or a used one...

Deal Or No Deal - Finding The Right Trucking Company

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
Timothy D. Brady
November 29, 2006   
 Life is full of important decisions; some have a greater impact on the quality of life than others. In any career, finding the right position is a challenge; in trucking it becomes a matter of your financial life or death...

Turkeys, Stuffing It, And Giving Thanks

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
Timothy D. Brady
November 21, 2006   

It's time for our national holiday of giving thanks for our abundance. Trucking provides us with the ability to put that turkey on the table, and although there are times we'd like to tell the industry to stuff it, we can be thankful for the intangibles that go along with our CDLs...

How To Determine Your Cost Per Mile

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
Timothy D. Brady
November 15, 2006   
In determining the complete financial picture of your trucking operation, it's important to remember Cost per Mile is only one very important piece of the puzzle. The other components of this puzzle are...

Maximizing Your Profit Through Load Planning

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
Timothy D. Brady
November 8, 2006   

What to load, where to load, when to load, and where it all goes are decisions Owner/Operators deal with day in, day out; week after week. Each time you make a load decision it affects your bottom line...

Making The Most Of Being Paid By The Mile

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
Timothy D. Brady
November 1, 2006   
 There's a misconception in the trucking industry that says: "The only thing that counts is how much money I'm making per mile." If you measure the health of your financial life by what you're making per mile, the question is...
 

Load Negotiating With Profitable Results

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
Timothy D. Brady
October 25, 2006   
 When we call a broker for a load, we ask, "How much does the load pay?" Now, truckers are great at driving, talking and eating. But sometimes, we start a conversation with the wrong question...

Hitting All Net--Swoosh

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
October 18, 2006   
 What's the number one reason you drive a truck? Why are you (or are you thinking about becoming) an Owner/Operator?...

The Fuel Surcharge Merry-Go-Round

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
October 11, 2006   
 The theory of whatever goes up must come down holds true once again. The cost of fuel proves this theory as we watch the price drop closer to...

The Journey to the Land of Owner/Operatordom

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
October 4, 2006   
 If you drive a truck for a living, at some point this thought has crossed your mind: "Maybe I should become an Owner/Operator..."

Turning the Key to Profits

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
Timothy D. Brady
September 27, 2006   
 To put it in the correct gear you need to know your speed and your RPMs. To know where the profit is, you need to know the correct formula to determine your break-even point...

How Truckers Can Market Themselves

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
Timothy D. Brady
September 20, 2006     
As a general concept, marketing is easy to understand ...

The Tricks to Buying a Used Truck

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
Timothy D. Brady
September 13, 2006   
Getting a tricked-out truck is a dream of any Owner/Operator. But getting tricked by the truck is the worst nightmare ...

Driver Shortage or Driver Turnover--hmmm

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
September 6, 2006     
As the trucking industry attempts to figure out why there's the immense driver shortage and how to resolve it, we drivers need to look inward and say, "What's our responsibility ...

How To Negotiate Fuel Surcharges

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
August 30, 2006     
The next burning question for Owner/Operators and lease operators is, Am I getting the fuel surcharge I need? The more important question is...
 

How To Negotiate Your Best Hauling Rates

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
August 23, 2006   
 The first step in negotiating your best rate is knowing what amount it takes to meet your needs...

Profiting by the Mile

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
August 16, 2006   
 The difficulty in being paid by the mile is knowing whether you're making money. It's possible to get a sizeable per-mile rate and still not have any profit once you've delivered...

Maximizing Profit Through Load Planning

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
August 9, 2006   
The misconception of load planning for a majority of Owner/Operators is the best load is always the highest-paying load out of an area. Only considering the highest-paying load without looking at other factors is like purchasing a lottery ticket: winning is possible, but not likely...

Discovering the American Dream

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
August 2, 2006   
Many independent truckers tend to use the Christopher Columbus method of business management: they don't know where they're going; when they get there, they don't know where they are, and moreover, when they return, they don't know where they've been...

The Art of Paying Yourself First

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
July 27, 2006   
 The most important expense to be paid each month is the salary you're paying yourself...

A Wheel Marketing Plan

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
July 20, 2006   
 OK, you've done your homework. You know what it costs to own and operate your truck, you've figured your break-even point. You've developed your hauling rate schedule, your fuel surcharge policy and you're ready to roll. So now comes the real fun...

I'm Supposed to Get Paid for This?

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
July 13, 2006   
 Fuel surcharges. Who's charging them? Just about everyone, from the paperboy to the lawn care company to the pest control technician. With the wild ups and the very little downs of fuel prices, companies from all industries across the board are tacking on extra fees to cover the cost of fuel. And if you're not willing to pay, you can't get the service...

A Family Affair

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
July 5, 2006   
 To be competitive in the trucking industry, it's become necessary for the individual Owner/Operator with their own authority to turn his business into a family affair...

Is There a Way Of Being an Owner/Operator and Being Profitable?

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
June 28, 2006   
 Yes, you can be profitable in trucking with planning, forethought, and the knowledge of correct business principles and their application. Then look for a specific niche in which to specialize. If you want to compete in the truckload side of the business...

The Mechanics of Trucking

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
June 21, 2006   
 The days of parking a truck in the yard and tearing down an engine are long over. The best course of action for the Owner/Operator is to invest time doing what you do best - hauling and delivering the needs of America...

The Solution

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
June 14, 2006   
 KNOW YOUR COSTS!
Regardless of what operation you drive under: own authority, leased to a carrier, or lease-purchase program, if you don't know your costs and how they relate to revenue your truck produces, you're doomed from the start...

The "B" Word

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
June 7, 2006   
Truckers are very adept at knowing the dynamics of driving a truck. They're great at following directions. They know which mile marker they're located near. They can tell you what's at any exit along the interstate. They tell you without hesitation the quickest, safest route to go from any city to any destination nationwide without missing a highway number, exit number or total miles required...
 

The Time Machine

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
June 2, 2006   
 An Owner/Operator should continually work at getting the most productivity out of his TIME while on the road. It's not about miles. It's about how much time is required to complete a load...

Your Bread and Butter Run

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
May 24, 2006   
Route management is the process where you're always looking ahead-beyond the hood. Just like driving that rig down the highway, if you're not keeping your eyes on the horizon, that's when you get in trouble. It isn't any different when you're looking for loads. If you wait until you're in-route; or worse, until you're empty, to begin the load search, that's when you get into trouble...

'Cha-Ching', 'Cha-Ching'

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
Timothy D. Brady
May 17, 2006   
 Every mile a truck is driven costs money. Every day a truck costs money, whether it hauls a load or sits. Sounds simple enough, but why do most truckers ask, "How much do you make per mile?" and not "How much does the truck earn a day?"

Before You Lease-Purchase

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
Timothy D. Brady
May 10, 2006   

Going lease-purchase can be either a very good decision or it can be your worst nightmare..
The dilemma most truckers have when making the transition from company driver to lease operator is they forget they’re no longer employees of the trucking company. The most important points to ask yourself before contacting a prospective company to go lease-purchase are:
 

Dedicated Load Strategy

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
April 23, 2006   
A Dedicated Load Strategy doesn't mean just knowing what you're going to be doing tomorrow, it's a strategy for the future. Just as a trucker should be driving beyond his hood, when planning loads you should be looking as far into the future as possible...

Keeping Sailboat Fuel Out of Your Trailer

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
April 19, 2006   
In today's trucking environment, some 40% of the trucks running up and down the Interstate are either partly empty or 'dead-heading' to the next load, known in our industry as hauling sailboat fuel...

How To Be Sure You're Receiving The Correct Fuel Surcharge

American Trucker Newsletter - USA
By Timothy D. Brady
April 13, 2006   
With everything that happened in the past year and what continues to occur in the oil producing regions of the world, the time has come for independent owner/operators, lease operators and small trucking companies to make sure they're not left holding the fuel tank: an empty one...

Cover Story

Beating the bushes -- How to find shipping customers
by Timothy D. Brady
The most asked question by owner-operators and the owners of small trucking companies is: How do I find direct ship customers? It's not rocket science to know when you depend on freight brokers for your loads you are giving up a fair amount of revenue. The revenue given up is pure and simple profit. But the problem lies with how to find those shippers with whom you can deal directly for the loads they need hauled.

Wake-up call 

DRIVERSMAG.COM
by Timothy D. Brady
DOT, trucking, logistics industry members and truckers need to wake up. They need to realize the purported driver shortage, driver pay, working conditions, and safety are all interconnected. To solve the safety problems, it’s necessary to address and resolve them all....

Banking on your success 

DRIVERSMAG.COM
by Timothy D. Brady
Trucking is a risky business. The one who knows this better than anyone else is the owner of a small trucking company. Equipment is expensive to acquire and maintain, revenue is elusive, (here one day; gone to a cheaper hauler the next), and the liability risk is astronomical with one’s drivers constantly one vehicle away from a lawsuit eleven hours a day.

Security -- What security?

DRIVERSMAG.COM
By Timothy D. Brady
How safe are you really, when you're out on the road?

Don't get blind-sided

DRIVERSMAG.COM
by Timothy D. Brady
As the New Year begins, the trucking industry is haunted by a less-than-stellar fourth quarter. But note, not all trucking companies and truckers are having whine to celebrate the beginning of 2007. The ones who had a great fourth quarter of 2006 are the ones who studied the trends of their shippers and their shippers' customers. Your small package carriers had a banner end of 2006. They had studied the trend that's been mounting for several years: millions more consumers are ordering off the internet. These carriers positioned themselves to take advantage of the fact that fewer products were going to be sent from warehouses to stores because internet sales tend to be shipped direct from a warehouse. So fewer products were needed in the stores to fill the need of consumers

Show them the money

by Timothy D. Brady
Not too many years ago, the political phrase of the day was, "It's the economy, stupid!" Then the phrase changed to "Show me the money!" As we close the year 2006, trucking has had one rollercoaster of a year. Tonnage-wise it was (to the beginning of the fourth quarter) a banner year, but we've also had to deal with a wild ride in the price of fuel, the introduction of ULSD fuel, and threats the HOS will be changed yet again. However, the one area that seems to baffle trucking companies and their organizations most is the "driver shortage."

Thanks for the memories

DRIVERSMAG.COM
by Timothy D. Brady
As we come upon our national holiday of giving thanks for our many abundances, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to an industry that has provided my family and myself not only with a great means for meeting our needs and wants, but experience and knowledge that goes way beyond any financial gain.

Driver turnover solution: Driver service

DRIVERSMAG.COM
by Timothy D. Brady
If asked to define the one activity in the trucking industry that will either make or break a trucking company, it would be quality customer service. The most overlooked solution in customer service in our industry is how drivers are treated. How a driver feels he's being treated will determine the quality of customer service the company's shippers and receivers experience. What would happen if trucking companies started using their customer service methods in how they handle their drivers?

A new angle on driver retention

DRIVERSMAG.COM
by Timothy D. Brady
There's a lot of talk within the trucking industry on whether there's a driver shortage or a driver turnover problem. If there's a driver shortage, this would mean there's a shortage of individuals with CDLs. How many individuals in the USA have CDL Class A licenses? My guess is there are more people with a Class A CDL than there are Class A driving positions available. They're just working in a non-driving industry. In my book, that's not a shortage. Yet driver turnover rates exceed 100% in most trucking sectors. In the same book, that's a turnover problem.

Creating value in trucking

DRIVERSMAG.COM
by Timothy D. Brady
Why is it when we shop for a service or an item we'll search out the best value for our dollar, but when we look at developing our hauling rates, we look to be the lowest price on the market. If we call a potential customer and find they have been quoted a lower price than we offer,

Business & life goals from behind the windshield

DRIVERSMAG.COM
by Timothy D. Brady
The line between your life as a trucking businessperson and your personal life is never clear-cut. It's extremely difficult to separate the two, so why fight it? As you set your goals and make your business plan, you need to think integration, not separation.
 

Fan your way to success

DRIVERSMAG.COM
by Timothy D. Brady
We all know that as truckers our objective is continually to haul at capacity with reasonable rates creating a reasonable profit. The trick in being able to accomplish this goal is summed up in two words-- customer service. But who are our customers?

Developing a profitable relationship with your carrier

DRIVERSMAG.COM
by Timothy D. Brady
What makes it possible for a carrier to contract to haul a shipper's commodities? The person who holds the steering wheel. Truckers are the troops in the trenches, the foot soldiers of American commerce. Without you, the trucker, the world stands still.

Business & life goals from behind the windshield

DRIVERSMAG.COM
by Timothy D. Brady
The line between your life as a trucking businessperson and your personal life is never clear-cut. It's extremely difficult to separate the two, so why fight it? As you set your goals and make your business plan, you need to think integration, not separation.
 

Fan your way to success

DRIVERSMAG.COM
by Timothy D. Brady
We all know that as truckers our objective is continually to haul at capacity with reasonable rates creating a reasonable profit. The trick in being able to accomplish this goal is summed up in two words-- customer service. But who are our customers?

Developing a profitable relationship with your carrier

DRIVERSMAG.COM
by Timothy D. Brady
What makes it possible for a carrier to contract to haul a shipper's commodities? The person who holds the steering wheel. Truckers are the troops in the trenches, the foot soldiers of American commerce. Without you, the trucker, the world stands still.

Dreaming of being an owner-operator

DRIVERSMAG.COM
by Timothy D. Brady
In this trucker's opinion, there really isn't a driver shortage -- it's a misunderstanding by companies of what truckers want and need. The dream of many drivers is to achieve the independence of owning and operating their very own truck and bringing the American dream home by having their own business.