Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/232692
What's the biggest thing drivers could do to improve safety and efficiency when maneuvering around truck stop lots or loading locations? "Lots of drivers are driving too fast in the parking lot. There's no need to change gears four times. They drive [at truck stops] like they're on the highway." Terry Harrison Laddonia, Mo. | Owner-operator "They shouldn't get out of second gear in the parking lot. Ninety percent of truck stops do not post the speed limit. Drivers shouldn't drive more than 5 mph through the parking lot." Ralph Wilson Tanner, Ala. | Company driver, Dixie Transportation "Quit smoking while fueling. I get on them all the time. Diesel burns slower, but it's hotter than gas." Walter Washington Lyons, Ga. | Company driver, Aurora Global Logistics "Drivers make the turns at truck stops too fast. They back up without checking blind spots instead of taking time. After they fuel, they don't pull over [blocking other trucks in]. You can't leave." Edward De Azevedo Cape Coral, Fla. | Company driver, Bolt Express PULSE Prosperity's catch T his year could be good for owner-operators. The economy in mid-December was strong enough for the Federal Reserve to ease its stimulus measures, and the Dow set a record high on that news. Also last month, unemployment fell to its lowest rate in five years. Half of fleet executives polled in November by Commercial Carrier Journal, Overdrive's sister publication, expected business conditions to improve in the next six months. Only 3.1 percent said conditions would worsen. For owner-operators, notes Todd Amen, head of financial services provider ATBS, there are some clear pluses: • One is "significant money coming back into the market to finance owner-operators." If you're among those who have been hamstrung since the recession with marginal credit and a truck in need of trading, this should be good news. • Lower fuel prices. A chart on page 20 shows how cheaper diesel in mid-2013 helped boost owner-operator income. • Finally: "A good demand balance between freight and trucks," notes Amen. Dry van freight volume was static or fell each year since the recession ended, says Bob Costello, American Trucking Associations economist, but last year it showed "solid year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter gains. … The acceleration of dry van freight gives me the idea that things are going to be better in 2014 than they were in 2013." As for what's not going right, possibly the biggest hindrance to running as an owner-operator in 2014 isn't callous fleets, ignorant inspectors or brain-dead four-wheelers. It's the ever-tightening chokehold of regulation. Economist Eric Starks says 2014 will contain the largest concentration of regulatory changes in trucking's history. Among the known or potential changes are California Air Resources Board emissions rules, hours of service, and requirements for electronic logging devices and speed limiters. "These regulations will be game-changers," "The acceleration of dry van freight gives me the idea that things are going to be better in 2014 than they were in 2013." — ATA economist Bob Costello said Starks, president of FTR Associates, addressing the CCJ Fall Symposium in Scottsdale, Ariz. Such roadblocks can filter out operators who simply can't – or won't – comply. "Between increasing demand for freight services and regulatory pressures," says Costello, "I expect fleets to remain challenged finding enough qualified drivers." Will that driver demand be strong enough to run up rates significantly? Or will regulations and related costs, such as CSA-influenced insurance rate hikes, force more owner-operators out of business or into company driver jobs, as Internet Truckstop's Pat Dickard believes? Hard to say, but if you can stay compliant and hang in there, you'll find out. By Max Heine Editorial director mheine@randallreilly.com January 2014 | Overdrive | 5 Voices_0114.indd 5 12/20/13 3:18 PM