Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/893962
Voices 4 | Overdrive | October 2017 Landstar-leased owner-op- erator Bill Ater had his "feet in the starting blocks, hands on the floor" Aug. 29, a few days after Hur- ricane Harvey delivered record rainfall in Houston, flooding the city. Ater, based in Fort Worth, Texas, was staged in South Texas, waiting for the go on asso- ciated relief shuttles. Ater says he's worked 14 or 15 hurricane relief efforts over as many years with Landstar, all of which offer a chance he appreci- ates as much or more for the human connections as for the income opportunity. Such is the case for many in trucking: When an area of the country is in dire need, owner-operators are often on the front lines of relief, motivated in part by profit potential but also by quali- ties intrinsic to humanity. Ater's fleet's contract with the Federal Emergen- cy Management Agency means the opportunity has been somewhat frequent for him. Other owner-op- erators find their way to FEMA loads through brokerages contracted with the agency. Income- and logistics-wise, the expe- rience can be positive or frustrating, depending on the amount of preparation that goes into the effort, says Jennifer Fogg, TBS Factoring president and head of the affiliated Fox- hole Logistics brokerage. The brokerage was launched this year by the former disaster-response contractor, who noted in the midst of Hurricane Irma relief efforts that owner-operators should get day wait rates in the contract ahead of time instead of "getting delayed and [then] asking for extra money," Fogg says. "Ask a lot of questions about fueling options along the route, too. One of the biggest problems we have is carriers getting in with just enough fuel to get to the location, then [having trouble] refueling to come out." Ater went into the Har- vey-affected area, not as impacted by fuel shortages as Florida, prepared for 30 continuous days of service. He packed his cab accord- ingly with water and other provisions, knowing he'd be paid a day rate. Trucking's disaster response is not all fun and games. For example, truck- ing is not immune to price gouging. Driver and former longtime owner-operator Jerry Novak, who hauls today for New Carlisle, Ohio-based Evans Cattle Co./DJ Hauling, recalled hearing about a company that "wanted to charge a farmer in Tyler, Texas, $1,200 to bring a load of hay 200 miles." Novak's own "bittersweet trip to the Gulf Coast" in early September was a delivery of donated hay to Orange, Texas. "The last five miles put tears in my eyes," he says. "Seeing the water line on people's homes two feet from the foundation – the worst After disaster, truckers spring into action "The worst part is seeing people's lives piled alongside the road," says owner-operator Jerry Novak. Following Hurricane Harvey's flooding in Texas, driver Jerry Novak hauled donated hay to feed livestock in Orange County, east of Beaumont. Courtesy of Jerry Novak