Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85435
roadside attractions G A UGES Toll roads top route planning list How important is it to you to be able to choose your route? Critical 27% Very important Somewhat important Not important 14% 6% Ninety-five percent of owner-operators can choose their loads, though having control over routes is more elusive, according to a survey of owner-operators by the University of Arkansas' Mack-Blackwell Rural Transportation Center. The most important factor in route planning is toll roads, respondents say. The other factors, in order of importance, are congestion, 53% trip duration, number of fuel stops, distance from home and location of weigh stations. Rates blossoming $2.50 $2.25 $2.00 $1.75 $1.50 $1.25 Mar. 2010 Mar. 2011 Mar. 2012 April 3, 2012 diesel price averages $4.17 Atlanta-Buffalo Chicago-Dallas Dallas-Jacksonville Houston-Mobile Los Angeles-Denver Memphis-Cleveland Philadelphia–Indianapolis St. Louis–Boston Seattle-Phoenix $4.06 $4.08 $4.01 $4.23 $4.12 $4.23 $4.20 $4.34 Demand buzzing for flying freight Warm late-winter temps and early spring growth over much of the East and Midwest has had bee haulers in overdrive to keep up with demand for hive transport. "Most of the bees that pollinate Michigan fruit crops either overwintered in Florida or just finished pollinating almonds in California," wrote Mark Longstroth in the Western Farm Press last month. "One problem is trucking. Most of the truckers that haul bees are booked." Reefer rates soared 16 cents from February to March, while dry van and flatbed increased 14 cents and 11 cents, respectively, says Internet Truckstop. "We expect pricing to remain squarely on the side of the carrier in 2012," says Larry Gross of FTR financial consulting firm. DRY VAN FLATBED REEFER PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST THE CANCELED LOAD FUEL SURCHARGE INDEX (www.Fuel- SurchargeIndex. org) prices are col- lected daily from more than 5,500 truck stops and averaged along specific routes. Owner-operator blogger Phil Madsen (overdriveonline. com/madsen) wrote March 27 about the challenge of protecting yourself against shippers who cancel loads and/or the carriers who cater to them. One operator on Twitter objected to Madsen's recommendation that operators "insist on payment for your services." "In the real world, no way," wrote the reader. "Too many cutthroats out here." All the same, a little solidarity among operators could go a long way, Madsen suggests. If you're not as "protective of your profits as your carrier is," he wrote, carriers and customers alike will continue to "take full advantage of your generosity without the slightest concern for your financial well-being." 10 OVERDRIVE MAY 2012 Internet Truckstop