Get ready for the downturn -- it's always right around the corner

In this Part 2 edition of the Overdrive Radio podcast featuring conversations with Owner-Operator of the Year Glen Horack, the Missouri-based hauler elaborates on themes of preparation broached in Part 1 last week. Asked for his most salient advice for any new or aspiring owner in this day and age, he made reference to the grand cyclical nature of the economy -- and trucking specifically of course. What goes up must come down.

The owner-operator, leased with his 2022 Peterbilt 579 to Springfield, Missouri-headquartered Prime Inc., was speaking in June and noted market dynamics then evident that suggested to him the turn was either at hand or right around the corner.

Through Prime's driver app, "They send us a message every day ... as to what fuel's going to do at midnight," he said, advance notice of pending price changes for effective foresight for purchase decisions. At that time in June when we talked, he noted diesel had been occasionally going "down for one or two days. Then it'll go up the next five days or so in a row. And it'll go up much quicker than it'll go down."

With that he laughed at the end of it, one of those kinds of chuckles you might have to let fly to keep from crying.

Get ready, build your cash reserves, however you do it -- and before you get in business, he emphasized for those new to trucking. "Don't try to operate on a shoestring," Horack said.

Sooner or later, he added, with a big downturn typical for freight markets about every 10 years, if not more frequently, you're definitely going to need that nest egg.

Also in the podcast:

Owner-operator Horack today teams with his wife, Karla, whose acumen for cooking on the truck has enabled the pair run a lean operation, not just in the financial sense. Karla’s cooking methods and recipes are diverse, yet her in-cab cooking equipment is just a single, quite versatile piece.

The Horacks are no doubt looking forward to enjoying some time at home with family and friends next weekend as the 9th Annual Sam Biggs Memorial Bike Show and Poker Run, a benefit to research into childhood cancers, is set for Sept. 10, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at American Legion Post 639, 2660 S. Scenic Ave. in Springfield, Missouri. Glen is a cofounder of the event, with its brainchild owner-operator Thomas Miller. Miller's a fellow past Owner-Operator of the Year. (The event today, with a subsequent effort in Illinois, is more than just the two owner-operators’ baby, though. It’s a big-tent effort involving family, friends and the community at large.) Find more about it via this link: https://bikeweekevents.com/motorcycle-events/sam-biggs-memorial-bike-show-and-poker-run/

Read more about Glen Horack's history in business: https://www.overdriveonline.com/owner-operator-of-the-year/article/15294600/top-ownerop-in-good-shape-for-run-toward-the-finish-line

Read more about Thomas Miller: https://www.overdriveonline.com/owner-operator-of-the-year/article/14887997/prime-owner-operator-thomas-miller-named-overdrives-2014-owner-operator-of-the-year-wins-25k-cash