Overdrive Radio

Is there an ideal size for an owner-operator as he/she adds trucks, drivers and freight? The answer to that question is probably, well, "it depends." It's certain, though, that whether leased or independent with carrier authority, any owner is bound to reach a point where administrative and/or sales/operational demands outstrip his/her ability to handle everything -- and still haul. 

Cadle Trucking owner Ben Cadle is just about at that breaking point, and feels he may have reached his "sweet spot" of sorts at 11 full-time drivers and trucks in operation (12 if you count him and his "Joy Ride 3" cabover, too, though his hauling frequency seems less and less as time goes on). His fleet's size has doubled over the course of the last five years, and "I don't want any more trucks at this point, he said, “It gets to a certain point it’s like, 'Yeah, I’m good.'”

As have so many small fleet operators I’ve talked to through the years, Cadle credits his drivers as the bedrock of his success. Not that he’s getting rich, he emphasizes, but rather “trying to get to a comfortable point, and that’s about it. Trying to secure the future.” As are no doubt our three Small Fleet Champ finalists you’ll hear in today's edition of the Overdrive Radio podcast: James Davis of JDT out of Oregon(platform freight), Evan Guckien of Indiana-based Ed Burns & Sons (mostly platform), and Louisiana tank hauler John McGee Trucking. All three here offer insights on hiring and retaining the best drivers, on the issue of size and manageability, on learning to delegate, on the huge challenges that small fleet owners with motor carrier authority are facing with insurance costs when it comes to primary commercial auto liability. And more.

Three petitions, two to beef up the reg requiring broker disclosure of all freight charges, among other records, on both sides of a transaction, another to remove the reg entirely. In today's Overdrive Radio podcast, track back through the myriad of views through the entire Oct. 28 listening session.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s listening session on brokered freight transactions this past Wednesday, October 28, shone light from multiple viewpoints on regulation that today exists and that some feel is being circumvented by brokers to owner-operators', shippers' and the public's detriment. Others -- brokers, principally -- voice the view that the reg has outlived its usefulness and applicability in today's freight market.

In this edition of the Overdrive Radio podcast, track back through the entire session, with quite a lot of commentary from the broker side of the equation at the top, but with truckers further weighing in in roughly equivalent numbers as the session wears on.

At issue specifically: three petitions, two to beef up the regulation requiring disclosure of all freight charges on both sides of a brokered transaction, another to remove the reg entirely. 49 Code of Federal Regulations 371.3(c) is the part of the broker regulations at principal issue – it enshrines that all parties to a brokered transaction have a right to review the record. Find more reporting on the subject via http://OverdriveOnline.com/tag/brokers and the origin story of this most recent attention to the issue after this year's Mayday protests in the depths of the freight downturn via this link to a past podcast: https://www.overdriveonline.com/eld-mandate-protestor-provider-discuss-brokers/

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s listening session on brokered freight transactions this past Wednesday, October 28, shone light from multiple viewpoints on regulation that today exists and that some feel is being circumvented by brokers to owner-operators', shippers' and the public's detriment. Others -- brokers, principally -- voice the view that the reg has outlived its usefulness and applicability in today's freight market.

In this edition of the Overdrive Radio podcast, track back through the entire session, with quite a lot of commentary from the broker side of the equation at the top, but with truckers further weighing in in roughly equivalent numbers as the session wears on.

At issue specifically: three petitions, two to beef up the regulation requiring disclosure of all freight charges on both sides of a brokered transaction, another to remove the reg entirely. 49 Code of Federal Regulations 371.3(c) is the part of the broker regulations at principal issue – it enshrines that all parties to a brokered transaction have a right to review the record. Find more reporting on the subject via http://OverdriveOnline.com/tag/brokers and the origin story of this most recent attention to the issue after this year's Mayday protests in the depths of the freight downturn via this link to a past podcast: https://www.overdriveonline.com/eld-mandate-protestor-provider-discuss-brokers/

Owner-op Artie Daniel's built his business with a mind on selling his service to the customer, whether broker or shipper, and building solid connections, with close communication and always with an eye out for side opportunities for his one-man, two-truck, five-trailer operation.

An owner-operator's over-reliance on the path of least resistance to freight will like as not get him/her in trouble in a down market, notes longtime independent Artie Daniel, out of McKinney, Virginia. Not that he doesn't understand the attraction of today's online marketplaces and the speed and convenience they offer for freight. But he's built his business over time and through the years with a mind on serving a customer (whether broker or shipper) toward building a solid connection, with close communication and more. "You've got to build relationships with people who you can trust, to make it work," he said. If you don't have that, "you're at their mercy." Plenty more from Daniel's history and about his 1982 Kenworth W900A, bought a few years ago from an original owner who'd put only scant miles on the unit over decades as his personal truck.

An owner-operator's over-reliance on the path of least resistance to freight will like as not get him/her in trouble in a down market, notes longtime independent Artie Daniel, out of McKinney, Virginia. Not that he doesn't understand the attraction of today's online marketplaces and the speed and convenience they offer for freight. But he's built his business over time and through the years with a mind on serving a customer (whether broker or shipper) toward building a solid connection, with close communication and more. "You've got to build relationships with people who you can trust, to make it work," he said. If you don't have that, "you're at their mercy." Plenty more from Daniel's history and about his 1982 Kenworth W900A, bought a few years ago from an original owner who'd put only scant miles on the unit over decades as his personal truck.

The title of this Overdrive Radio podcast sounds a little like the set-up for an inside-baseball joke of sorts, but for owner-operator Mike Landis and Ezlogz head and former owner-op C.J. Karman, that day was a serious one indeed. Directly and indirectly in a variety of ways, its culimination of the three-week Mayday-begun protest vigil outside the White House has had material effects in terms of getting the conversation going around enforcement and potential enhancement of the 49 CFR 371.3 transparency requirement for brokers when other parties in a freight transaction request it.

Here, Landis and Karman nonetheless narrate the story of how the two came to be on the same page in talks over the issue with the White House chief of staff in May 2020.

FMCSA recently extended the comment period on three petitions and the transparency regulation in general through November 18. Find a link to where you can comment at Regulations.gov directly in this recent coverage of the extension: https://www.overdriveonline.com/fmcsa-extends-comment-period-on-broker-transparency-petitions/

Among the questions: "Can I use a three-hour nap and not get penalized on it in the 14-hour rule?" You can, but depending on the ELD you're using it may not be obvious that you're not in violation. More questions answered in this Overdrive Radio.

Answers to several hours of service questions in this edition of the Overdrive Radio podcast, including:

1. Can I use a three-hour nap and not get penalized on it in the 14-hour rule?

2. How do you log a 20-load back and forth load/unload trip where there's scantly a mile between load/unload sites?

3. To use split sleeper, does it matter if the shorter period is longer than three hours? Is the pause value for the duty clock still there?

Also: a peculiarity of some ELDs that makes it seem as if the shorter of the sleeper/off-duty periods hasn't changed much at all when it comes to the ability to pause the 14-hour clock, and one provider's efforts to improve the split experience in their app.

Bonus: Several voices -- and plenty horns -- from 'That's a Big 10-4 on D.C.' on the National Mall October 2 in D.C.