With all the bickering over how to solve our economic woes, getting credit has just gotten even tougher. I think getting credit should get tougher so that we become more responsible with our choices, tighter with the money we have, more focused on profit rather than borrowing, but credit is usually essential to keep a brokerage growing.
I found this article on About.com on how to maximize your business’s ability to get needed cash by writing a winning business plan. I’ve edited it a bit to be a quicker read.
Why Business Plans Don't Get Funded
by Akira Hirai, Cayenne Consulting
Investors see thousands of business plans each year, even in this down market. Apart from a referral from a trusted source, the business plan is the only basis they have for deciding whether or not to invite an entrepreneur to their offices for an initial meeting.
With so many opportunities, most investors simply focus on finding reasons to say no. Every mistake counts against you.
Avoid the most common errors found in business plans:
1. Content Mistakes/ Failing to relate to a true pain
You are in business to get paid for making pain go away.
Pain, in this setting, is synonymous with market opportunity. The greater the pain, the more widespread the pain, and the better your product is at alleviating the pain, the greater your market potential.
A well written business plan places the solution firmly in the context of the problem being solved.
2. Value inflation
Phrases like "unparalleled in the industry;" "unique and limited opportunity;" or "superb returns with limited capital investment"—taken from actual documents—are nothing but assertions and hype.
Investors will judge these factors for themselves. Lay out the facts—the problem, your solution, the market size, how you will sell it, and how you will stay ahead of competitors—and lay off the hype.
3. Trying to be all things to all people
Many early-stage companies believe that more is better. They explain how their product can be applied to multiple, diverse markets, or they devise a complex suite of products to bring to a market.
Most investors prefer to see a more focused strategy, especially for early stage companies: a single, superior product that solves a troublesome problem in a single, large market that will be sold through a single, proven distribution strategy.
That is not to say that additional products, applications, markets, and distribution channels should be discarded—instead, they should be used to enrich and support the highly focused core strategy.
You need to hold the story together with a strong, compelling core thread. Identify that, and let the rest be supporting characters.
4. No go-to-market strategy
Business plans that fail to explain the sales, marketing, and distribution strategy are doomed.
The key questions that must be answered are: who will buy it, why, and most importantly, how will you get it to them?
You must explain how you have already generated customer interest, obtained pre-orders, or better yet, made actual sales—and describe how you will leverage this experience through a cost-effective go-to-market strategy.
5. "We have no competition"
No matter what you may think, you have competitors. Maybe not a direct competitor—in the sense of a company offering an identical solution—but at least a substitute. Fingers are a substitute for a spoon. First class mail is a substitute for e-mail. A coronary bypass is a substitute for an angioplasty.
Competitors, simply stated, consist of everybody pursuing the same customer dollars.
To say that you have no competition is a fast way to get your plan tossed—investors will conclude that you do not have a full understanding of your market.
The "Competition" section of your business plan is your opportunity to showcase your relative strengths against direct competitors, indirect competitors, and substitutes.
Besides, having competitors is a good thing. It shows investors that a real market exists.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
www.freightbrokertraining.com
www.justintimefreight.com
Communication is key
My friend and business affiliate contributed today's blog:
Every Freight Broker, Shipper and Carrier knows that on any given day hundreds if not thousands of freight loads go bad. The possibilities for a load to go bad are endless, since there are so many aspects and people involved in the moving of a load. It has been my personal experience to have had everything go wrong from a carrier not showing up for a pick up to a carrier getting sidetracked in Vegas while he had my load. The sidetracked Vegas trucker eventually ran out of money and fuel thus stranded a day away from his destination. I’ve had a load stolen (though no fault of mine...load was recovered). Carriers however are not always the problem. Snowstorms, bad weather, trucks breaking down, DOT and even the shippers changing plans or load details at the last minute can turn a load into a nightmare. The key to controlling a situation like this is communication. Shippers are not new to these types of situations and can be very forgiving to a Freight Broker providing they are kept in the loop. It is essential for the broker to contact the shipper as soon as he finds out about an issue with the shipper’s load. The worst thing that can happen is that the shipper finds out about a problem from someone other than their broker. Make sure the shipper has a clear understanding of the situation and tell them what you are doing about it. Keep in touch with them periodically even if you have no new news just to let them know that you are still on it. Regarding the carrier, make sure you have the dispatcher’s phone number, the driver’s phone number and an after hours number. It is imperative that you can reach the driver and dispatcher during a crisis. Make sure to talk with both the dispatcher and driver to get all the details of the situation. Sometimes you don't get the whole story by just talking to one. Stay on top of the carrier to make sure that they are doing all they can to handle the situation. We had a situation occur with a first time shipper the other day. A carrier cancelled the load an hour before picking up on a Friday at 5:00 (good luck finding a replacement truck) and after all was said and done, the shipper had this to say "don't worry about it, appreciated the good communication, you and I are all good". Let me tell you again, communication is key to keeping your shippers.
Douglas Dillon
G First Logistics
357 Longbush Lane
Webster, NY 14580
Ph 585-368-5643
Fax 585-368-5650
www.gfirstlogistics.com
Thanks Doug. Communication is vital. When things don't go as planned we can cope much better when we are thoroughly informed along the way.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
Every Freight Broker, Shipper and Carrier knows that on any given day hundreds if not thousands of freight loads go bad. The possibilities for a load to go bad are endless, since there are so many aspects and people involved in the moving of a load. It has been my personal experience to have had everything go wrong from a carrier not showing up for a pick up to a carrier getting sidetracked in Vegas while he had my load. The sidetracked Vegas trucker eventually ran out of money and fuel thus stranded a day away from his destination. I’ve had a load stolen (though no fault of mine...load was recovered). Carriers however are not always the problem. Snowstorms, bad weather, trucks breaking down, DOT and even the shippers changing plans or load details at the last minute can turn a load into a nightmare. The key to controlling a situation like this is communication. Shippers are not new to these types of situations and can be very forgiving to a Freight Broker providing they are kept in the loop. It is essential for the broker to contact the shipper as soon as he finds out about an issue with the shipper’s load. The worst thing that can happen is that the shipper finds out about a problem from someone other than their broker. Make sure the shipper has a clear understanding of the situation and tell them what you are doing about it. Keep in touch with them periodically even if you have no new news just to let them know that you are still on it. Regarding the carrier, make sure you have the dispatcher’s phone number, the driver’s phone number and an after hours number. It is imperative that you can reach the driver and dispatcher during a crisis. Make sure to talk with both the dispatcher and driver to get all the details of the situation. Sometimes you don't get the whole story by just talking to one. Stay on top of the carrier to make sure that they are doing all they can to handle the situation. We had a situation occur with a first time shipper the other day. A carrier cancelled the load an hour before picking up on a Friday at 5:00 (good luck finding a replacement truck) and after all was said and done, the shipper had this to say "don't worry about it, appreciated the good communication, you and I are all good". Let me tell you again, communication is key to keeping your shippers.
Douglas Dillon
G First Logistics
357 Longbush Lane
Webster, NY 14580
Ph 585-368-5643
Fax 585-368-5650
www.gfirstlogistics.com
Thanks Doug. Communication is vital. When things don't go as planned we can cope much better when we are thoroughly informed along the way.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
Both Sides of the Street
When we talk about building a freight brokerage business we tend to focus on the shippers. Of course you need stuff to move but just as important are competent carriers. The carriers I know are golden grassroots folks. They are hard working people who keep our country supplied with essentials and fun stuff too. It seems obvious that we should know as much about our carriers as we can but no one spends time talking with them.
Carve out some time to meet carriers in your area. Call on them. Great questions include: What are your needs? What are your lines? How often do you deadhead?
How can I help you?
Ask questions then sit back and let them talk. With the price of gas having dropped a little, they should be in a good mood. The more you know about both sides of the transportation chain the better able you will be to serve their needs.
Stay dry to all you in the Gulf Coast area as you prepare for Hurricane Ike. Have a great weekend.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
Carve out some time to meet carriers in your area. Call on them. Great questions include: What are your needs? What are your lines? How often do you deadhead?
How can I help you?
Ask questions then sit back and let them talk. With the price of gas having dropped a little, they should be in a good mood. The more you know about both sides of the transportation chain the better able you will be to serve their needs.
Stay dry to all you in the Gulf Coast area as you prepare for Hurricane Ike. Have a great weekend.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
Internet Lead Generation
My name is Daryl Clark Jeff Roach the owner of this blog is a client and friend of mine. I'm the guest blogger today (thanks Jeff!).
My specialty is helping small and medium size businesses take advantage of the Internet as a lead generation tool. One of the questions I frequently receive is, “How do I compare my website traffic with my competitor’s traffic?” Until recently there weren’t many options available. Many people use Alexa.com but the problem with Alexa is their statistics come only from the people who have downloaded the Alexa Tool Bar and added it to their computer. This is a small sampling of Internet users so the data is highly questionable.
The next source I really like is Compete.com. The nice thing about Compete.com is it also gives you an idea of what keywords people use to find your competitor’s websites.
The last and newest source is Google Trends for Websites. This new service from Google gives you a great picture of the long term traffic pattern of your site and your competitors but if you run a small business it doesn’t provide you with any data. I can say it is a great source for qualifying lead generation firms or firms that approach you to advertise in their websites though.
If you would like a free review of your websites true potential fill out my free evaluation form at http://www.internet-search-marketing.com
_ _ _ _ _
Daryl Clark
President
Internet Search Marketing
http://www.internet-search-marketing.com
dclark@internet-search-marketing.com
Ph. 1-866-909-0839 or 1-951-303-0839
Fx. 1-951-303-2136
Daryl has helped me tremendously in this whole new world of internet marketing. It may not seem new to some of you youngsters, but in the scheme of things it is a revolution for the way we all do business. And the technology is always changing, improving and getting even faster.
Moving Forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
My specialty is helping small and medium size businesses take advantage of the Internet as a lead generation tool. One of the questions I frequently receive is, “How do I compare my website traffic with my competitor’s traffic?” Until recently there weren’t many options available. Many people use Alexa.com but the problem with Alexa is their statistics come only from the people who have downloaded the Alexa Tool Bar and added it to their computer. This is a small sampling of Internet users so the data is highly questionable.
The next source I really like is Compete.com. The nice thing about Compete.com is it also gives you an idea of what keywords people use to find your competitor’s websites.
The last and newest source is Google Trends for Websites. This new service from Google gives you a great picture of the long term traffic pattern of your site and your competitors but if you run a small business it doesn’t provide you with any data. I can say it is a great source for qualifying lead generation firms or firms that approach you to advertise in their websites though.
If you would like a free review of your websites true potential fill out my free evaluation form at http://www.internet-search-marketing.com
_ _ _ _ _
Daryl Clark
President
Internet Search Marketing
http://www.internet-search-marketing.com
dclark@internet-search-marketing.com
Ph. 1-866-909-0839 or 1-951-303-0839
Fx. 1-951-303-2136
Daryl has helped me tremendously in this whole new world of internet marketing. It may not seem new to some of you youngsters, but in the scheme of things it is a revolution for the way we all do business. And the technology is always changing, improving and getting even faster.
Moving Forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
Labor Day
My nephew asked, “why is it called Labor Day when no one works?” I used my handy wikipedia to come up with an intelligent answer. Here are some highlights. Cick to read the whole article.
Labor Day originated in 1882 as the Central Labor Union (of New York City) sought to create "a day off for the working citizens".
Congress made Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894 the first Monday in September.
The celebration of Labor Day was to be a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations," followed by a festival for the workers and their families. This became the pattern for Labor Day celebrations. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civil significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.
Today, Labor Day is often regarded as a day of rest and the traditional end to summer. In addition, Labor Day marks the beginning of the season for the National Football League and NCAA College Football. The NCAA usually plays their first games the weekend of Labor day, with the NFL traditionally playing their first game the Thursday following Labor Day.
Labor Day traditions
Wickapedia listed several Labor Day weekend events. My favorite:
Mustaches on the River is an annual event that takes place Labor Day weekend. Traditionally participants grow mustaches for this float down the Russian River in Healdsburg, California. Mustaches are judged at the end of the day and all proceeds benefit charity. The event is seen by its participants as an exercise in self image and free expression.
Popular fashion etiquette dictates that white should not be worn after Labor Day. Western fashion marks labor day as the day to change your hat from straw to felt.
Enjoy the day off, stay dry if you are anywhere near Hurricane Gustof, and be thankful we live in a country of great opportunity.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
Labor Day originated in 1882 as the Central Labor Union (of New York City) sought to create "a day off for the working citizens".
Congress made Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894 the first Monday in September.
The celebration of Labor Day was to be a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations," followed by a festival for the workers and their families. This became the pattern for Labor Day celebrations. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civil significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.
Today, Labor Day is often regarded as a day of rest and the traditional end to summer. In addition, Labor Day marks the beginning of the season for the National Football League and NCAA College Football. The NCAA usually plays their first games the weekend of Labor day, with the NFL traditionally playing their first game the Thursday following Labor Day.
Labor Day traditions
Wickapedia listed several Labor Day weekend events. My favorite:
Mustaches on the River is an annual event that takes place Labor Day weekend. Traditionally participants grow mustaches for this float down the Russian River in Healdsburg, California. Mustaches are judged at the end of the day and all proceeds benefit charity. The event is seen by its participants as an exercise in self image and free expression.
Popular fashion etiquette dictates that white should not be worn after Labor Day. Western fashion marks labor day as the day to change your hat from straw to felt.
Enjoy the day off, stay dry if you are anywhere near Hurricane Gustof, and be thankful we live in a country of great opportunity.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
Concerns Continued
Yesterday I blogged the top five concerns of trucking in 2007. Here are the bottom five. I think these are an interesting read but don’t get bogged down with worry. Obstacles can slow us down or be the impetus for more creative thinking. I can’t say I like it, but I know I have grown more through tough stuff than through status quo. As I quoted yesterday it looks like 2008 will be a growth year so be prepared and may hay while the sun shines.
6. Tolls/Highway Funding. As the survey was conducted last year, the industry perceived an increase in the number of tolled roads in the US and the potential for what was characterized as the “balkanization of the US transportation system.”
Murray notes that as this Presidential election year moves on to November, Congressman James L. Oberstar, the powerful chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is frustrated because he hasn’t heard the word “transportation” come up once from either set of candidates. “He’s getting really nervous,” claims Murray, “since there will be a new administration. One way or the other a new funding bill is coming to guide us for six years and no one seems to be carrying the torch on this one. All the more reason I think highway funding is going to become more prominent than less.”
7. Tort Reform/Legal Issues. “If there weren’t so many zealous lawyers, this might not be as major an issue,” says Murray. “When you look at government statistics, automobile drivers are responsible at a minimum—the smallest number we’ve ever seen—for more than 55% of all truck-automobile crashes. When the automobile driver is responsible for the vast majority of these accidents but the tort law allows you to sue the person with the deepest pockets, it’s very clear that no matter how hard we work to reduce crashes and minimize the truck driver’s responsibility, we’re going to have law suits. It’s essentially an equity issue and tort reform would fix that.”
8. Driver Training/Driver Education. This made the Top Ten list for the first time in last October’s survey report. In the short run, this issue will become more prominent. It will be extremely critical when the industry finally pulls out of this weak economic period. Murray speculates that there will be new regulations detailing minimum driver training qualifications. They will require substantial accreditation, including 120 hours of classroom and 44 hours behind the wheel.
“Trucking companies will have to become accredited schools if they do anything with entry-level drivers,” he says. “It’s sort of the perfect storm. When the next economic up tick hits, there’ll be a major driver shortage again and we’re building a system that almost will not allow us to bring new people into the market. So I expect this issue to go up a notch or two.”
9. Environmental Issues. Anti-idling regulations and other emission reducing efforts are having a strong influence on carriers. “I suspect the thing that’s put Environmental concerns in the Top 10 is its complexity,” says Murray. “For instance, we have air quality issues requiring 200 or 400 pound anti-idling devices which ironically may improve their quality but diminish fuel efficiency. The heavier the truck gets the less efficient it is. So you have almost conflicting Federal policies between fuel efficiency and air quality.”
10. On-Board Truck Technology. Last October’s report was the first in which this issue made an appearance in the Top Ten. “The majority of respondents were not talking about technology mandates,” claims Murray, “but proactive technology solutions. We have tens of thousands of road stability devices hitting the marketplace: lane departure warnings, some of the new collision warning systems, integrated systems. They are bought because they can give really quick paybacks on efficiency and safety. That’s one of the few items on the list because industry is excited about some of the new on-board technologies.”
Looking to results of the next study, Murray says he thinks, “safety, highway finance and congestion are going to be right at the top in 2008 and they are all inter-related to each other. With the new transportation bill in the works, I think we’re going to see some programs that deal with truck funding and truck safety mandate.
Thanks to Greg Williams Director, Financial Analysis and Business Development
of Exel Transportation Services, Inc. for sending me this information.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
6. Tolls/Highway Funding. As the survey was conducted last year, the industry perceived an increase in the number of tolled roads in the US and the potential for what was characterized as the “balkanization of the US transportation system.”
Murray notes that as this Presidential election year moves on to November, Congressman James L. Oberstar, the powerful chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is frustrated because he hasn’t heard the word “transportation” come up once from either set of candidates. “He’s getting really nervous,” claims Murray, “since there will be a new administration. One way or the other a new funding bill is coming to guide us for six years and no one seems to be carrying the torch on this one. All the more reason I think highway funding is going to become more prominent than less.”
7. Tort Reform/Legal Issues. “If there weren’t so many zealous lawyers, this might not be as major an issue,” says Murray. “When you look at government statistics, automobile drivers are responsible at a minimum—the smallest number we’ve ever seen—for more than 55% of all truck-automobile crashes. When the automobile driver is responsible for the vast majority of these accidents but the tort law allows you to sue the person with the deepest pockets, it’s very clear that no matter how hard we work to reduce crashes and minimize the truck driver’s responsibility, we’re going to have law suits. It’s essentially an equity issue and tort reform would fix that.”
8. Driver Training/Driver Education. This made the Top Ten list for the first time in last October’s survey report. In the short run, this issue will become more prominent. It will be extremely critical when the industry finally pulls out of this weak economic period. Murray speculates that there will be new regulations detailing minimum driver training qualifications. They will require substantial accreditation, including 120 hours of classroom and 44 hours behind the wheel.
“Trucking companies will have to become accredited schools if they do anything with entry-level drivers,” he says. “It’s sort of the perfect storm. When the next economic up tick hits, there’ll be a major driver shortage again and we’re building a system that almost will not allow us to bring new people into the market. So I expect this issue to go up a notch or two.”
9. Environmental Issues. Anti-idling regulations and other emission reducing efforts are having a strong influence on carriers. “I suspect the thing that’s put Environmental concerns in the Top 10 is its complexity,” says Murray. “For instance, we have air quality issues requiring 200 or 400 pound anti-idling devices which ironically may improve their quality but diminish fuel efficiency. The heavier the truck gets the less efficient it is. So you have almost conflicting Federal policies between fuel efficiency and air quality.”
10. On-Board Truck Technology. Last October’s report was the first in which this issue made an appearance in the Top Ten. “The majority of respondents were not talking about technology mandates,” claims Murray, “but proactive technology solutions. We have tens of thousands of road stability devices hitting the marketplace: lane departure warnings, some of the new collision warning systems, integrated systems. They are bought because they can give really quick paybacks on efficiency and safety. That’s one of the few items on the list because industry is excited about some of the new on-board technologies.”
Looking to results of the next study, Murray says he thinks, “safety, highway finance and congestion are going to be right at the top in 2008 and they are all inter-related to each other. With the new transportation bill in the works, I think we’re going to see some programs that deal with truck funding and truck safety mandate.
Thanks to Greg Williams Director, Financial Analysis and Business Development
of Exel Transportation Services, Inc. for sending me this information.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
Panic or Patience
Some say we are in a recession but in my neck of the woods it sure doesn’t look like it. The shopping malls are buzzing and restaurants serving up lots of food. Predictions are that the trucking industry will lead the way out of economic issues but still much burdens our industry.
For the past three years, the American Trucking Associations has commissioned the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) to survey the industry and define the major matters being addressed by carriers. Its Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry—2007 was issued in October last year. Even in this short period of time, some of the Top 10 issues have changed their place in the order, moving up or down the list. Here’s a look at those 10 issues as defined last year with additional insights by ATRI’s vice president, Research, Daniel Murray.
1. Hours-of Service (HOS). While this was the top issue last October, edging out Driver Shortages which had previously been number one, its importance has diminished over the past few months. “I think HOS is a relatively stable issue and I would expect that would drop at least several places on our survey,” observes Murray. “This really came out during the height of the instability—court cases, interim rules and even congressional action. There were so many unknowns regarding HOS at the time that I now think we can go back to running companies with HOS in the background.”
The most recent District Court ruling preserving the 11- and 34-hour provisions of current regulations, the HOS controversy may be put on hold for quite a while.
2. Driver Shortages. Though this was a major matter in last October’s survey, with the lessening of demand for freight transport there has been less need for drivers. As always, it’s not just the need for drivers, but the requirement for those with good driving records and skills.
“Talk about a dull edged sword,” says Murray. “There’s an easing on the driver shortage issue because of how bad the economy is. But we all assume that’s a temporary situation.” As the overall economy recovers and demand for more freight movement ratchets up, so will the need for more drivers. It’s an issue that’s not going to go away.
3. Fuel Issues. The reason for this issue being third in October was given as the ability for carriers to recover some of the expense through fuel surcharges. Of late there is increasing focus at many levels on developing and using alternate fuels, ranging from ethanol to hydrogen and everything in between.
4. Congestion. This issue has moved up considerably from year to year as a headache for those using the highways. ATRI points out that average truck speeds and system reliability within many urban areas continues to decline. While several suggestions are offered to attempt to find initiatives to begin solving the problems attendant to congestion, there is obviously no panacea.
5. Government Regulation. While those surveyed in the October report weren’t specific on the matters that caused them concern, the sheer number of them were a burden. “When we went into the issue of Government Regulations,” recalls Murray, “as we surveyed this was a time of major rule making—everything from HOS to EPA engine standards for 2007, driver education. There’s even niche stuff, at least investigation of roll stability mandates on vehicles. They had done that on automobiles and everyone knows they are doing the same on large trucks.”
Exel director Greg Williams sent me this article. I’ll give 6 – 10 tomorrow. I heard on the radio that the decrease in gas prices is likely to continue as consumers are thinking through and not using as much gas as they had. Bus ridership is up. People are actually walking places. It’s all good.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
For the past three years, the American Trucking Associations has commissioned the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) to survey the industry and define the major matters being addressed by carriers. Its Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry—2007 was issued in October last year. Even in this short period of time, some of the Top 10 issues have changed their place in the order, moving up or down the list. Here’s a look at those 10 issues as defined last year with additional insights by ATRI’s vice president, Research, Daniel Murray.
1. Hours-of Service (HOS). While this was the top issue last October, edging out Driver Shortages which had previously been number one, its importance has diminished over the past few months. “I think HOS is a relatively stable issue and I would expect that would drop at least several places on our survey,” observes Murray. “This really came out during the height of the instability—court cases, interim rules and even congressional action. There were so many unknowns regarding HOS at the time that I now think we can go back to running companies with HOS in the background.”
The most recent District Court ruling preserving the 11- and 34-hour provisions of current regulations, the HOS controversy may be put on hold for quite a while.
2. Driver Shortages. Though this was a major matter in last October’s survey, with the lessening of demand for freight transport there has been less need for drivers. As always, it’s not just the need for drivers, but the requirement for those with good driving records and skills.
“Talk about a dull edged sword,” says Murray. “There’s an easing on the driver shortage issue because of how bad the economy is. But we all assume that’s a temporary situation.” As the overall economy recovers and demand for more freight movement ratchets up, so will the need for more drivers. It’s an issue that’s not going to go away.
3. Fuel Issues. The reason for this issue being third in October was given as the ability for carriers to recover some of the expense through fuel surcharges. Of late there is increasing focus at many levels on developing and using alternate fuels, ranging from ethanol to hydrogen and everything in between.
4. Congestion. This issue has moved up considerably from year to year as a headache for those using the highways. ATRI points out that average truck speeds and system reliability within many urban areas continues to decline. While several suggestions are offered to attempt to find initiatives to begin solving the problems attendant to congestion, there is obviously no panacea.
5. Government Regulation. While those surveyed in the October report weren’t specific on the matters that caused them concern, the sheer number of them were a burden. “When we went into the issue of Government Regulations,” recalls Murray, “as we surveyed this was a time of major rule making—everything from HOS to EPA engine standards for 2007, driver education. There’s even niche stuff, at least investigation of roll stability mandates on vehicles. They had done that on automobiles and everyone knows they are doing the same on large trucks.”
Exel director Greg Williams sent me this article. I’ll give 6 – 10 tomorrow. I heard on the radio that the decrease in gas prices is likely to continue as consumers are thinking through and not using as much gas as they had. Bus ridership is up. People are actually walking places. It’s all good.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
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