Life on the Road - Trucking News Blog

An exercise in speculation, otherwise known as dreaming.

The other day I was surfing WikiPedia. (what? you don’t do that?) and I came across this:

Gas Turbine

extracts energy from a flow of hot gas produced by combustion of gas or fuel oil in a stream of compressed air. It has an upstream air compressor (radial or axial flow) mechanically coupled to a downstream turbine and a combustion chamber in between. “Gas turbine” may also refer to just the turbine element.

Energy is released when compressed air is mixed with fuel and ignited in the combustor. The resulting gases are directed over the turbine’s blades, spinning the turbine, and mechanically powering the compressor. Finally, the gases are passed through a nozzle, generating additional thrust by accelerating the hot exhaust gases by expansion back to atmospheric pressure.

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Popularity: 26% [?]

With all the talk on the CB, TV, newspaper, and yes even MySpace about an impending strike on April 1^st due to high fuel prices, I have a few questions to pick your brain.

1. Who are the people wanting to strike? From what I have heard, they are people who do not realize that by a handful of people striking – it does not help anything but hurt their own pocketbook.
2. Is fuel the real reason why everyone is striking? Because if that is true – then why are there so many company drivers wanting to strike??
3. Why would a company driver want to strike to protest fuel prices? I mean, after all – they are not the ones having to pay for their fuel OR maintenance on the trucks they drive.

My last question is probably more of a fear than a question – What will happen to those who will not strike? Will drivers who ARE striking realize that the drivers that are still out there rolling are only trying to support themselves and their families? Last time one of these “little” strikes happened a few months ago I saw posts on the internet where there were incidents of headlights being knocked out, trucks being egged, etc. I think this is ridiculous – it shows that some people do not respect the property of others and the fact that there are actually some people out there that HAVE to keep running in order to keep food on the table and a roof over their family’s head.

I am really hoping for the safety of other drivers and those who are trying to make a living, that this whole strike thing is just one of those rumors everyone hears on the CB.

Popularity: 63% [?]

Some time back I was up in Oklahoma and got involved in a “Rig Move”. Oil Rig that is…big hole puncher.. capable of putting a hole miles deep in the ground. There’s a place in Oklahoma City that makes oil rigs. Naturally after they’re sold they have to be transported.

Ta Da!!! That’s what I do. I Transport big stuff.

So I’m at the “shipper” about daylight….and loaded and rolling about nine thirty in the morning. Perfect. Curfew wasn’t over until nine anyway so I couldn’t be rolling much earlier. I planned on being in Houston the next day. It was shipping out on a boat from some port down there.

So I’m toodling along with an SCR House on my trailer. I have no clue as to what that is or does other than it’s part of an Oil Rig. It’s also about forty foot long, maybe eleven foot wide, twelve foot tall and weighs sixty five thousand pounds. Pay’s pretty good too. All in all it’s just about as close as you can get to a “perfect load”

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Popularity: 36% [?]

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last few weeks, you have seen the price you pay for a gallon of diesel fuel skyrocket; Oil prices have broken records everyday this week. Fuel went up 3.3 cents overnight and have set a new record for diesel at $3.909 a gallon. As I sit writing this article in Georgia, the sign on the truckstop says $4.01 per gallon, and there appears to be no end in sight for the run-up of prices.

Why the big jump, even with all of the gloom and doom stories about how bad the economy is? According to John Wilen, an AP Business Writer, Fed policy on interest rates, ignoring inflation to keep economy going, has driven down the value of the dollar, the same dollars we give to other countries for oil. It has also driven investors to put their money heavily into oil and energy, driving up the price even in the face of adequate supply.

“This cocktail’s been whipped up by the Federal Reserve,” said James Cordier, founder of OptionSellers.com, a Tampa, Fla., trading firm. “Until inflation is their number one concern, we have nowhere to go but up.”

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Popularity: 42% [?]

Carrier: “Hi, it’s John from ABC Trucking… You have a van load posted on Truckstop.com from Dallas to Chicago?”
Broker: “Yes, do you have a truck available?
Carrier: “Yes, he’s empty now, what does it pay?”
Broker: “You called me, what do you need?

… And so starts the negotiation game. But who truly has the advantage in this scenario? The broker of course. The broker now knows that the carrier is calling for something that the broker has and the carrier wants. Game over. The carrier will be forced to give their rate first at which point the broker will initiate a counter offer and they will settle somewhere in between the two rates. But what if:

Broker: “Hey it’s Mike from ABC Brokerage… do you still have that truck in Dallas available to go to Chicago?”
Carrier: “Yes I do. What have you got and what does it pay?

Now, the carrier has forced the broker to throw out their first rate, which of course will be the basis for the negotiation. The broker is going to offer less than what they are getting paid, to make their margin but what if the number that they offer is far greater than what you would have opened with? You may have just left a bunch of money on the table all because you chose not to post your truck.

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Popularity: 37% [?]

No glitz and flash to my post this week as I am working with a work related injury to an arm so today it just the heart of the matter. There is lots to talk about though and I will try to hit the high points. I am fired up about the Nascar news of late yet I am in a good deal of pain. I can’t let this go though so lets talk about the issues at hand shall we?

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Popularity: 35% [?]

Included in this podcast is an interview with the President of The Scuderi Group; Sal Scuderi. Near the end of January, I published a post at Life on the Road regarding the Scuderi Split-Cycle engine; an engine design improvement that, in my opinion, is the most important since Rudolph Diesel improved on the work of Nicolaus Otto.

When The Scuderi Group became aware of a post focusing on their efforts they offered me an opportunity to interview their President; and I accepted. The interview is pretty interesting and, hopefully, I’ll have an opportunity to do a follow up interview in the fall.

Also included in this episode is the conclusion of my commentary regarding Wi-Fi Facts. Give it a listen and, if you’re so inclined, let me know what you think about it.

 

 Trucker Tech Podcast: Episode 7 [00:31:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (609)

It’s been almost two months since I published Episode 6 of the Trucker Tech Podcast. I’m sure nobody lost any sleep wondering whether or not another episode was in the works but, at the same time, I’m hoping you’re all still interested. Episode 6 garnered, by far, the largest number of Trucker Tech Podcast listeners ever and I’m hoping that Episode 7 continues that trend of audience growth.

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Popularity: 42% [?]

………well maybe not.

However….lately there’s been a whole lot of talk about how bad it is in the trucking industry. This is no doubt true. That being the case I find it highly interesting to run across the following articles on various websites.

A World Without Trucks

Chicago’s Freight Subway does the work of 5000 Trucks

Roadless Trucking for the World

And the favorite of Science Fiction readers from way back….

………..The Driverless Car. ……with a driverless truck to follow shortly.

Trucking is changing rapidly. High fuel prices are lending impetuous to those changes. Individual truckers are caught in the gears.

What other impending changes are below the radar?

Popularity: 41% [?]

Sometimes you have to change companies. This is nothing new in the trucking industry.

Wendy Leavitt writing for Fleet Owner says in part:
Driver turnover rates vary hugely across the trucking industry. Private fleets have an average employee turnover of 16%, for instance, while large for-hire carriers see average annual turnover rates in the neighborhood of 130%. Small truckload carriers average 96% turnover, while LTL fleets enjoy an annual turnover rate of only about 15%. Swings this wide can make a statistician airsick, but for years trucking has taken them largely for granted.

Seeing it in print is one thing. Actually being involved is something else. I hate it.

I guess I’d be classified as rather stable….by industry standards at least. This last carrier I was leased to I’ve been with for over four years.

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Popularity: 30% [?]

Getting tired of seeing this picture? That is two in a row for Carl Edwards. He wins the Auto Club 500 in California last week. This week he is in victory lane in Las Vegas, But should he be there? Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 33% [?]