If you're constantly feeling sleepy throughout the day, you might be suffering from sleep apnea. And that could be having a major impact on your long-term health and safety as an expediter. According to the National Sleep Foundation, obstructive sleep apnea is a sleep disorder where your breathing is interrupted repeatedly during sleep, with a breathing pause that lasts at least ten seconds. Sleep apnea occurs when the muscles in the back of the throat fail to keep the airway...

Imagine that you could spend a few moments with successful, million-mile expediters to ask them advice from their years (and miles) of experience to help you learn the ropes and flourish in the expedited trucking business. Well, that's what we've done for you in this feature on ExpeditersOnline.com. We reached out to four top-performing expediters -- with roles that range from solo driver, to owner-operator, to fleet owner -- to give you real-world tips to set yourself up for...

You're considering becoming an expediter to be your own boss, set your own schedule, see the country. Or, perhaps, you even dream of owning your own fleet of trucks in the future. Whatever your ambitions, the expedite business is just that -- a business -- and that involves both risks and rewards. So, as you evaluate expedited trucking as a business opportunity, we've put together this 5-point checklist to help you look at the business with your "eyes wide open." This way, if...

As an expedite owner-operator, your truck is a tool that makes you money. So, if it breaks down on the road, you not only have to pay for the repairs but -- with every hour that truck is down -- you also lose revenue. And that can be catastrophic to your business. How can you more effectively care for your truck to prevent untimely breakdowns -- and protect your financial future? Follow these three tips. 1. Make daily pre-trip inspections a top priority "Truck maintenance, in...

What does the expediting trucking landscape look like for 2016? What trends should we expect? EO recently spoke with industry veterans John Elliott, chief executive officer for Load One LLC, an expedited trucking carrier headquartered in Taylor, Mich., and Stuart Sutton, former president of Sylectus and now CEO of Full Circle TMS, a Toronto-based transportation management software firm. We asked them to peer into their crystal ball and share what they see for 2016. Here are t...

You want to become an expedite owner-operator to launch a new career, see the country, and take charge of your financial future. But if you overlook important start-up expenses, you'll put yourself (and your health) under a lot of stress, as you struggle to pay the bills and keep your dream alive. So, avoid unpleasant surprises by making sure you can cover all your startup costs before diving into the expedite lifestyle. 1. Carrier Costs When you're planning your startup cost...

If you're considering becoming an expeditor but not ready to take the plunge and invest $200,000 for a new straight truck, consider a lower risk option: an expedite van. You can get into a fully equipped van for under $70,000. And if it's rated under 10,001 gross vehicle weight, you can avoid many of the Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations, such as hours of service requirements, which add a lot of complexity and cost to your business. So, if you're looking to haul...

A smart bookkeeping system will save you from heartache and hassle if you’re ever audited by the IRS. And it can help you maximize tax deductions, so you can keep more of the money you earn. But for many expedite owner-operators, staying on top of all your receipts can be an intimidating process, causing you to want to put things off, only to scramble at the last minute, stressing out as you hunt for everything you need to file taxes. How can you push through that feeling o...

One of the facts of life as an expediter is the (often long) wait time between loads. So, if you're going to have to sit for a while, you might as well enjoy and make the most of that layover, right? What should you look for in an ideal layover destination? EO spoke with veteran team expediters Bob and Linda Caffee and Tom and Tina Evans to get their advice and learn about their favorite layover hot spots. As you evaluate prospective layover locations, keep these questions i...

On November 30, 2015, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a final rule, effective January 29, that protects truck drivers from coercion by motor carriers and third-party logistics firms to violate hours-of-service and other commercial vehicle regulations. Said FMCSA acting administrator Scott Darling in the agency's announcement: "Any time a motor carrier, shipper, receiver, freight-forwarder, or broker demands th...