Author Archive
RWI Transportation, Wilder, Ky., was recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing companies in America.
Inc. Magazine released its 2012 list of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the nation in mid-August, according to a news release.
The list is based on percentage revenue growth over a three-year period.
From 2008 to 2011, RWI transportation reached 17.6% in revenue growth, according to the release.
In June RWI expanded into a new 9,000-facility in Fort Thomas, Ky., to accommodate its expanding logistics unit.
“RWI Transportation has experienced expansive growth through recent years as a result of our reputation for quality service, flexibility and responsiveness to the marketplace,” Richard Bauer, executive vice president and general manager of RWI Transportation, said in the release. “We are extremely proud of the fact that, despite a slowly recovering economic environment, we have been able to achieve such impressive growth, and we’re honored to be recognized for our efforts by Inc. Magazine.”
To view the complete results of the list, visit www.inc.com/inc5000.
Cargo Data Corporation, Ventura, Calif., has released the Orange Wedge digital temperature recorder.
This temperature recorder is designed specifically for monitoring inter-company transfers and cross-dock movements, according to a news release.
Orange Wedge comes with an out-of-range alert. This feature allows unloading staff at the receiving dock to immediately know if an inter-company transfer shipment has strayed from desired temperature and other conditions during transit.
The Orange Wedge is compatible with Cargo Data’s KoldLink desktop application, according to the release.
The KoldLink also takes temperature data to Cargo Data’s UpLink cloud data access facility.
Is the Mexican truck border program falling apart? If so, that would be music 
to the ears of many, if not the majority in the trucking industry. On the other hand, produce shippers and others will not be too happy.
As reported here on August 23rd, a federal audit would be coming soon on the cross-border pilot program involving Mexican based trucking companies being allowed to operate in the USA.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration estimated that 46 Mexican carriers would participate in the three-year pilot program. The feds were planning to conduct 4,100 inspections during this time. However, only four Mexican trucking companies have participated, involving only four trucks and five drivers. A total of 89 inspections have been conducted by the FMCSA. Ouch!
The controverisal program has created some strange bedfellows in trucking. For example the Owner-Operators Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters seldom agree on much of anything. However, they’ve tightly held hands fighting this issue based around fears that a flood of Mexican trucks in the USA will drive down freight rates, many of which are not much different from 20 years ago. There also are concerns by owner operators over safety issues with Mexican equipment and lack of training among Mexican drivers.
Meanwhile produce shippers and others favoring Mexican trucking access to USA markets like the idea of greater competition leading to lower freight rates.
If the pilot program falls apart, with few Mexican trucking companies interested in participating, some produce shippers are concerned the Mexican government will re-implement tariffs of everything from apples to pears and potatoes – with some tariffs being as high as 20 percent.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), under which this pilot program is operating, requires the USA to permit cross-border trucking. However, legal challenges over the years by American carrier groups have prevented Mexican trucks from operating north of the border for over 10 years.
During the 2011-12 shipping season, truckers hauled nealy 35,000 truckload 
loads of Colorado potatoes to destinations thoughout the USDA. The Rocky Mountain state has started shipments for the 2012-13 season, although volume is very light.
Harvesting began in August with some farming operations, but others are just getting underway with digging potatoes. San Luis Valley potato acreage is up slightly this year and totals 55,100 acres. While this is certainly significant, it doesn’t compare to th 72,000 acres planted a decade ago. 70 years ago colo had 175 grower/shippers. now there are about 20. although fewer, they are much larger operations.
Some growers started harvesting in August, and others are beginning in early-to-mid September, depending on location and conditions.
The San Luis Valley produces 92% of Colorado’s potatoes, with the remaining spuds coming primarily from the Greeley area. Colorado is ranked in the top five potato producing areas in the USA, both in acres planted and production. Colorado is the number 2 fresh potato shipper in the country.
Location of the San Luis Valley is south, central CO. It is found southwest of Pueblo, CO, with the heart of its potato shipments coming from the Monte Vista and Center, CO area.
85% of the valley’s potatoes are russets, although it produces about 60 different variets of potatoes in all.
England Logistics, Salt Lake City, has ranked 24th overall in Utah Business magazine’s “Fast 50.”
The award recognizes 50 of the fastest growing companies in Utah according to revenue growth from 2007 to 2012, according to a news release.
To be eligible for the award, businesses have to be at least five years old, the headquarters must be in Utah and be an independently-held corporation, partnership or proprietorship.
“England Logistics is very proud to be included in this year’s Fast 50,” Josh England, president said in the release. “As a Utah company it is exciting to see so many businesses in the state thriving during these tough times.”
The companies will be featured in the September 2012 issue of Utah Business magazine, according to the release.
While loading opportunities for summer vegetables in the mid-west and 
northeast may have been hindered some due to dry, hot weather, loadings are expected to be brisk for this fall in Georgia. Normal vegetables shipments are expected from the southern part part of the state. Here’s a look at when primarily fall veggies shipments should be available.
These items should continue providing loads in good volume until the first frost hits, which normally comes in mid to late November. The exception is cabbage, which is more frost resistant.
Squash –mid September
Cucumbers — late September
Peppers — early October
Corn and beans — mid October
Cabbage — early November
As the fall Georgia vegetable shipments start declining in November, loading opportunities will be increasing in Florida. However, Florida volume will be light, compared to its most active time of the year, which is spring.
Good brokers are known for sticking up for the men and women behind the 
wheel of the big rigs delivering perishable fresh fruits and vegetables. That can mean rattling the cage of a shipper or receiver who are making a tough job even tougher for long haul truckers.
********
Darrell Miller, Mark Martin, Robin Bicksler, Brent Schmit and Tristan Schmit.
***********
Brent Schmit is president of Eclipse Dist., Inc. located about an hour’s drive west of Chicago in Elburn, Il. One of the most common complaints he hears from drivers relate to the attitudes of people.
For example, Brent points out a driver arrives at shipping point in California to make a pick up. “The lady behind the desk tells the driver to hang on for a second. She is on the phone talking to her girl friend or someone else and won’t give the driver the bill of lading,” Brent states. “The driver is already loaded. Then the driver gets the bill of lading and it states he was loaded out an hour earlier.”
Then upon arriving at destination late, the receiver looks at the bill of lading and says the driver left the loading dock at shipping point earlier than the driver claims to have left. But in reality that is not true.
“A little more cooperation with the drivers would help,” laments Brent. “If you miss an appointment out there at shipping point, they will push you off until the next day, or sometimes give you a later appointment (that day), if you are lucky.”
Brent adds if the trucker arrives at shipping at a certain time, then has to wait five hours, what is the shipper’s responsibility? he asks. Additionally, if the receiver is claiming they needed the truck earlier, and if the truck had been loaded five hours earlier, the load would have been delivered when needed.
“I think the way the economy has been, it has affected business, and over all it has been a slower year,” Brent states. “I understand all of that, but they (shippers and receivers) put the pressure on everyone. The drivers aren’t happy, because they are not making as much. The customers aren’t happy because they are paying more for freight, and they aren’t selling as much.”
Eclipse, which arranges about 3,000 loads a year, handles a lot of less-than-truckload.
“There’s not a lot of people that want to handle the LTL,” Brent says. Everybody wants the one pick up, one drop. There are fewer headaches. It takes a certan finess to get and LTL done. Not only are you up all night with the driver, making sure he gets loaded, they you are trying to get deliveries arranged so the produce is taken off the truck.”
About 90 percent of Eclipse’s loads are with produce with the remainder being out bound loads from the Chicago area involving dry freight. The truck brokerage has produce loads from all over the country delivered to Chicago area receivers.
Brent and his staff take pride in the job accomplished with the challenging LTL deliveries. He notes Chicago is one of the largest distribution hubs in the USA.
“This is where we shop, where we eat, where we go to restaurants — everything. It is an enjoyment for us because we brought all this produce in from California and elswhere,” Brent concludes.
Summertime loads for produce haulers in New Jersey growers are declining, 
but there are still a limited amount of peaches being shipped. However, peach shipments will wrap up within days. There’s also limited handling of basil and mint are also finishing and will be halted by frost that typically occurs in mid-October.
The fall season shipments for spinach, escarole/endive, lettuces, turnips, radishes, and white and sweet potatoes are just getting started. There also are less amounts of vegetables ranging from cabbage to collards, kale, beets, Swiss chard, pickles, cucumbers, .radishes, butternut and acorn squash, and herbs such as parsley, dill, coriander, arugula and cilantro.
The top volume fresh-market vegetables in New Jersey are: tomatoes, sweet corn, peppers, cabbage, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, eggplant, escarole, snap beans and asparagus. The primary fresh-market fruits are strawberries, blueberries, peaches, and apples. Jersey also is one of the top five states in producing cranberries for processing.
New Jersey also ships apples, but unlike the major Western apple shipping states, the Jersey fruit is shipped after harvest. without being stored time in controlled atmosphere conditions. New Jersey apple loadings began in late-August, with the Gala, MacIntosh, Jonathan and Courtland varieties, and are followed by Red Delicious, Empire, Jonagold and McCoun. Golden Delicious, Rome and Stayman Winesap start shipments in mid- to late September. Braeburn, Fuji and Granny Smith will start in early-October.
Beginning today (September 7th) Maryland State Police are beginning a zero-tolerance policy to issue tickets amounting to $60 
to truckers parking on the shoulder of Interstate 83. The police say commercial truck drivers should plan in advance where they ant to park when they need a break — and not park on the shoulder of Interstate 83.
There has been an increase in tractor-trailers parked on the side of the highway between Interstate 695 in Towson, MD and the Pennsylvania state line, the police claim. Police say the parked trucks lead to “extremely dangerous conditions.”
Fact is, there simply are not enough parking spaces available for the trucking industry, not only on I-83, but the entire state of Maryland. There are not any truck stops along I-83 in Maryland, which runs from Baltimore to Harrisburg, Pa.
“For the Maryland State Police to take the position that drivers needs need to adequately plan routes to make sure they can stop at a parking facility represents a fundamental misunderstanding of what these drivers face every day — weather, congestion, available hours to drive — without providing them with adequate parking. What other option do they have? Drive tired? No one wants to see them to do that,” a spokesman for the Maryland Trucking Association told The Trucker.
Truckers can’t be forced to move because most stop only because they are out of hours. Truck drivers are urged to stop at rest areas, welcome centers or weigh stations.
The state police said electronic highway signs will also be used to remind drivers about the increased enforcement..
Wisconsin ranks No. 4 in the nation for potato shipments an estimated 22.32 
million hundredweight (cwt) of potatoes loaded last season. The Badger state growers harvested 62,000 acres of spuds. The harvest got under way in late August.
Crop quality concerns do exist across the state, and we have a long way to go to harvest conditions for storage,
If you are a produce hauler looking to transport Wisconsin potatoes for the 2012-13 season, there are some potential quality issues with which you should be aware. This is essential to help avoid potential claims and rejected loads.
Warm temperatures may have triggered heat necrosis (resulting in death of plant tissue due to disease, etc.). Hot soils also may result in black heart (where internal plant tissues blacken). Furthermore, insect damage [such as wire worm] has been seen that is also triggering defects. You also need to watch for late blight. Some early potato blight (a devastating disease of potatoes that caused of the Irish potato famine of the mid- 19th century) has been noted in early August, which is caused by cooler, wet weather.
Most Wisconsin potato shipments orginate from the central area of the state. From Antigo to the Stevens Point area and southward around Bancroft and Friesland.
RWI Transportation, Wilder, Ky., was recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing companies in America.
Inc. Magazine released its 2012 list of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the nation in mid-August, according to a news release.
The list is based on percentage revenue growth over a three-year period.
From 2008 to 2011, RWI transportation reached 17.6% in revenue growth, according to the release.
In June RWI expanded into a new 9,000-facility in Fort Thomas, Ky., to accommodate its expanding logistics unit.
“RWI Transportation has experienced expansive growth through recent years as a result of our reputation for quality service, flexibility and responsiveness to the marketplace,” Richard Bauer, executive vice president and general manager of RWI Transportation, said in the release. “We are extremely proud of the fact that, despite a slowly recovering economic environment, we have been able to achieve such impressive growth, and we’re honored to be recognized for our efforts by Inc. Magazine.”
To view the complete results of the list, visit www.inc.com/inc5000.
Cargo Data Corporation, Ventura, Calif., has released the Orange Wedge digital temperature recorder.
This temperature recorder is designed specifically for monitoring inter-company transfers and cross-dock movements, according to a news release.
Orange Wedge comes with an out-of-range alert. This feature allows unloading staff at the receiving dock to immediately know if an inter-company transfer shipment has strayed from desired temperature and other conditions during transit.
The Orange Wedge is compatible with Cargo Data’s KoldLink desktop application, according to the release.
The KoldLink also takes temperature data to Cargo Data’s UpLink cloud data access facility.
Is the Mexican truck border program falling apart? If so, that would be music to the ears of many, if not the majority in the trucking industry. On the other hand, produce shippers and others will not be too happy.
As reported here on August 23rd, a federal audit would be coming soon on the cross-border pilot program involving Mexican based trucking companies being allowed to operate in the USA.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration estimated that 46 Mexican carriers would participate in the three-year pilot program. The feds were planning to conduct 4,100 inspections during this time. However, only four Mexican trucking companies have participated, involving only four trucks and five drivers. A total of 89 inspections have been conducted by the FMCSA. Ouch!
The controverisal program has created some strange bedfellows in trucking. For example the Owner-Operators Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters seldom agree on much of anything. However, they’ve tightly held hands fighting this issue based around fears that a flood of Mexican trucks in the USA will drive down freight rates, many of which are not much different from 20 years ago. There also are concerns by owner operators over safety issues with Mexican equipment and lack of training among Mexican drivers.
Meanwhile produce shippers and others favoring Mexican trucking access to USA markets like the idea of greater competition leading to lower freight rates.
If the pilot program falls apart, with few Mexican trucking companies interested in participating, some produce shippers are concerned the Mexican government will re-implement tariffs of everything from apples to pears and potatoes – with some tariffs being as high as 20 percent.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), under which this pilot program is operating, requires the USA to permit cross-border trucking. However, legal challenges over the years by American carrier groups have prevented Mexican trucks from operating north of the border for over 10 years.
During the 2011-12 shipping season, truckers hauled nealy 35,000 truckload loads of Colorado potatoes to destinations thoughout the USDA. The Rocky Mountain state has started shipments for the 2012-13 season, although volume is very light.
Harvesting began in August with some farming operations, but others are just getting underway with digging potatoes. San Luis Valley potato acreage is up slightly this year and totals 55,100 acres. While this is certainly significant, it doesn’t compare to th 72,000 acres planted a decade ago. 70 years ago colo had 175 grower/shippers. now there are about 20. although fewer, they are much larger operations.
Some growers started harvesting in August, and others are beginning in early-to-mid September, depending on location and conditions.
The San Luis Valley produces 92% of Colorado’s potatoes, with the remaining spuds coming primarily from the Greeley area. Colorado is ranked in the top five potato producing areas in the USA, both in acres planted and production. Colorado is the number 2 fresh potato shipper in the country.
Location of the San Luis Valley is south, central CO. It is found southwest of Pueblo, CO, with the heart of its potato shipments coming from the Monte Vista and Center, CO area.
85% of the valley’s potatoes are russets, although it produces about 60 different variets of potatoes in all.
England Logistics, Salt Lake City, has ranked 24th overall in Utah Business magazine’s “Fast 50.”
The award recognizes 50 of the fastest growing companies in Utah according to revenue growth from 2007 to 2012, according to a news release.
To be eligible for the award, businesses have to be at least five years old, the headquarters must be in Utah and be an independently-held corporation, partnership or proprietorship.
“England Logistics is very proud to be included in this year’s Fast 50,” Josh England, president said in the release. “As a Utah company it is exciting to see so many businesses in the state thriving during these tough times.”
The companies will be featured in the September 2012 issue of Utah Business magazine, according to the release.
While loading opportunities for summer vegetables in the mid-west and northeast may have been hindered some due to dry, hot weather, loadings are expected to be brisk for this fall in Georgia. Normal vegetables shipments are expected from the southern part part of the state. Here’s a look at when primarily fall veggies shipments should be available.
These items should continue providing loads in good volume until the first frost hits, which normally comes in mid to late November. The exception is cabbage, which is more frost resistant.
Squash –mid September
Cucumbers — late September
Peppers — early October
Corn and beans — mid October
Cabbage — early November
As the fall Georgia vegetable shipments start declining in November, loading opportunities will be increasing in Florida. However, Florida volume will be light, compared to its most active time of the year, which is spring.
Good brokers are known for sticking up for the men and women behind the wheel of the big rigs delivering perishable fresh fruits and vegetables. That can mean rattling the cage of a shipper or receiver who are making a tough job even tougher for long haul truckers.
********
Darrell Miller, Mark Martin, Robin Bicksler, Brent Schmit and Tristan Schmit.
***********
Brent Schmit is president of Eclipse Dist., Inc. located about an hour’s drive west of Chicago in Elburn, Il. One of the most common complaints he hears from drivers relate to the attitudes of people.
For example, Brent points out a driver arrives at shipping point in California to make a pick up. “The lady behind the desk tells the driver to hang on for a second. She is on the phone talking to her girl friend or someone else and won’t give the driver the bill of lading,” Brent states. “The driver is already loaded. Then the driver gets the bill of lading and it states he was loaded out an hour earlier.”
Then upon arriving at destination late, the receiver looks at the bill of lading and says the driver left the loading dock at shipping point earlier than the driver claims to have left. But in reality that is not true.
“A little more cooperation with the drivers would help,” laments Brent. “If you miss an appointment out there at shipping point, they will push you off until the next day, or sometimes give you a later appointment (that day), if you are lucky.”
Brent adds if the trucker arrives at shipping at a certain time, then has to wait five hours, what is the shipper’s responsibility? he asks. Additionally, if the receiver is claiming they needed the truck earlier, and if the truck had been loaded five hours earlier, the load would have been delivered when needed.
“I think the way the economy has been, it has affected business, and over all it has been a slower year,” Brent states. “I understand all of that, but they (shippers and receivers) put the pressure on everyone. The drivers aren’t happy, because they are not making as much. The customers aren’t happy because they are paying more for freight, and they aren’t selling as much.”
Eclipse, which arranges about 3,000 loads a year, handles a lot of less-than-truckload.
“There’s not a lot of people that want to handle the LTL,” Brent says. Everybody wants the one pick up, one drop. There are fewer headaches. It takes a certan finess to get and LTL done. Not only are you up all night with the driver, making sure he gets loaded, they you are trying to get deliveries arranged so the produce is taken off the truck.”
About 90 percent of Eclipse’s loads are with produce with the remainder being out bound loads from the Chicago area involving dry freight. The truck brokerage has produce loads from all over the country delivered to Chicago area receivers.
Brent and his staff take pride in the job accomplished with the challenging LTL deliveries. He notes Chicago is one of the largest distribution hubs in the USA.
“This is where we shop, where we eat, where we go to restaurants — everything. It is an enjoyment for us because we brought all this produce in from California and elswhere,” Brent concludes.
Summertime loads for produce haulers in New Jersey growers are declining, but there are still a limited amount of peaches being shipped. However, peach shipments will wrap up within days. There’s also limited handling of basil and mint are also finishing and will be halted by frost that typically occurs in mid-October.
The fall season shipments for spinach, escarole/endive, lettuces, turnips, radishes, and white and sweet potatoes are just getting started. There also are less amounts of vegetables ranging from cabbage to collards, kale, beets, Swiss chard, pickles, cucumbers, .radishes, butternut and acorn squash, and herbs such as parsley, dill, coriander, arugula and cilantro.
The top volume fresh-market vegetables in New Jersey are: tomatoes, sweet corn, peppers, cabbage, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, eggplant, escarole, snap beans and asparagus. The primary fresh-market fruits are strawberries, blueberries, peaches, and apples. Jersey also is one of the top five states in producing cranberries for processing.
New Jersey also ships apples, but unlike the major Western apple shipping states, the Jersey fruit is shipped after harvest. without being stored time in controlled atmosphere conditions. New Jersey apple loadings began in late-August, with the Gala, MacIntosh, Jonathan and Courtland varieties, and are followed by Red Delicious, Empire, Jonagold and McCoun. Golden Delicious, Rome and Stayman Winesap start shipments in mid- to late September. Braeburn, Fuji and Granny Smith will start in early-October.
Beginning today (September 7th) Maryland State Police are beginning a zero-tolerance policy to issue tickets amounting to $60 to truckers parking on the shoulder of Interstate 83. The police say commercial truck drivers should plan in advance where they ant to park when they need a break — and not park on the shoulder of Interstate 83.
There has been an increase in tractor-trailers parked on the side of the highway between Interstate 695 in Towson, MD and the Pennsylvania state line, the police claim. Police say the parked trucks lead to “extremely dangerous conditions.”
Fact is, there simply are not enough parking spaces available for the trucking industry, not only on I-83, but the entire state of Maryland. There are not any truck stops along I-83 in Maryland, which runs from Baltimore to Harrisburg, Pa.
“For the Maryland State Police to take the position that drivers needs need to adequately plan routes to make sure they can stop at a parking facility represents a fundamental misunderstanding of what these drivers face every day — weather, congestion, available hours to drive — without providing them with adequate parking. What other option do they have? Drive tired? No one wants to see them to do that,” a spokesman for the Maryland Trucking Association told The Trucker.
Truckers can’t be forced to move because most stop only because they are out of hours. Truck drivers are urged to stop at rest areas, welcome centers or weigh stations.
The state police said electronic highway signs will also be used to remind drivers about the increased enforcement..
Wisconsin ranks No. 4 in the nation for potato shipments an estimated 22.32 million hundredweight (cwt) of potatoes loaded last season. The Badger state growers harvested 62,000 acres of spuds. The harvest got under way in late August.
Crop quality concerns do exist across the state, and we have a long way to go to harvest conditions for storage,
If you are a produce hauler looking to transport Wisconsin potatoes for the 2012-13 season, there are some potential quality issues with which you should be aware. This is essential to help avoid potential claims and rejected loads.
Warm temperatures may have triggered heat necrosis (resulting in death of plant tissue due to disease, etc.). Hot soils also may result in black heart (where internal plant tissues blacken). Furthermore, insect damage [such as wire worm] has been seen that is also triggering defects. You also need to watch for late blight. Some early potato blight (a devastating disease of potatoes that caused of the Irish potato famine of the mid- 19th century) has been noted in early August, which is caused by cooler, wet weather.
Most Wisconsin potato shipments orginate from the central area of the state. From Antigo to the Stevens Point area and southward around Bancroft and Friesland.