Nicky Hammerlane here. Been busy the last couple of months hauling for my son and grandsons’ trucking company.
Every so often they get caught short on drivers and they call Grandpa out of retirement. Spent nearly 30 years before retiring and taking my old International home, but getting on the road’s in my blood, so from time to time I take up the slack.
Like any old trucker, I enjoy sitting in the drivers’ area of a truck stop restaurant, listening to the new and old truckers’ stories. Every so often, some trucker recognizes my black Stetson on a hat rack or the back of a chair.
A couple weeks ago I sat drinking my morning joe in a small, independent truck stop café between Jackson and Nashville on I-40. I looked up to see an attractive woman in her mid-forties staring at my hat. She caught my eye and said, “Mr. Hammerlane?”
I stood and said, “Nope, that’d be my dad. I’m Nicky Hammerlane.”
She said, “You’re a hard man to locate. I’ve been trying to catch up with you for better than a month, Mr. Hammerlane...“
I interrupted, “Please call me Nicky. People who call me ‘Mr.’ are usually giving me a traffic citation. What can I do for you?”
“Well … uh – “ she stuttered, “I was told you might be able to help me. My name is Beth Wheeler.” I invited her to sit down on the bench across the table.
“What can I do for you? Would you like some coffee?”
Beth responded, “No coffee, thanks. To get right to the point, my little trucking company is in trouble, big trouble. And I’m at my wits’ end on what to do. Do you have some time?”
“Trucking can be a hard business, especially when things start to go wrong," I said. "But nearly everything is fixable, you just need to see the road through the traffic. I’ve got time. I’m waiting for my next load.”
Beth took a deep breath. “Mister….I mean, Nicky, here’s the situation. My one major outbound freight account closed its doors two months ago. All I got was a fax saying they were ceasing operations. That account represented nearly 70% of my total revenue, and the backhaul freight only accounted for 30%. Losing this shipper has really caused a steep drop in revenue."
"To add to the problem, my base area typically has extremely cheap outbound freight," she continued. "This one customer was an exception to the rule. So there isn’t any decent-paying outbound freight available, and the majority of my inbound has been brokered freight. And to be honest, the outbound paid so well, I never worked on getting a great rate back. It was more important to get my trucks turned around ASAP, to get the next outbound load. The only good news is at least they didn’t close down owing me a lot of money.”
I listened as she explained she had six trucks and a great bunch of drivers. With the freight and revenue loss, it was becoming harder and harder to keep them loaded. The fact was, if revenue and loads for the outbound legs of her freight lanes didn’t increase shortly, she was going to have to start laying off drivers.
“How do you decide which drivers to let go?" Beth tearfully said. "It’s like telling a member of your family, 'I can’t take care of you any more, so you have to leave!'”
I handed her a paper napkin.
“Several years ago I was faced with a similar situation, and as you can see, I’m still here and my trucking company is still thriving under my son and grandsons," I said. "So let’s see what we can do.”
We talked for another two hours in the café booth, looking over the details of the freight lanes for each of her trucks she’d had before the customer shut down operations. I sat back rubbing my chin, a habit when I’m thinking.
“Here are the challenges I see you need to overcome. One, your current inbound freight needs to be completely reworked so that your highest rate is on your inbound loads. Two, you still need specific freight lanes for each truck and driver that generate the needed revenue each month. You were doing that right, at least halfway. And three, diversify your customer base so you don’t have any more than 30% of your revenue tied up in one shipper or broker.”
“Nicky, those are some pretty tall orders.”
“Well,” I said, “you’ve got to start someplace, and I’ve always found if you take on the most difficult task first, and complete it, each task that follows falls into place.”
“So you think you can help me?” Beth asked.
I nodded slowly.
“I’m pretty sure I can. Where’s your trucking company located?”
“Just outside of Jacksonville, Florida,” Beth answered, then hesitated. Finally she asked, “What’s your fee for helping me do all this?”
I grinned at her.
“Beth, you probably couldn’t afford my fee, if I were to ask for one. But if you feel it’s worth it when I’m done, just make a contribution to the Northwest Tennessee Disaster Service, to help those folks down in Louisiana flooded out by that hurricane.”
“Sounds more than fair. So where do I start?”
I began, “Your first assignment will be to replace that lost revenue by finding the best paying and most profitable freight lane coming into your home terminal. Start by looking into locations no more than 1 or 2 days’ legal driving from your home base. Initially, you’ll need to get yourself a good load board service, and probably contact freight brokers that handle those areas.”
We stood up and Beth reached over to shake my hand and thank me for my time. I explained that I’d make it a point to be in her office in Florida within the week to go over what she found.
“Give me a call at this number,” I passed her one of my business cards. “And then we’ll get together and figure out which loads will work and which won’t.”
As she left the café, I was on the phone to my grandson, working out the details to get me through Jacksonville sometime in the next week.
Join Nicky next time for the conclusion of the Case of the Missing Lane. How will he find the decent-paying freight Beth needs to stay in business?
About the author: Timothy D. Brady is a speaker, business coach, and trucking industry guru. He provides training and educational presentations for small to large trucking companies, logistics organizations, and community groups. Learn more about Tim at http://www.timothybrady.com/
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