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Lifestyle Trucker News

How Does a Catering Truck Driver Spend a Workday?

Starting the Day

The catering truck driver starts his day by filling up with fuel and cleaning the outside of the truck, especially if the truck has the shiny aluminum-type body. He will then check his inventory of food and drinks to be sure he has everything he needs. If he is low on his inventory, he will go purchase any food and non-food items he needs to stock the truck for the day. If he sells pre-made sandwiches, he will have them made or purchase them already pre-made at this time.

Working

Most catering truck drivers have a route they follow. They will drive to the first stop on their route and set up for business. They will prepare any food that is not prepared already, set out condiments if they sell hot dogs and hamburgers and make sure there is plenty of each type of drink in the coolers. They will spend a set amount of time at this stop, then move on to the next stop on their route. They will continue these steps until they reach the end of their route.

Ending the Day

At the end of the route, the catering truck driver checks the inventory and makes a list of items that will need to be purchased in the morning. He cleans the inside of the truck, including the grill and other cooking equipment, if the truck is so equipped. If he did not get gas in the morning, he may get gas at this time. He will wipe down the outside of the truck again, making sure that nothing is stuck to the aluminum finish, making it easier to shine in the morning.

Conclusion

Some catering truck drivers stay in one location all day, but most will go from office to office throughout the lunch hours. Because there is only so much space in these trucks, they must do inventory daily. They generally do not have employees, so all administrative tasks are done at the end of the day and usually include only income and expense reports.

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Lifestyle Owner Operators

How to Find Local Truck Driving Jobs

Trucks play an essential role in the U.S. economy. Therefore, truck drivers have an integral part in transporting goods around the country.

Becoming a truck driver does not mean that you have to be away from home all the time. Companies and businesses rely on these trained professionals to deliver goods and services locally, not only to distant destinations. This makes it possible to work as a truck driver by day and spend time with family and friends after work.

Obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL), which is a requirement for any type of truck driving job. You must successfully complete a truck driving training program to receive a CDL. Options for training programs include community colleges, private truck driving schools and truck company schools.

Ask for a referral and reference from your training school program. Companies and businesses often post job notices with training programs when they are hiring drivers. Community colleges sometimes offer job placement services for their graduates as well.

Apply at local businesses and companies that use truck drivers. Mail delivery services use drivers for local deliveries. Other businesses to consider are lumber yards, furniture stores, automobile distributors, moving companies and retail businesses.

Make use of the local classifieds. Search the want ad section of the newspaper for truck driving jobs. Place your own “Truck Driver Available” ad as well.

Network with other drivers. Let people know that you are actively pursuing a truck driving job. Ask truck driving friends and acquaintances to keep you informed about possible openings. Local jobs may be obtained through word of mouth.

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Lifestyle Trucker News

Save Money on Transportation

The price of gasoline is higher than ever, but there are several things you can do to trim your transportation budget. This article shows you how.

One of the most effective steps that you can take to reduce the cost of getting from one place to another is purchasing a used car that is less than 5 years old. This allows you to get a relatively new car that is still in good shape, but still escape the steep depreciation that new cars suffer after they are bought. Be sure to choose a car that has good gas mileage as well, because with today’s prices, this can save you hundreds of dollars a year on fuel.

Shop around carefully for car insurance. There are several websites available that you can use to compare rates such as esurance.com. You also need to evaluate whether you should have collision and comprehensive coverage on your older car. Keeping minimal liability coverage can drastically lower your premiums. Also, if your cash reserves are sufficient, raising your deductible will reduce the cost of your coverage as well. Finally, having more than one type of policy with the same carrier can net you a package discount. Shopping around for gas can make a bigger difference than you think as well. Gas is cheaper in some states than in others; those who live near the state line may be wise to run for the border when they head for the pumps. Using a gas rebate credit card can also take some of the bite out of the cost of fuel. There are several cards available that will pay you cash back on your gas purchases. Public transportation and carpooling at least some of the time will also reduce the cost of gas, parking and maintenance on your vehicle. Even a few trips per month will add up to a noticable savings over time.

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Lifestyle Trucker News

How Does Commercial Truck Insurance Work?

Commercial truck insurance covers a variety of commercial truck types, including tractor-trailers, dump trucks, straight trucks and pickup trucks. This type of insurance can be purchased by owner-operators for a single truck or for companies that need to insure an entire fleet of trucks.

Basic Coverages
Commercial truck insurance, like personal automobile coverage, provides standard protections such as comprehensive and collision, general liability, uninsured/under insured motorist protection and medical payments.

Specialized Coverages for Commercial Trucks
Commercial truck insurance also includes specialized business-related coverages that add further protection to the standard policy. Motor truck cargo coverage affords protection against lost, stolen or damaged cargo in transit. Trailer Interchange coverage protects the insured against losses to non-owned trailers being pulled by their insured trucks. Non-trucking (bobtail) liability offers protection to owner-operators who are permanently leased to an ICC-regulated carrier. This provides coverage for trucks when not being used directly for business purposes, such as when a truck is bobtailing and goes to a truck wash or to a shop for repairs.

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Lifestyle Trucker News

‘Pay It Forward’ success

At the Truckload Carriers Association’s recent Refrigerated Division annual meeting in Albuquerque, N.M., carrier owners and upper-level management, as well as industry suppliers, were issued an unusual challenge: Randomly provide some employees with $100 each and ask them to use the money at their discretion for charitable purposes.

The challenge stemmed from longtime TCA member John Christner, president and chief executive officer of John Christner Trucking Inc. of Sapulpa, Okla., who has already been implementing a “Pay It Forward” program within his own company for the last two years.

Christner said he got the idea from another company and from a book and movie of the same title. The idea of “Pay It Forward” centers on doing a favor for another person – without any expectation of being paid back and with the hope the recipient will, in turn, help someone else in need.

“The results [of this program] have been amazing, even phenomenal,” he told the meeting. “This is about giving someone in your work force the power to do something for mankind.”

Christner recounted numerous stories about how the $100 “seed money” has helped others. His employees have given warm clothes to the homeless, purchased groceries and gasoline for low-income families, and even contacted vendors for matching grants to make their $100 stretch much further. He told one story in which someone used the seed money to set up a dental appointment for a man who had very bad teeth. During the visit, the dentist discovered the man had oral cancer. “Because of this one random act of kindness, the cancer was discovered early enough to save his life, and that’s a priceless achievement,” Christner said.

Immediately after the session ended, 55 people approached Christner to sign up for the program. Christner gave each the first $100 to get them started. He also provided basic instructions, asking each person to begin by selecting different employees, such as mechanics, accountants, dispatchers and drivers.

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Lifestyle Trucker News

How to find loads for trucking Business?

Register with a load board online that matches drivers with loads. Many sites keep updated information on their sites daily and allow the drivers to contact the company directly to arrange the job. By paying a monthly fee that averages about $29.95, you can access the members-only site day and night for available loads.

Look for load boards that have a quick turnover in the job postings. A good load board shouldn’t carry load requests for more than 24 hours if it has an active membership. Companies in need of trucking services tend to use the boards that provide quick turn-around as well.


Utilize the services of a freight broker who acts as a third party negotiator and acquires jobs for you. Freight brokers operate on retainer fees or earn a commission on each match they provide. A freight broker has many industry contacts; some businesses prefer to deal with a broker rather than directly with truckers, so they will have access to jobs that aren’t listed on open load boards.

Bid on jobs through websites that list loads in need of moving. This is a much slower process and may take awhile to build repeat business. However, there are no upfront costs associated with bidding sites. Instead, you pay a fee to the organization hosting the bidding once you’ve signed a contract with a company to move their load.

Post your availability and the parameters of your trucking capabilities on a reverse load board. Brokers and businesses search these sites for drivers who match their needs. Post standing vacancies or put up a notice when you find yourself with a one-way load.

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Lifestyle Trucker News

Truck sales rise

Used Class 3-8 truck sales in June increased 9 percent over May despite a lack of available inventory, said ACT Research Co. For the year, used sales are 6 percent behind last year’s pace.

Meanwhile, the firm reported net trailer orders in June dropped 26 percent from May, the third consecutive monthly decline.

“Used truck mileage continues to edge up, in response to fleets holding onto their equipment longer,” said Steve Tam, ACT vice president-commercial vehicle sector. “The market is still awaiting some relief to the shortage of sellable inventory as well as upward price pressures. Improving new truck sales will result in increased trade-ins, and should provide some relief to the market.”

The falloff in June trailer orders, combined with an increase in production, resulted in industry backlogs dropping 5 percent month over month. The industry order board ended June at 97,000 units, ACT said.

“The fall-off in net orders was greater than anticipated,” said Frank Maly, director CV Transportation Analysis and Research with ACT. “A positive factor to keep in mind is that cancellations of existing commitments on the order boards were not an issue; new order weakness was the cause.”

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Lifestyle Trucker News

Electronic shipment system in Canada

In September, Canada will begin phasing in the third stage of its Advance Commercial Information for motor carriers.

Canada Border Services Agency’s eManifest will require trade community members to electronically submit trade information to the CBSA at least an hour before their shipment’s arrival in Canada. The agency’s goal is to identify health, safety and security threats in commercial goods.

The eManifest Portal was developed mainly for small- to medium-sized enterprises to ease the transition from paper reporting to pre-arrival electronic data transmission.

Once fully implemented, eManifest will require trade partners for all transportation modes to electronically provide cargo, conveyance, crew/passenger, secondary and importer data to the CBSA before arrival at the border.

Starting Sept. 1, release requests must be transmitted to the CBSA electronically if the total number of invoice lines is 250 or fewer. By February 2012, release requests must be made electronically if the total number of invoice lines is 500 or fewer.

Finally, by 2012, release requests must be transmitted electronically if the total number of invoice lines is 999 or fewer.

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Lifestyle Trucker News

Minnesota ends shutdown!

Minnesota’s government will begin to resume services July 21, but state officials have not indicated when rest areas and other services used by truckers will be reopened.

On July 20, Gov. Mark Dayton signed into law budget and bonding bills the Legislature approved during a special session earlier in the day. However, state representatives have not said when the public safety department’s Driver and Vehicle Services will reopen.

On July 14, Minnesota Trucking Association President John Hausladen sent letters to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and state congressional representatives describing how trucking was hurt by the government shutdown. “We urge your agency to fully engage the situation in Minnesota to ensure that the state is honoring its obligations as a safety and enforcement partner,” Hausladen wrote.

Truck stops lacked enough parking to accommodate the overflow of trucks that drivers normally would have parked at rest areas.

Truckers also were hurt by the lack of DVS services. Motor carrier could not obtain apportioned plates through the International Registration Plan, preventing companies from registering trucks. That affected those receiving time-sensitive freight, including perishable food, medical supplies or disaster-relief materials.

Truckers could use local registrars to renew CDLs. but only the DVS can issue permanent cards to replace temporary licenses or renew hazardous materials credentials. Third-party vendors could not obtain motor vehicle records or could companies register pro-rated trucks.

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Lifestyle Trucker News

Shipping Carbon Plan Includes Penalties

The World Shipping Council and regulators in Japan say their joint plan on vessel efficiency would set fees for operators of ships that do not meet new environmental and energy standards.

The shipping group and the Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism released details on Tuesday of the Vessel Efficiency Incentive Scheme the submitted to the International Maritime Organization, a plan sets a regulatory path for environmental improvements in the business.

The paper details their joint proposal to stimulate improvements in the carbon efficiency of the world’s maritime fleet in detail, including how the system would work in practice and how it compares to other proposals under consideration by the IMO.

The proposal would establish efficiency standards for both new and existing ships in the world fleet. Vessel efficiency would be measured using the Energy Efficiency Design Index developed by the IMO.

New and existing ships meeting the specified standards would not be subject to any fees or costs other than those costs associated with the design and installation of more efficient ship technologies.

Ships that fall short would be required to pay a fee based on the amount of fuel consumed and how far short of standard the specific ship falls. The per-unit fee applied to each metric ton of fuel is adjusted based on the relative efficiency of the vessel. Ocean carriers and said it hopes the paper and the joint WSC-Japan proposal contribute to efforts at the IMO to address the industry’s carbon emissions.