Transcript Transportation - Western Hardwood

Transportation Issues
and the Hardwood Industry
John & Jenni Bourdon
Optimus Transport, Inc.
Arrow Industries – Warehouse & Transload
Photography by Ed Zoller,
Owner-Operator, Optimus Transport, Inc
How Smaller Fleets fill the Niches
in Regional Transportation -What’s a “niche?”
“The expression niche is borrowed from ecology and implies a
situation or an activity perfectly suited to a person, a given type of
personality, a business model . . .
…the process of finding and serving small industry segments and
designing custom-made products or services for them. . . .
…big companies find those market segments too small to serve
profitably as they often lack economies of scale;
…niche fillers are often reliant on the loyalty business model.”
Etymology – by Wikipedia.org
What “niches” do smaller fleets fill?
o
Logistics – “one call does it all”
Regional carriers :
Know their traffic lanes
Have built relationships with industry partners
Can more effectively plan freight movement into, out of, and within their area
◊Transport Topics Weekly says –
o
Liaison
Less than 150 tractor units
Familiar with regional mills, shippers/receivers, transloads, Ports-of-Entry, etc.
◊control
Jenni
says––work directly with their own drivers/Owner Ops
Better
overB
trucking
o
Loyalty
For a Regional Carrier, less than 30
Able to more effectively prioritize shipments for established customers
Give preference to and make allowances for the needs of established customers
What to expect from your “Niche” filler -o
Communicative
Accessible, attentive, attuned
Competent
They do what they say they’ll do when they say they’ll do it
Capable of facilitating seamless freight movement& communicating progress
Competitive
Provide real-life rates that help you stay competitive and trucks stay on the road
“How can I help?”
Weekly
Retail
Diesel
Prices
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/wohdp/diesel.asp
West Coast
Averages
Dec 2003 $1.60
April 2004
Oct 2004
April 2005
Oct 2005
April 2006
23+% increase
over past 12 months
Challenges for OTR transportation - Across the board increase in all types of
expenses
 Soaring fuel costs
(nearly 70% annually - previous three year
period)

Shortage of qualified, competent drivers

Reduced highway capacity – increase in traffic
volume and density for most regions

Increased regulations & security measures including
Homeland Security rules, etc.
Driver shortage – issues that impact

Lifestyle

Driver Pay

Increased Cost of Truck Ownership

Skyrocketing Fuel Prices

Changes to Hours-of-service

Aging Workforce
How can we help?
Optimus Transport, Inc - 8 years serving the Northwest (WA, OR, ID, MT)
20+ maxi curtain vans
Platinum Fleet Safety Award Winner
Arrow Industries - - Warehouse & Transload
Indoor railcar and container load/unload
Centrally located to the region at the Port of Olympia, WA
(just south of Tacoma/Seattle & north of Vancouver/Portland )
Optimus Transport, Inc.
 Phone: 360-570-0090
 Fax: 360-570-8808
 Email: [email protected]