With the addition of the South Coast haul, we needed more equipment to make it work. So, I went shopping.
We have worked out a drop-and-hook system with SOCOMI. We leave empty trailers at their facility, and when we return, they are already loaded. This cuts down on loading and unloading times considerably.
A driver can take an empty trailer to Brookings, drop it, hook onto a loaded trailer, secure the load, and head back to town. On night shift, drivers can even drop that load in the yard, hook onto a 40′-20′, and go run local work.
New 45-foot flatbed trailers cost around $60,000 each. Instead, I spent some time looking and found four used trailers for less than $40,000 total.
Then we needed trucks to pull them. New Kenworths are running around $160,000 each. After a little more shopping and some negotiating with the salesman, I was able to buy two trucks with less than 60,000 miles on them for not much more than the price of one new truck.
These were all great deals.
Please don’t think we bought all this because we have money falling out of our pockets. We bought what we needed, and we worked hard to get the best value possible.
I know management is always asking everyone to work hard to make things happen, but we work at it too.
George and Tracy are juggling loads and trucks like nobody’s business. When I check in on Chelsey, I can’t tell if she’s doing Pilates or wrestling a stack of applications while trying to find us drivers. Phil has been helping inspect trailers and keeping the shop lined out getting equipment ready. Ryan stays busy this time of year, and he and I have meetings coming up with our bankers to discuss how the year is shaping up.
A month ago, I told you all to hold on because it was about to get busy.
We are on our way.
— Troy