A Professional Fast Track

Landstar Agents and Owner-Operators in Expedited Services

Landstar Business Capacity Owner (BCO) Andy Johnson says he genuinely enjoys the challenges of working in the world of expedited services. "Expedited serves a real need," Johnson says. "Some freight must get there more quickly or with more specialized handling than regular over-the-road can provide. I handle anything from getting a load of parts there before the entire auto line will shut down to delivering a shipment of temperature-controlled medication immediately to save lives. I find that rewarding."

Another common challenge, as Johnson sees it, is finding creative ways to meet a customer's expedited needs. "Expedited moves a very wide variety of cargo, and it takes a great team and a lot of creativity to meet some of the more unusual needs," he says. "But we get to move some really cool loads: aerospace parts, equipment for major sports games and music tours, medication, missiles, paint, power plant parts, rocket ship parts, satellite pieces, slot machines, trade show displays, vaccines … the list goes on and on."

Besides the cool factor in hauling interesting and mission-critical loads, there are more tangible perks to operating as an expedited services provider. "There isn't always a lot of downtime with expedited, as the nature of the service is pickup and delivery as quickly as you can while meeting all safety requirements," Johnson says. "But if you're driving one of the smaller trucks, fuel economy is better, and it's much easier to find parking!"

Independent owner-operators like Landstar BCOs Donna Chambers and her husband, Robert, say they enjoy the challenge of changing how they think about running their business. "A lot of BCOs new to expedited say they don't want to do a lot of deadheading because of the cost," according to Donna. "But, with our business, in an expedited sprinter, we can go 500 miles, and it's not going to cost us an arm and a leg. Usually, when we drop off a load, if we're in an area where there isn't much freight, we'll go ahead and move 150, 200 or even up to 500 miles just to reposition ourselves. So, there can be more deadheading, but in a sprinter, the cost is not a huge impact, and you'll have less sitting and waiting for freight."

Johnson notes that some experienced BCOs make the change to expedited after driving over-the-road for a few years. "Sometimes they like the urgent nature of the business," he explains. "Other times, it's the change to smaller trucks, or they move to expedited to switch to mostly team driving."

That's exactly what happened with the Chambers. "Robert had been a traditional truck driver for years and spent a decade trying to get me to join him on the road. I was reluctant because I had spent almost 30 years working in warehousing. I told him I already had a job; I didn't need another one!"

Eventually, Robert won the battle. "He finally got me to say yes, so I got my license and said we'll give it a try," Donna recalls. "We loved it from the start, and we've loved it ever since." She laughs when she adds, "One of the best ways to know if you want to be a BCO in expedited freight services is to lock yourself in the bathroom with your partner for the weekend."

Landstar Executive Vice President of Specialized Freight Services Al Reisman says that Landstar is always looking for safe and professional owner-operators to join the expedited division. "We have had tremendous success in transitioning many from a ʻbig truckʼ over to a more manageable, but very productive, expedited truck.

The opportunities to participate in some very ʻexcitingʼ freight and provide valuable and meaningful services for our many customers can be very rewarding on many levels."

EXPEDITED SERVICES

Landstar BCOs are only part of the team that gets express shipments where they need to be, on time and in excellent condition. "Landstar agents are essential to making it all come together," says Reisman. "Our agents know their customers' businesses like it's their own. It's our network of experienced and invested entrepreneurs that makes Landstar the right choice - no matter what kind of expedited freight it is - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year."

Reisman explains that in the world of expedited services, there is little that is routine as far as the type of freight or the service demands needed to meet customers' requirements. It could be that the customer needs to get two pallets of supplies out to their manufacturing plant to fulfill a new order, or urgently deliver an airplane part to the airport to repair an aircraft out of service. "Landstar," he says, "provides our customers with the best solution to manage the ʻcrisisʼ at hand - no matter the hurdles that need to be overcome - legally and safely, of course, thus creating numerous opportunities for our expedited BCOs."

There are some situations, he says, that need a tractor and a 53-foot van. However, the most commonly used equipment in expedited services include small cargo vans, straight trucks and refrigerated trucks. For loads that require additional services, Landstar agents and BCOs can expedite specialized loads requiring security clearances, TSA certification, 24/7 monitored temperature control, hazmat handling, cold chain logistics, sea-safe containers, AA&E (arms, ammunition and explosives), pharmaceutical, and more.

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