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Bolt Express a Toledo, Ohio based expedite carrier is now offering its owner operators a new hassle-free Cash Advance Program. Bolt Express contractors will be able to take up to 50% of their line haul pay for each load prior to being loaded for a minimal administrative fee.

"I still see the expedite business growing, at least for Bolt Express. We are still taking market share. I've been in this industry for 23 years now and I think that expedite has become a norm in transportation and industry has finally accepted it as part of supply chain management."

"With that, I think people accept using it a little more as a way to control inventory. There's a lot of room in this industry for a company that provides real strong service and good rates; they will enjoy real growth."

"We're getting a lot of phone calls from drivers with other carriers and they're telling us that their companies are hiring anyone they can, they've got too many trucks in their fleet and they (the caller) is not running."

Baisden continues, "We're not going to do that to our drivers, the ones who have helped us get to this point. We have a number of drivers who have been with us since the beginning and I think that's due to our open door policy."

Few small carriers can boast about 24 continuous and profitable years in the expedited freight industry. With ten years of experience in sales and management for major freight forwarding companies, Tom Robertson began A. Blair Enterprises in 1984 primarily as an air freight forwarding company.

"Our drivers are our representatives and our presence out there and they're very sensitive to that. They all carry a pocketful of business cards and they're probably one of our best sources of sales leads! They're an integral part of our success and we like to make sure we take good care of them."

"We offer a lot of the advantages that you can find with a smaller company because there's more intimacy - you know the people you're working for."

"Today, the owner-operators are very intelligent people who know what they're going to do before the week starts and what they're going to have left at the end of the week."

"Eighty percent of them are very successful; the ones that don't plan their operation are the ones that fail. Those are the ones that jump from truck line to truck line, believing that it's going to be better on the other side and it's not."

Ever since the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement by the United States, Canada and Mexico more than 10 years ago, truck trade between the three countries has been on the increase. While the debate rages on as to whether this agreement is truly in the best interest of the U.S., more expedite carriers are taking a lesson from what the truckload business has been doing for years -- looking toward the south when it comes to increasing their business. One of them Express-1 Expedited Solutions.

Premium Transportation Logistics, LLC (PTL) may be a new name to some, but the three principals behind its formation and operation are veterans of trucking in its many forms. This Rossford, OH based (Toledo area) company occupies part of a 250,000 sq. ft. commercial building and has been in operation since January 2002

"It's very important to me to understand the needs of our customers and our independent contractors. To get the customer perspective, I've been out on the road on sales calls. The contractor ideas and suggestions have come via the contractor council meeting, emails, telephone calls and speaking to contractors who visit our building.”



"It's been a busy time, but it's all about asking the right questions, listening to the answers and taking feedback. Our independent contractor driving force is very, very important to our organization. We have an open door policy here and I take that very literally."