Kaufman Trailer's new 5 car trailer

Just talked with Ken Carroll over at Kaufman trailers-- they've got a pretty cool little 5 pack you can haul behind a dually with a 5th wheel. You've got to see it to believe it. Go here to see Kaufman's new car carrier.

New Kia Assembly Plant

Well, if there's any bright side to the rising cost of gas, it might be this-- Kia has broken ground for a new auto assembly plant in Westpoint, Georgia. Guesstimate of plant completion date is late 2009. I've never been all that interested in Hyundai or Kia as a choice for a vehicle for myself, but I've got to admit the price they're advertising these cars for and the strong warranty gets my attention. Might get other folks attention when those economic stimulus checks start showing up in mailboxes this spring. Their fuel efficiency is certainly right up there.

Seems as if the auto industry is re-structuring itself as new plants owned by BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, Kia, etc. open up in the southeastern states and more and more domestic plants close in the northern states. That's good news for fleets like Hansen and Adkins, Centurion, Waggoners and other auto transport companies that have a strong foundation in the Southeast and are already hauling cars for some of these manufacturing companies.

Cylinder kit repacking tool will pay for itself!

This tool is awesome!:
If you're tired of paying somebody a hundred bucks to repack one cylinder-- you should try this tool! What does this thing do? You know how hard it is to get seals into the top cap of an aluminum hydraulic cylinder? This tool has spring-loaded fingers that will curl up the seal in such a way, that when you depress the handles, it pops into place!

Here's a useful tip for you guys who want to take out the old seals-- trust me, this will keep you from damaging the cylinder eye nut grooves. Take an old flathead screw driver and grind off the corners-- make them nice and rounded. Also helps if you get it kind of thinned out. Then you can use these to pry out the seals that set way down in those grooves. If you don't get rid of the edges, or you use something to sharp and nasty, you risk damaging the grooves, which will mess up the new seals that you're going to put into that old cylinder you're trying to save.

Double your donations to the World Food Program

Autohauler Supply has just come out with a way for you to double any contributions you want to make to the United Nation's World Food Program. Contributions of $1, $5 and $10 are being matched, dollar for dollar.

To donate money to the World Food Program and get those matching dollars, click here.

Success is a journey. Saving the world is a decision.

Car Haulers Parking Their Trucks

Looks like the economics of auto transport have reached the point where it's starting to make sense for folks to park their trucks and cancel the insurance policy.

Car haulers have been whipsawed by rising fuel costs at the same time that auto sales have slipped dramatically, contributing to the decline in the amount of cars needing transport. Factor in the sub-prime mortgage mess and the lack of economic growth, and you can see that it may get worse before it gets better. Less general economic growth and an uncertain real estate market will mean less people moving hither and yon-- and less POV cars to haul. Folks concerned about their jobs will tend to delay big purchasing decisions. Oh yeah, and it's an election year. Plus, we're at war, with budget deficits as far as the eye can see. (And that's before the tsunami of baby boom retirees start drawing Medicare and Social Security benefits!)

Does this suck? Yes. Am I worried? No.

Everything that's happening is happening for a reason. The economy is a dynamic system, and it will always move and seek new points of equilibrium. It's already happening-- in the last two weeks, I've spoken with several people who have sold their trucks or parked their trucks. I've heard of other folks who had no choice but to let the banks take back their equipment. All of these individual actions and decisions create a total re-adjustment of the auto transport economy as supply shrinks to meet the decreased demand. At a certain point, brokers will post loads for a ridiculous price, and nobody will take them because they're already busy pulling loads that pay more. And load price will gradually rise.

The thing about business cycles is this: during good times, supply expands slowly as more people acquire the tools they need to fill the need. They're entering the market at different times. When the economy goes south, it usually does so precipitously, triggered by some unforeseen financial calamity (implosion of collateralized debt obligations due to sub-prime lending fiasco).

As people start to see "the handwriting on the wall" so to speak, what you get next is a mass exodus-- a rush for the exit as people decide (more or less simultaneously) to throw in the towel.

As an armchair economist, my suggestion is this:

If you really love car hauling, and you want to stay in this business, then now is the time to start getting really creative about growing your business... seeking ways to develop a more profitable customer base. Find out who your most profitable customers are and try to get more of them. This may mean getting out of your comfort zone and being your company's number one salesman. So be it. If you want to survive, you're going to have to do more than cruise the load boards for the next six months. If you can become an expert at marketing your business in this way, you will stand a chance to reap some big rewards once the market adjusts and there are actually less car haulers available then are necessary to move the freight in a timely manner. It will happen, trust me.

If you're not really interested in hauling cars, then this would be the time to bail. Seriously! In a rush for the exit, you want to be the first one out the door if you can... you'll end up getting more for your truck when you sell, and (hopefully) you won't have lost everything by trying to hang on. If it ain't for you, it ain't for you. And this business is not for everybody. There's no shame in declaring defeat and pulling your capital out before you lose it. That's just smart business sense. And if you'd rather do something else for a living anyway, then that just lends weight to the "Get the hell out of Dodge City" option.

Rededicate yourself to prospering in this business, or sell your truck. Those are the only options that make any sense. It's going to be an uphill grade for at least the next 6-9 months, and nobody is going to coast their way into easy money.

Selling your car hauler?

If you need to sell your truck, check out the advertising deal at Autohauler Shopper: $49.95 is all it takes to list your truck until it's sold. Click here for more info.

Insurance for Car Haulers

Ever had to deal with general insurance provider who knew little and cared even less about the auto hauling business? We've heard of plenty of nightmarish scenarios-- weeks of downtime waiting for binders that never showed up, and when they did, they had liability but no cargo insurance.

There are plenty of companies out there willing to sell you some sort of insurance, but we can guarantee you there aren't many insurance agents with car hauling experience.

One notable exception is Tony Taylor, owner of Tony Taylor insurance. Tony owned a car hauling business in California for several years before he went through the training necessary to become a licensed insurance agent.

Tony has created a package of insurance that is designed to make sure your business is covered in all scenarios, including accident, burglary, theft and more! If your insurance agent doesn't have experience with car hauling, it's possible you may have serious gaps in your coverage-- gaps you won't find out about until you have a claim denied by your insurance carrier!

To find out more, check out Tony's new website for car hauler insurance.

List of car hauler repair shops

The Autohauler Shopper website just published a huge list of car hauler repair places. It is also available in a printer-friendly format. Go here.

More news about the lawyer who sued Cottrell

Madison County Record | Maag seeks $75 reinstatement fee from Circuit Clerk

4/9/2008 11:26 AM
By Steve Korris

Thomas Maag
Attorney Thomas Maag of Edwardsville insists that Madison County Circuit Clerk Matt Melucci owes him $75.

Maag paid Melucci $75 to reinstate a personal injury suit in March and promptly petitioned Circuit Judge Daniel Stack for a refund.

Maag wrote, '…the Clerk is confused"

Sterling Shorty Auto Hauler

Portland, Oregon- April 8,2008- Boydstun Metal Works announced today that they now offer a modified version of the Sterling Auto Hauler that will reduce the overall tractor height to 91.75 inches.

One of the critical success factors in auto hauling is maximizing load factors. The lower height that results from the Boydstun modification gives customers the ability to transport larger vehicles over the cab.

BMW to Expand U.S. Plant, Create 500 Jobs

Light & Medium Truck | BMW to Expand U.S. Plant, Create 500 Jobs: "BMW will spend $750 million to expand its South Carolina production facility and create 500 new jobs, doubling the size of its U.S. manufacturing operations, the company said"

Wicked cool auto tie-down kit for single car trailers.

This will be available soon in Wedge and Hotshot category. Don't have the part number loaded up for this one yet, but it should be up tomorrow if the manufacturer gets back to me.

Not so direct marketing

Received this email entitled "Direct Marketing". I'm not sure they have mastered being direct! (Bolding is mine.)

Dear Sirs,

Our company has originated a division that develops and delivers direct marketing communications for companies in both business and consumer marketing sphere.

We are working like contracting for a tenure to assume responsibility in doing direct marketing for your existing or new marketing promoting new products and services with a number of consumers or potential trade partners.I believe my 10th grade English teacher would call this a "run-on sentence"

We act as a contracted customer service executives and marketing agents to directly communicate with partners, in new or existing markets and taking the communication to deal closing only when it will be forwarded to you. (you ll be kept informed of every turn and work over here going for your products) OK... just as long as communication is direct!

If you d like to know more details on how we can do this work in partnership with your company, you are very welcome, you may also browse us at our website www.mjkexports.com/directresponse

And, I ll be very happy to answer any potential questions, We also have sample marketing campaigns that you may just choose a new market area that you d potentially like to work in.

You are welcome to discuss for any kind of question inquiries etc.

Very Best Regards,

In this person's defense-- I am sure his English is superior to my Hindi.

Improve you car hauling business with Gmail.

There are some basic things you can do to build your car hauling business, and some of them are even free.

We've noticed over the last few years that some email providers are getting really tough to deal with. AOL.COM and YAHOO.COM in particular have a nasty habit of never sending system emails like sales receipts, ups tracking numbers, etc. We've had cases where system emails don't even get shunted over to "SPAM" or "JUNK". They never make it to the user's account.

Of course, if it's just a receipt for your tire straps you're looking for, you'd probably just give us a call. But what if it was an update from a load board or a website? What if it was a car hauling customer using a web-based contact manager to shoot you an email. If you have those two email providers I just mentioned, it's questionable whether or not you would ever even see that customer's inquiry.

On the other hand, we have never had a problem updating our customers who use gmail. They updates always go through just fine.

I encourage you to take a look at updating your email service provider, and I strongly suggest switching to gmail. It just works better, pure and simple.

Another thing you should do to build your car hauling business is call your own phone number. Do you have voice mail set up? Does the message convey the fact that you are a business? Is everything working properly? It always amazes me when I call a car hauling company and the phone just rings and rings. Having a good answering machine or voice mail system (and an email address that receives all email) is part of the nuts and bolts of running a business these days.

Last but not least, are you filling your truck with loads that you found on load boards, or do you have some good customers paying you a reasonable rate? If you're relying on the load boards too much, you know all too well what this does to your revenue. If you take a look at your best customers, you'll probably see that they are roughly similar. Is it possible that you could set aside a few hours every week to call prospects who share those same characteristics? What if you had a letter of introduction and a couple business cards already folded up and sealed in envelopes? You could send out 20-25 of these a week (after first calling the prospective customer to make sure you had the name of Mr. or Mrs. Decision-Maker.) Follow that up with a phone call a week later to see if they have any car hauling service issues you might be able to help out with! If you ain't hauling a car, try dialing a phone! For more bare-knuckle marketing tips for car haulers, visit Orange Fractal.com and read some of the articles.