If you’re not aware of my moniker “indietrucker” as a shortening of independent trucker, it’s time to delve into what it means to me.
Being independent is all about the ability to make choices on my own about what to do with my trucking business , my time, and my life. I chose the nickname around 07-08 when I was a young lease operator pulling for another contractor at FedEx Custom Critical. That journey took me from there, into purchasing a truck on my own in 2009. Like many other truck owners during those tough times, I struggled with everything from cash flow, maintaining a rig in a tough economy, finding a good existence.
I landed with Autumn Transport after seeing an ad in a truckstop hiring magazine, they were advertising “recession proof” freight. I started into a new role to me, a pneumatic trailer operator, a place I still work and strive to improve every day I work. It’s allowed a level of independence and autonomy I doubt many truckers get to experience.
I continued researching obviously over the next several years, I even talked to the folks Truckstop a lot in 2011 or 2012 at the Mid-America Trucking Show . I listened to Kevin Rutherford often, taking all that free information he was dishing out about operating a truck. I looked at the market, at the competition, at all of the options. In the meantime I learned my specialty, and became convinced that Autumn Transport was a better fit for my lifestyle. Full disclosure , I had to try out RGN freight for a couple months in 2013, but I came right back to pneumatic work.
Autumn has allowed me to focus on trucking without having to find the freight or directly develop the business. I’ve been allowed to focus on the most basic building block of any good trucking business, one truck, one load, one customer at a time. And in my time there, I’ve seen great changes and improvements within the organization, and can say the only way is up for this great company.
Over the past year, I’ve been fortunate to go to so many things outside of my lane within the spectrum of the logistics industry. I’ve made so many great connections and friends along the way. Thanks to Reed Loustalot and Justin Martin I got to see the FreightWaves Future of Freight. Thanks to Evan K Shelley ??????? I got to see Manifest: The Future of Supply Chain & Logistics, and thanks to Nate Johnson, my wife and I ate raw oysters for first time at Robert Bain’s favorite place in Atlanta when we attended the Future of Supply Chain. Thanks to Charles G. I’ve had a lot of extra added fun times at many events.
And to Trey Griggs and Dan Lindsey , sorry my schedule has never lined up for the Broker Carrier Summit.
There are a lot of good people in the logistics world, trying to make things better. I wish truckers felt the positivity that so many of these events embody. I wish many truckers were at peace as much as I am with their careers. Thanks y’all for pushing for the best you can. ????
