John’s Blog

June 29, 2009

Dear Friends,

The good news from last week is the increase in durable goods orders and other small steps forward like sales of existing homes and the Fed leaving the interest rate unchanged.  May trucking volumes increased slightly from April but are off 11% over May of 2008.

The bad news is the continued increase in diesel fuel.  A lot of carriers have been getting by because of the low cost of fuel (relatively speaking) and if this increase continues several carriers will feel the stress every time they stop to fuel up.

As I have been saying, there are going to be a lot of bumps in this recovery with both bad and good news keeping us off balance.

At Wagner we are gearing up for a busy season of shipping as several new customers are being integrated and our team works several project plans.  This is something the Wagner team does quite well as it is very important in any new operation to have a seamless startup and devote adequate resources to make it perfect.  These efforts involve:

• Systems integration
• Facility layout and stocking plan
• Staffing
• Written processes and procedures
• Training

In my experience it is absolutely critical that start up operations be perfect as I have never seen a bad experience get better.  At Wagner we have this form of art perfected.

This is a short week with the July Fourth holiday so let me wish you a happy Independence Day.  With my son Ross at Army basic training my thoughts are with him and his new friends as they prepare to do their duty in protecting this fine country.

Have a great week and a please have a safe & happy Fourth!

John Wagner