In the Driver’s Seat

It has long been said that patience is a virtue. In the less-than-truckload (LTL) sector of transportation, patience is a requirement. Truckers who make several stops to fill their trailers are a special breed: they travel both short and long distances for small loads, sometimes waiting hours for just a few pallets.

All commercial drivers are familiar with maneuvering through vehicle-clogged narrow streets and alleys, and backing enormous rigs into tightly-spaced loading docks—but LTL drivers do this multiple times a day, caught in an endless hurry-up-and-wait cycle—even with today’s high-tech scheduling and communication tools. A delay at one location can affect other pickups and deliveries, travel routes, trailer temperatures, and most of all, driving time—which is closely monitored due to hours of service restrictions.

One man takes it all in stride, with nary a cross word. Meet Otto “Jimmy” Christensen Jr., an independent owner-operator based in the southwest corner of Montana, near Idaho, in a tiny town called Dillon.

Jimmy is a seasoned road warrior who has been driving for thirty-eight years, with the last fourteen for Cool Runnings, Ltd., headquartered in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He was kind enough to allow me (your Blueprints editor) to travel with him for part of a typical cross-country haul.

Jimmy, often called “Cricket” (referencing Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio), is a second generation, old-school trucker. He followed in the footsteps of his father, Otto Sr., known in the industry as the “Montana Swede.” As a boy, Jimmy rode shotgun on various trips, many hauling produce in California. He started driving after high school, served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War, then took over when his father retired.

Spanning the Miles
Jimmy begins his travels each Saturday, starting with a full load of Idaho potatoes, which he brings to the Midwest on behalf of Cool Runnings. He arrives in Bensenville, Illinois, either late Monday night or in the wee hours of Tuesday morning for unloading before the second leg of his journey.

He must wait for the loading docks to open, and once they do, he oversees loading of his first grouping of pallets, which happens to be strawberry preserves on this day. His next stop will be Joliet, thirty-seven miles away, but more than an hour in travel time due to Chicago’s legendary rush hour traffic.

After Joliet, he proceeds to several other stops in the vast Chicagoland area, in both Illinois and Northwest Indiana, until the trailer is full. Then Jimmy heads toward home, where he will deliver the mixed load to a Sysco facility. He will be off a couple days, then begin the trip all over again.

Cargo Complications
Daily toils for this traveling man include weigh stations in every state, which are frequently backed up with long lines of tractor trailers. If a rig is red-lighted as overweight, it can add hours to an already taxing day.