The pride and joy of RMC Pacific Materials is this 1948 Ford fitted with an enormous- for its day — 3-yard concrete drum. Purchased new by Pacific Ready Mix, the Ford worked up until 1965 when it was retired to rust away in a back lot. When RMC purchased Pacific in the 1990s, the little mixer was restored and even treated to a chromed flathead V8 gasoline engine.
“Demand [for trucks] in 2005 is starting to level off — but it's a great place to level off.”
— John Merrifield, sr. vp-sales & marketing, Sterling Trucks, Redford, MI.
Eye on fuel “For the fourth quarter last year, we increased fuel surcharge billings by 280% compared with the same quarter in 2003. These efforts helped us limit the negative impact of fuel prices.”
— Kevin Knight, chairman & CEO, Knight Transportation, Phoenix, AZ
Fleet names we love Challenger Motor Freight, Florence, Ontario Eagle Motor Lines, Theodore, AL Hurryin' Hoosier Transport, North Manchester, IN Yahweh Trucking, Deming, NM
Global alert Mike Eskew, UPS chairman & CEO, fears the education young Americans are receiving isn't sufficient for them to survive in this era of global trade. “We must build and support an education system that will prepare our children to live and work in a world that is very different than the one we were raised in,” he said during a recent speech at The Commerce Club in Atlanta.
“In our elementary schools, our high schools, our colleges and universities, we owe it to our children to prepare them for a global future,” said Eskew. “We also owe it their parents whose jobs have been displaced by global trade. We've got to ask ourselves, ‘Are we producing enough engineers and scientists who are in such huge demand and so needed to ensure our competitive vitality?’ The answer, of course, is a resounding ‘No.’”
Eskew pointed out the U.S. ranks just 17th in the world in the proportion of college-age students earning science and engineering degrees. “These are the inventors and the innovators of tomorrow,” he said. “The demand for these professionals will be growing at five times the rate for other professions in the next several years. We've got to find a way to keep those students engaged and motivated.”
Concrete cheesehead It's not hard to figure out which NFL team they're rooting for at Great Lakes Concrete Pumping of Green Bay, WI.
