Carrying the Load

"We have 40 straight truck roll-offs, 22 straight truck luggers and 143 semi tractors," he says. "On the trailer side, we have 25 flat bed car carriers that are equipped with constraint systems to prevent spillage of loose parts from flattened autos that we haul."

OmniSource also has 123 roll-off trailers in its fleet. "These trailers have between two and seven axles depending on the state that the trailer is operated and the legal gross weight limit in those states," Moran says.

In the last five years, OmniSource has converted much of its fleet from straight trucks to tractor/trailer combinations. "This provides much more versatility within the fleet and allows us to haul more cost efficient payloads than before," Moran says. That is because in most states that OmniSource operates in, tractor/trailer combinations can haul between 80,000 and 168,000 pounds of gross weight, while the straight trucks can haul only 68,000 pounds of gross weight to remain within the legal limit, he says. "However, we do still have to use straight trucks in instances where turning space is a concern."

Moran says that OmniSource weighs lease and purchase options before committing to a deal. "Depending on interest rates, capital requirements, etc., we determine on a year-to-year basis which route we will go."

When leasing, he says OmniSource uses financed leases with a guaranteed buyout amount at the end of the lease, which is usually a five-year term. "We always buy out the leases and operate the trucks for another two to four years after the lease expires."

OmniSource also uses independent contractors for 25 percent to 30 percent of its overall transportation needs. "These carriers typically handle longer freight lanes for us or are dedicated to an account that may be located geographically outside of our normal fleet domicile network," Moran says. "We purposely do not try to do all of our business on OmniSource trucks to make sure that our fleet is 100 percent utilized 52 weeks per year. We want to be able to flex with the level of business activity to make sure that we are using all assets to the fullest extent possible."

Moran says OmniSource typically uses its straight trucks and tractors for six to eight years, depending on the application. "Roll-off trailers, if maintained properly, have been known to last between 10 and 15 years."

For OmniSource, proper maintenance consists of adjusting and replacing breaks, greasing and lubricating the unit, repairing lifts and reaving cylinders and being certain tires and lights are in good condition.

Moran says OmniSource typically has its trailers on a 90-day service cycle. "However, due to the nature of our business, many of them are in our shop sooner than that," he adds. "Any time a piece of equipment goes through our shop for any reason, a quick maintenance check is done on the trailer no matter what the nature of the driver write-up is for that instance," he says.

OmniSource also tracks the activity of its tractors, trailers and containers with its dispatch software, though Moran says this is in part a manual process that requires the drive to write down where each container was delivered on his shipping paperwork. The administrative clerk then has to key the information into the software.

"The software is excellent," he says. "However, due to the human interaction that is required, there is still room for error. We are currently testing a GPS system that, in conjunction with a bar code scanner and the cellular telephones that the drivers carry, [give us] the capability of tracking all equipment on a much more accurate and real-time basis."

While containers and trucking equipment often entail significant expense for recyclers, the need for them is undeniable. With some forethought and a little TLC along the way, this equipment can serve at the curbside or along highways for some time.

The author is associate editor of Recycling Today and can be contacted at dtoto@gie.net.