Dock Stars

Dock Stars shines a light on the people who keep the supply chain moving: the warehouse pros, the logistics leaders, and the operators who make it all happen. Conversations with Dr. Mark Mann, from the warehouse floor to the yard. Produced by Warehouse on Wheels.

Dock Stars is a business podcast hosted by Warehouse on Wheels, with 24 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Warehouse on Wheels hosts Dock Stars, a business show with 24 episodes published.

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  Episode #3

  The Port Boom Hits His Yard a Month Late | Shane Walker

  Oct 6, 202633 minS2

  Record container volume, negative rent growth, and hurricane season. Shane Walker runs the busiest port market in the company. Port Houston just posted its best six months in history at 2.23 million containers, with June alone up 18% as tariffs pushed freight off the west coast and into the Gulf. Shane Walker, general manager at Advantage Trailer Rentals in Houston, can tell you exactly when that shows up in his yard, and it is not the week the headlines run. Dr. Mark Mann opens on a market full of contradictions: industrial vacancy in the 6 to 7% range, asking rents negative for the first time in more than a decade, oil and gas employment down almost 7% year over year, and roughly $50 billion in active petrochemical capital projects. From there: why cheaper warehouse space still does not compete with month to month capacity, the one month lag between a port surge and a phone call, what a Texas customer expects that an Ohio customer does not, and the advice about a fishing rod that he still uses on the worst days. What you'll learn Why a port surge takes about a month to reach a storage yard, and how Shane uses the news as a forecasting calendar Why negative rent growth on 250,000 square foot Class A space does not threaten a month to month storage product How a loosening warehouse market still leaves customers locked into year long or three year leases they only half fill What Texas customers expect before they sign, from a one trailer deal to a two hundred trailer deal Why nearly every first phone call is an emergency, and the one question customers cannot usually answer How to get ahead of Q4 retail buildup instead of calling with your hair on fire Whether volume actually moves the rate, and why transport and back end support matter more than the per trailer number The real difference between storage and cartage, explained in one question about crossing a public road What a direct hurricane hit means for a Houston yard, and why disaster relief is guaranteed money you cannot build a business on Chapters 00:00 Record Containers, Negative Rents 01:54 Liquor Store To Trailer Yard 03:18 Ready For The GM Chair 03:58 Option Paralysis 05:29 Nine Cities Slammed Together 06:31 Cheap Warehouses Still Lose 08:02 The One Month Port Lag 09:37 Hurricane Season Math 11:26 Who Rents Trailers In Houston 12:18 Texas Wants A Handshake 13:09 Every First Call Is An Emergency 14:20 Getting Ahead Of Q4 15:51 Retail And The I-45 Corridor 17:08 What Flexibility Actually Means 18:39 The Twelve Year Customer 19:38 What Does A Trailer Cost 20:26 Does Volume Move The Rate 22:03 Pricing Against Across Town 24:20 Storage Versus Cartage Explained 25:45 The Mission In His Own Words 27:12 Three Things That Decide It 28:03 Lightning Round: Bring A Fishing Rod Subscribe for more logistics and operations strategy: @WarehouseOnWheels Connect with Warehouse on Wheels on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wowtrailers/ Show notes and episode resources: https://www.warehouseonwheels.com/podcast Learn more about Warehouse on Wheels: https://www.warehouseonwheels.com/

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  Episode #2

  Why Storage Demand Doesn't Follow Spot Rates | Robb Foltz

  Sep 22, 202629 minS2

  Spot rates are up 25% and rejections tripled. Robb Foltz explains why that shows up as a storage problem, not a trucking one. Robb Foltz went to school for audio production and planned to tour with rock bands. He now runs 12 Warehouse on Wheels markets across the North Region, from Evansville and Indianapolis to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Chicago, and he is the call that gets made when a load goes sideways. Dr. Mark Mann opens on the backdrop: truckload spot rates running 20 to 25% above last year, tender rejections near 14% against 4.75% a year ago, diesel at $5.35, and an FMCSA enforcing rules at roadside that sat quiet for a decade. From there: why storage demand tracks inventory decisions instead of freight rates, the four things that separate a great general manager from a mediocre one, the question customers almost always get wrong on the first phone call, and why complacency worries a career safety guy more than any compliance item on the list. What you'll learn Why storage demand moves with how much inventory shippers hold, not with spot rates, and what shippers do when capacity tightens How buffer stock, early and bulk ordering, and drop trailer programs all end in freight that has to sit somewhere The four traits Robb looks for in a general manager, including a genuine disgust for the word no The difference between a storage trailer and a cartage trailer, and why customers ask for the wrong one Why "what does a trailer cost per month" is a harder question than it sounds Where diesel at $5.35 a gallon actually hits the operation, from deliveries and spotting to the shop Why there is no off season across 12 markets, and how weather changes the job without stopping it Why complacency, not hours of service or cargo security, is the compliance risk that keeps a safety veteran up at night Chapters 00:00 Spot Rates, Rejections, And Diesel 01:42 Rock Bands, Then Dispatch 03:18 Household Goods To A Whole Region 04:35 Trailers Are Not All The Same 05:12 Every Market Is Unique 06:07 Touring The North Region 09:12 Four Traits Of A Great GM 11:14 The Call Customers Get Wrong 11:48 Why There Is No Off Season 13:00 Winter In Detroit And Cleveland 13:39 What Does A Trailer Cost 15:12 Tight Market, More Buffer Stock 16:12 Where Fuel Prices Actually Hit 16:59 Holding The Line On Rate 17:33 One Load, Start To Finish 18:27 A Human Answers Every Time 19:08 Complacency Is The Real Risk 21:26 Warehouse Space Without The Warehouse 22:23 Character, Drive, And A Little Humor 23:11 Availability, Service, Partnership 23:48 Ownership On A Bad Week 25:06 Lightning Round: Toughest Yard Subscribe for more logistics and operations strategy: @WarehouseOnWheels Show notes and episode resources: https://www.warehouseonwheels.com/podcast Learn more about Warehouse on Wheels: https://www.warehouseonwheels.com/

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  Episode #1

  Out of Warehouse Space? Storage 450 Sq Ft at a Time | Brent Meadors

  Sep 8, 202652 minS2

  Out of space and staring down a five year warehouse lease? Brent Meadors sells industrial storage capacity, not trailers. Most people hear trailer rental and picture a moving truck. Brent Meadors (COO, Warehouse on Wheels) would rather not use the word trailer at all. He describes the business as industrial storage capacity, an alternative to warehouse space, delivered 450 square feet at a time and picked back up the moment you are done with it. Dr. Mark Mann opens on diesel, which moved 74 cents in 21 days, and the warehouse manager in Spartanburg, South Carolina trying to figure out where to put 40 pallets. From there: why price is the wrong first question, what separates a storage trailer from a cartage trailer on your invoice, why buyers freeze the week the headlines move, and where the value "people matter" actually came from. It closes on the part nobody expects from a rental company, which is what happens to a trailer that is already ten years old. What you'll learn Why Brent describes the business as industrial storage capacity rather than trailer rental, and what changes when you frame it that way How 450 square feet at a time compares to a warehouse lease where landlords want five years minimum and ideally seven to ten The difference between a storage trailer and a cartage trailer, and why it changes what you pay Why Brent will not answer the price question first, and what discovery he runs instead How sales pipelines fill and then freeze in step with the headlines, and what that pattern looks like in the order data Why one master agreement covers capacity at every location in a national network, with no new paperwork The full life of a semi trailer: ten years over the road, then rebuilt and rented for roughly another thirty How Warehouse on Wheels scores its own environmental footprint, and why 51 out of 100 is not the grade it sounds like Chapters 00:00 Fuel Prices And 40 Pallets 01:52 Twenty Years In Fleet Management 03:19 What COVID Changed Forever 04:54 Not Trailer Rental, Storage Capacity 07:39 Storage Versus Cartage Explained 10:54 Why Price Comes Last 12:56 Storage Trailers Versus Warehouse Lease 15:42 Reading Orders And Headlines 24:34 Where People Matter Came From 34:19 Scale, Contracts, And Doing Nothing 38:24 The Forty Year Trailer 47:31 Lightning Round: Strongest Market Subscribe for more logistics and operations strategy: @WarehouseOnWheels Connect with Warehouse on Wheels on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wowtrailers/ Show notes and episode resources: https://www.warehouseonwheels.com/podcast Learn more about Warehouse on Wheels: https://www.warehouseonwheels.com/

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  Episode #21

  Atlanta Opera Stores 20-Ft Castle Walls in Trailers: Mobile Storage for Live Production | Rodney Barge

  Aug 11, 202619 minS1

  Wagner, Mozart, Verdi, and Puccini have more in common with warehouse logistics than you'd think. In this episode of The WOW Factor Podcast , Dr. Mark Mann sits down with Rodney Barge, Associate Technical Director at the Atlanta Opera, to break down how a world-class arts organization moves 20-foot castle walls, delicate costumes, period furniture, and full theatrical sets — on immovable deadlines, with zero room for error. Rodney manages 45,000 sq ft of warehouse space and eight docks in Austell, Georgia — and it still isn't enough. He explains why he plans backwards from opening night, why Georgia humidity dictates what can and can't live in a storage trailer, how mobile storage / drop trailers from Advantage Trailer Rentals let the opera say yes to a pandemic big tent series, a new film studio, and the upcoming 56,000 sq ft Molly Blank Center for Opera and the Arts — plus the one storage myth he wants retired for good. In this episode, you'll learn: Why 45,000 sq ft of warehouse space still runs out (and what to do about it) Load-out day: "the worst game of Tetris you can ever imagine" How to plan production logistics backwards from a fixed opening night Why he always books one more truck than he needs What Georgia humidity means for storing painted scenery and costumes The 24-hour "hair on fire" call: two trailers, next day, no drama The first three things to audit in your yard (lot capacity, a reliable driver with a day cab, one open dock) Roll-up door vs. swing door — why inches matter on an 8-ft scenic flat The biggest myth in mobile storage: "it all fits" CHAPTERS 00:00 Wagner, Mozart, and mobile storage 01:03 From Cirque du Soleil to the Atlanta Opera 02:29 His most memorable production 03:45 Why 45,000 sq ft still isn't enough 05:17 Load-out day: "the worst game of Tetris" 06:33 Planning backwards from opening night 08:17 Georgia humidity and what you can't store 09:22 The big tent series and a new film studio 11:18 Two trailers in 24 hours 13:43 The Molly Blank Center transition 15:14 What to audit in your yard first 16:26 Why entertainment never throws anything away 18:14 The biggest myth: "it all fits" If you manage production, warehousing, events, or supply chain operations — and you're tired of paying for fixed space you don't always need — this one's for you. Subscribe for more logistics + operations strategy: @WarehouseOnWheels Learn more: https://www.warehouseonwheels.com/

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  Episode #20

  Building a Safety Culture That Sticks — EHS Leadership with Brennan Neville (Warehouse on Wheels)

  Jul 28, 202630 minS1

  What does it actually take to keep people safe at work — every shift, across every location, in every language? In this episode of The WOW Factor, Dr. Mark Mann talks with Brennan Neville, Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) Manager at Warehouse on Wheels , about building a workplace safety culture where "safety first, safety always" is more than a slogan. Brennan leads safety, health, and training across 40+ locations and 40,000+ trailers spanning the US, Canada, and Mexico. They cover the real work of EHS: investigating incidents down to the root cause, the difference between leading and lagging indicators, why close calls and near misses deserve attention, and the worst injury Brennan has seen — a grinder kickback — and the action plan it sparked. Brennan also breaks down what a strong PPE standard and in-house training program look like, how safety gets standardized across countries and languages, and how OSHA, DOT, and FMCSA compliance differ across North America. If you care about safety leadership, operations, or building a team culture where people genuinely look out for one another, this one's packed with practical insight. Topics: workplace safety · safety culture · EHS leadership · OSHA compliance · PPE standards · incident investigation · safety training · trailer & fleet maintenance · DOT & FMCSA regulations

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