Dock Stars

Warehouse on Wheels
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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.

  1. Sep 22

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

    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 tightensHow buffer stock, early and bulk ordering, and drop trailer programs all end in freight that has to sit somewhereThe four traits Robb looks for in a general manager, including a genuine disgust for the word noThe difference between a storage trailer and a cartage trailer, and why customers ask for the wrong oneWhy "what does a trailer cost per month" is a harder question than it soundsWhere diesel at $5.35 a gallon actually hits the operation, from deliveries and spotting to the shopWhy there is no off season across 12 markets, and how weather changes the job without stopping itWhy complacency, not hours of service or cargo security, is the compliance risk that keeps a safety veteran up at nightChapters 00:00 Spot Rates, Rejections, And Diesel01:42 Rock Bands, Then Dispatch03:18 Household Goods To A Whole Region04:35 Trailers Are Not All The Same05:12 Every Market Is Unique06:07 Touring The North Region09:12 Four Traits Of A Great GM11:14 The Call Customers Get Wrong11:48 Why There Is No Off Season13:00 Winter In Detroit And Cleveland13:39 What Does A Trailer Cost15:12 Tight Market, More Buffer Stock16:12 Where Fuel Prices Actually Hit16:59 Holding The Line On Rate17:33 One Load, Start To Finish18:27 A Human Answers Every Time19:08 Complacency Is The Real Risk21:26 Warehouse Space Without The Warehouse22:23 Character, Drive, And A Little Humor23:11 Availability, Service, Partnership23:48 Ownership On A Bad Week25:06 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/

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

  2. Sep 8

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

    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 wayHow 450 square feet at a time compares to a warehouse lease where landlords want five years minimum and ideally seven to tenThe difference between a storage trailer and a cartage trailer, and why it changes what you payWhy Brent will not answer the price question first, and what discovery he runs insteadHow sales pipelines fill and then freeze in step with the headlines, and what that pattern looks like in the order dataWhy one master agreement covers capacity at every location in a national network, with no new paperworkThe full life of a semi trailer: ten years over the road, then rebuilt and rented for roughly another thirtyHow Warehouse on Wheels scores its own environmental footprint, and why 51 out of 100 is not the grade it sounds likeChapters 00:00 Fuel Prices And 40 Pallets01:52 Twenty Years In Fleet Management03:19 What COVID Changed Forever04:54 Not Trailer Rental, Storage Capacity07:39 Storage Versus Cartage Explained10:54 Why Price Comes Last12:56 Storage Trailers Versus Warehouse Lease15:42 Reading Orders And Headlines24:34 Where People Matter Came From34:19 Scale, Contracts, And Doing Nothing38:24 The Forty Year Trailer47:31 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/

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

  3. Aug 25

    Where Dock Stars Started: The Origin Episode | Jonathan Brooks

    The show has a new name. What started as The WOW Factor is now Dock Stars, because the people worth pointing at are the operators, not the company. To open it, we went back to the first conversation we ever recorded. Dr. Mark Mann sits down with Jonathan Brooks (CEO, Warehouse on Wheels) for the origin story: a finance and private equity career, an MBA finished during the Arthur Andersen collapse, and a warehouse so overflowed that Brooks was renting 150 storage trailers as somebody else's customer before he ever built the business. What follows is the operating logic underneath everything this show covers. Brooks explains elastic warehousing with a real deployment, walks through the math a GM should put in front of a customer's CFO, and describes why he runs general managers as local market CEOs with their own P&L. Then he turns the mic on the host, and Dr. Mann lays out what he wanted this show to be. That answer is the reason it is now called Dock Stars. What you’ll learn: Why Brooks was a Warehouse on Wheels customer before he was its founder, renting 150 trailers to absorb container overflowWhat "elastic warehousing" means in practice, using a plastics manufacturer that flexes between 900 and 300 trailersHow a customer parks finished goods 300 yards from the plant and cross-docks straight to the 3PLThe math a GM takes to a customer's CFO: two to four times less per square foot, a 30-day evergreen contract against a 5, 7, or 10 year leaseWhy Brooks structures GMs as local market CEOs with a discrete P&L and an equity positionWhat happened when a customer's production line exploded and trailers rolled within hoursThe mentor feedback that changed how Brooks leads, and why every new hire gets his personal cell numberDr. Mark Mann's three goals for the show: unify the network, preserve tribal knowledge, and move customers from reactive to strategic

  4. Aug 11

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

    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/

  5. Jul 28

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

    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

  6. Jul 14

    Solving Cincinnati's Freight Crunch with Mobile Storage | Kelly McCane

    Warehouse space in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky is scarce, expensive, and locked into multi-year leases — so how do the region's biggest operations keep freight moving? Dr. Mark Mann talks with Kelly McCane, GM at FITS Trailer Rentals, about the "warehouse on wheels" model that's quietly powering one of North America's most critical freight hubs. Home to CVG (the 6th-largest cargo airport on the continent), the $1.5B Amazon Air Hub, and the DHL Global Super Hub, the Ohio Valley runs on tight margins and even tighter space. Kelly breaks down how mobile storage trailers help companies avoid demurrage and detention fees, dodge expensive warehouse leases, and flex instantly when 152 rail containers show up early. In this episode: The "where, when, and how long" of warehouse space problemsScaling from 20 to 95 trailers in 7 daysCutting $160K/year in port demurrage chargesWarehouse lease vs. mobile storage: the real cost-per-square-foot mathKeeping warehouse crews safe in peak season — and the strangest things ever stored in a trailerA must-listen for supply chain pros, warehouse managers, logistics leaders, and anyone curious how global commerce moves on the ground in the Tri-State.

  7. Jun 30

    St. Louis + Evansville Manufacturing Logistics: Flexible Storage with Drop Trailers | Brian Cain

    Evansville, Indiana and St. Louis, Missouri are two of the Midwest’s most resilient manufacturing markets—but when production disruptions hit, safety audits tighten up, or facilities consolidate, warehouse space disappears fast. Inbound materials keep coming, aisles get blocked, and yard flow breaks down. In this episode of The WOW Factor Podcast, Dr. Mark Mann sits down with Brian Cain, General Manager at Meisler Trailer Rentals (Evansville + St. Louis), to share a real-world playbook for managing warehouse overflow using mobile storage / drop trailers—plus the “whiteboard math” that helps teams avoid expensive long-term warehouse leases. In this episode, you’ll learn: The 3 recurring space headaches in Midwest manufacturing: production pileups, safety/fire marshal pressure, and consolidation overflow A true “hair on fire” response: a Toyota plant shutdown and how overflow capacity got deployed fast—at night Why trailers aren’t a band-aid: turning mobile storage into a repeatable JIT + seasonal capacity calendar The real cost comparison: warehouse leases (plus triple-net/NNN overhead) vs ~450 sq ft of flexible trailer capacity How teams reduce demurrage (often ~$200/day) by cross-loading containers into trailers and returning equipment quickly Simple yard organization changes that improve speed and safety (full vs empty zones, staging discipline) If you manage manufacturing, distribution, or supply chain operations in the Midwest and you’re trying to stay agile without paying for fixed space you don’t always use—this episode is for you. Subscribe for more logistics + operations strategy: @WarehouseOnWheels Learn more: https://www.warehouseonwheels.com/

  8. Jun 16

    Angelo Cruz - Denver Warehouse Overflow | The WOW Factor Podcast Ep. 17

    Denver’s industrial market is shifting fast—vacancy is up, but functional space is still hard to find. When operations outgrow the floor, yard flow breaks down, docks clog, and inventory timing gaps turn into daily fire drills. In this episode of The WOW Factor Podcast, Dr. Mark Mann sits down with Angelo Cruz (GM, Colorado Trailer Rentals — Denver + Colorado Springs) to share a practical playbook for handling warehouse overflow with mobile storage: month-to-month flexibility, faster capacity adds, and real-world examples—including a customer scaling to 110 trailers on-site. In this episode, you’ll learn: The 3 biggest “space headaches” Angelo sees in Colorado: outgrowing space, yard flow, and timing gaps Why storage trailers aren’t a band-aid—they can be a long-term supply chain asset How to avoid expensive multi-year warehouse leases (and only pay for what you use) A real surge story: “one trailer a day” turning into 15 trailers—and moving overflow to a storage yard How teams reduce detention/demurrage by cross-loading containers into trailers The first step before calling: walk the yard, find dead space, and identify bottlenecks If you manage warehouse ops, distribution, retail, or inbound flow in the Rocky Mountain region, this episode is a tactical guide to building flexible capacity without locking into long-term overhead. Subscribe for more logistics + operations strategy: @WarehouseOnWheels Find Colorado Trailer Rentals / Warehouse on Wheels: https://www.warehouseonwheels.com/

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About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Warehouse on Wheels
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    24
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Warehouse on Wheels
  • Show Website
    Dock Stars