Short Haul Pricing

You might want to think about pricing the job by the Hour instead. You can always convert the number over to CPM later. Load, wait and Unload time is more important the lower the miles involved in a job, but you probably already know that.

 

Let's say you want to book at least $1000 per day, if 200 miles load going to take your whole day, then you gotta get paid $5 per mile for those 200 miles, or $2 per mile on 500 miles. You gotta look for net revenue per day

 

Guys, you'll never know how much money per day or per mile you'll make.
It's all relevant. Working with a brokers in now days.
You'll get lucky if you'll get a little over $2:00 per mile on most of the loads over 200 miles.
Lot of factors comes to play,
Area where's the load located,
Area where's broker located,
I'll give you an example:
I have booked a same load out of CA with a broker in CA and I got very decent price.
Same load I was trying to book out of CA with a broker from Chicago, IL and it was $500 cheaper than a previous.
Another example: how you're going to make a $1,000 per day profit in the State of Florida?
99,9% impossible.

 

Location is a big deal and so is type of equiptment needed

 

Without BLOATING numbers like a few do on here,Im a realist,Always have been..

in todays economy, Forget the "Booking a $1000 a day to my truck" Your Not gonna get it working 'freight' You might get 1 day that generates you a grand, But you Wont 5 days per week,, not Now anyway.

Next, Realistically, You want to generate at Least $500 to$600 per day to be profitable The OP wants to know about Shorthaul Rates, NEVER,EVER Rate something under 200 miles by mileage...You'll Kill yourself Slowly..

Everything gets Bid By the Job,( # of Stops,Hours on the Street etc etc) And Lastly, Don't let ANYONE dictate your rate..If the Customer or broker don't like it,Move on.

 

SHORTING THE HAUL BLUES WITH BROKER GREEN​

ring . . . ring . . . ring . . .

"Afternoon, this is DMD Trucking, can I help you?"​

A sour voice spasms through the receiver "Hi, yeah, uh, this is Broker Green with TFU, I need trucks available in Pittsburgh, Pa . . .today?" Chills rolled down my spine as I began to sweat. My body was reacting to something my mind could not perceive.

"Ok Matt, what kind of truck? What do you have going on and the rate?"
"Hold on, let me check . . . ​

. . . East Pittsburgh, PA --57mi--> Youngstown, OH
FB - 44,500# [w/ 4' tarps]
RATE: $180"​

Ah, the cold sweats explained.
"Ok Matt, that rate isn't going to match up with our needs. Sorry I can't help you out."
Matt quickly, "Ok, what were you thinking, maybe I can meet you somewhere?"
"We'll . . .

. . . TRUCK RATE: $523.75 "

"Really? That's almost $10 / mi. bro! I always get it covered at $180"
"Well Broker. . ."
"Please, call me Mr. Green."
"Ok, let me break down my cost for you so you can get the customer to reconsider a better rate . . .

250.................to turn on my truck and run for the day - warming up the cat
+ 75.................tarping
----------------
= $ 325
+ 94 line-haul @ $2 / mi
----------------
419 x %25 FSC = $523.75 is my all in rate Mr. Green."
​

In my attempt to help him understand his rating error and avoid it ruining another opportunity, Broker green explodes and the line goes dead. I take a look on the board and there is the lane with the TFU name next to it . . . rate is now $400 and there, next to it, the name . . . Broker Green.
I call back, this time trying to help him understand margins now.

"Hey Broker Green, its D from DMD."
"Huh?" As though we hadn't just hung up the phone 1 minute earlier.
"Did you know you can loose you hand in India for trying to swindle %45 margins?"
"What? I think you have the wrong extension"
"Ok, good." ​

I hang up. My rate may have been high to some, but %45 margins is surely greed. I wonder what Broker Green was going to do with that %45?

Since the day, long ago, I have never heard from Broker Green again. I know he is still out there, lurking in the freight marketplace, shorting the haul for customers woes.

- THE END - ​

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A general rule of thumb, I like this.

Ok, general rule of thumb goes like this for truckers.
At the shipper, 2 hours free detention.
At the receiver, 2 hours free detention.
Add at least a 30 minute break by law.
Add driving time, maybe 2 or 3 hours.

Now with all that time added up, there is very little room for a reload being most shippers quit at 3 p.m.

Truck has to layover for a reload.

General rule of thumb.
2 hours waiting at shipper, $100
2 hours waiting at receiver, $100
1 layover $150
Fuel burned on a run, maybe $100
Total. $450

It isn't worth any truckers time to do anything for less than that.