Leasing at Prime

You certainly don't "have to do it like it or not." A few examples...

Loads: I can turn down any load that doesn't make sense for me to run. That being said, you go down to the bottom of the queue once you do that so that no one driver can sit at the top cherry-picking loads. OTOH, my Fleet Manager also has some say in this along with where my driver rating is at. My FM is also my business partner in this system... if I'm successful, he's financially better off.

Maintenance: You can choose not to use Prime's shops, or do your own maintenance in certain areas. PMs are something that you either have to produce a receipt for, or have an arrangement with the Road Assist (RA) folks. I choose to use ThermoKing for my APU maintenance, since our guys aren't always the best choice for breakdowns - saves money to go to TK once instead of our shops twice.

Tires: Same sort of choice here as well... you are certainly welcome to go buy some Chinese junk tires at Joes Cheap Imported Fuel Guzzling Tire Emporium. It's up to you.

How about determining the ROI (Return On Investment) for some of these items? How can you tell whether its better to buy cheap, poor quality Chinese tires, or top of the line Michelins? Last year I had a message from RA that the price of tires was going up after the turn of the year. Needing a set of drives, I got a little antsy about getting in and taking advantage of the lower price - why I'd save a whole $425.00 on the 4 of 'em. But wait... you drop fuel mileage when replacing old tires with new of the same make... a little analysis from my financial folder shows a fuel savings of around $1500 if I wait until they're at DOT minimums. That's enough to eat the cost of the price increase AND buy a tire. Guessing will get you into financial trouble very quickly. Business analysis helps you to time things in a way to take advantage of your capital position. It keeps you tied into the health of your business, and as I've mentioned before, the last thing you want to do is recall what you were doing a year ago if you have trouble remembering why and how much you were charged by Mikes Overpriced Oil Change Service. Or by Double Charge Annie Inc - getting your head inside of your numbers is essential to being successful.

 

That's always a good place to start! Ask questions. LOTS OF QUESTIONS!!! I highly encourage you to find a SUCCESSFUL Prime tanker lease-op, and ask TONS of questions. Find out what he does that makes him successful. The lizard brains that hang out in the truckstop and biotch about why they can't make a buck are the people to avoid!

Being organized helps a lot, so scribbling stuff on backs of envelopes works until you lose one. What each individual monitors is unique... its what helps you figure out where your business is going. What a tanker guy is going to watch will be different from a door swinger or a flathead. I bet your lumper cost per mile won't even come up in tanker division. Fuel is the big one for everyone...

I'll play with it, and see what I can come up with. My first attempt was just too darn small... being it's late, it may take me a day or two.

One thing I found out while getting ready to be a lease op is that the easier you make this on yourself, the more likely you are to keep up with it. Elaborate systems that require a lot of work tend to get disused, and the further behind you get the less likely you are to git 'r done. I use OpenOffice.org's product - mostly because it's free and being a cheap skinflint is how the Chief Financial Officer in you ought to be.

$21.75 for a rich, high-falutin' lease op. $7.00-ish for a company guy. Evidently you gotta pay to play!

Ah... bad timing, but don't let that stop you! Knowing that the deck is stacked against you - in lease deals everywhere - is part of beating the odds. When you get to orientation, look around. 3 out of every 5 folks sitting in that room won't make it to the finish line... most will drop out in the first year. It's worse across the industry in general - only 1 in 10 are successful. So you're going to have to work harder than the company guys, learn more, and apply everything that makes you more efficient. That's the key. We have to operate more efficiently than everyone else. Don't let this stop you - but understand that you need all the help you can get. Make sure you get back in for ACE-II within a few weeks of starting.

Money helps a lot. Hopefully you've got at least $2,000 to $3,000 stashed away at a minimum. More is better.

When you get into your truck, make sure you check it out thoroughly - and get it all taken care of. While that is happening, start working the relationship with your FM. That one is important, he's your business partner - the better that relationship works, the more likely you are to succeed.

Good luck, and don't be a stranger!