Same load, $1000 estimate difference from different brokers.

Maybe their algorithm knows landstar doesnt neccessarily pay as well?

 

ITS really sucks lately. Wife and I book together. We don't have the same loads on my phone and the computer, even if we search for it specifically. Just doesn't exist on one end. And you know how the new loads pop up yellow? Well it will do that, but still show 9:00+ old. It's all ####ed up. Wife begging me to go back to DAT Power, but I hated that even more.

 

Maybe the delivery date has something to do with it. I doubt they're just generating random numbers, but you never know.

 

I would put money on the algorithm either taking the mean average of miles/pay from the area and generateing a number based on that I.E all posted loads average to say $3 a mile from that location. Or it taking the mean overall average of all loads and spitting out a number based on the number of posted miles. Then the various loadboards use one or the other as a selectible option.

Its a pretty common programming and marketing trick in the IT world to help get people to look at X. The the customer choses Y algorithm settings to get Z result for W product so that they get as many customers as posible to look at X

 

We've also been getting calls on loads that we booked a week or two previous. Something with their recent update has gone awry. Nobody here's really happy with the new update.

 

I see examples like this every day and have been for over a year. I brought this up in another thread too. The sad thing is that many people are literally setting their rates based off these ridiculous numbers.

 

Thats why i always plan my rate at break even +20% as the MINIMUM i need to take with my costs rounded UP to still make a bit of money for me. Its also why even though my rig was a disaster im still around. Wish more perspective O/Os would just do the math....its really not that hard. For example. (Again EXAMPLE not real numbers)

Truck Payment $1500
Legal prepay $100
Accountant $60
Trailer payment $1000
Oil change $300
Tire $500
Fluids (oil grease coolant ect) $100
Projected maintaince $2500
Oh #### fund $1000
Tolls $500
Odds and ends $250
Tools $100

And i just round the expenses up to $8000 then figure my miles at 650 x 5 x 52 = 170,000 miles (i intentionally use the maximum i think i can run. For me i stay out 4 weeks then am home 4 days so i use 130k miles that way if i run extra hard one month it doesnt leave me flat footed) rounded up divided by 12 = 14200.

This is divided by 5 mpg to get 2840 rounded to 2900 x $3.50 (eia national average diesel price rounded up) = $10200 rounded up. This gets you an average fuel price per month with extra padding built in incase you get a lot of really long loada.

This gives you a monthly expense rate of $18200. Divide that over 13000 miles (rounded down) per month as your average you get a minimum rate of $1.40 to break even with anything left over at the end of the month going to the oh #### fund. Ideally you want a rate of 1.68 to have some left over for you as well or incase of breakdown. Anything above that is profit for this example.

This is just an example though not real numbers. You can also include the pay you want per month in your minimum rate too. Or adjust your milage based on what you actully do. I just used a bunch of random numbers here. To reiterate random numbers as in out of my ### to give an example.

 

I just dont understand this fully.
That mileage is impractical and going to lead to burnout, but leaving that aside, assuming youre trying to calculate expenses based on highest possible miles a year.

Divide by 5 why? Is this fuel mileage guestimation? Divide by 12 is months i guess rounded and multiplied by $/gal...?


I would calculate what fuel costs per mile and then multiply that by desired mileage a year and also use desired mileage a year as the metric for dividing expenses monthly, ends up at a higher rate than you cite. The reason your numbers inflate is because of your weird fuel cost calculation

So ballparking a more realistic 100k a year

Assuming my known fuel cpm cost of .5

4166$ a month + 8000$ fixed expenses = 12166$/ month
8350 miles a month

1.46$/mile + whatever for driver.