swift and the lease purchase

Lessseee... truckin' for 2 years, all company and never ran a business - assuming here of course.

How in the heck would you possibly know?

 

A friend who is an O/O with Landstar has a list of company discounts he gets at different fueling places. Each day can vary. This is on top of the fuel surchage.

Think Swift is getting a discount on the fuel? 16,000 trucks. A bunch more than Landstar.

Do you think they forget to pass the discount on?

It just may be another way they make money off the flease operator.

Discuss!

 

I do agree totally with this post. I am a lease operator with a company that only has 300 tucks and we get a great discount that they pass on to us. I know both Swift and Schneider and JCT get as big or bigger discount than we do due to how big they are and how much fuel they purchase but neither Swift nor Schneider nor JCT pass it on to the owner operator paying for it. They all just get like .03 off pump price but my discount averages about .20 off pump price and has been as much as .49 off pump price.

 

And???

Every independent contractor's finanical position viz a contract and fuel prices is different. If one's fixed costs are high enough that a fuel discount of 3 cpg is squeezing them, then obviously the operator is in a bad deal - goes back to doing the due dilligence before signing the contract.

OTOH, a different operator with lower costs my do just fine or even prosper greatly given the same set of circumstances at the same carrier. A general statement that all leases are bad = "a fleece" is an uneducated stereotypical view. The financial situation of each business person and whether they will succeed or fail must be evaluated on an individual basis. Just the same as each lease/freight contract with different carriers must be individually evaluated. Some leases are obviously unworkable from a contractors viewpoint due to high costs and low revenue... if one signs something like that without a gun held to their head, you can't go back and blame anyone except one's self.

 

So not getting a fuel discount is OK with you Pony? Are you a L/O with Swift?

I wonder if they would answer the question I posed truthfully?

Bet most L/O's didn't know such a discount existed!

If I was doing a lease program I would make it to where my L/O's got the best deal possible. Less costs than having employees. That would instill loyalty amongst my people.

What a concept! It would never work!

 

I've thought about it and researched it heavily, talked to many people and read the many posts on here about the subject. I will be teaming up with my former mentor very soon and he has offered to teach me how the lease deal with Swift works and will help me with the process of leasing a truck when the time comes (perhaps this summer). I understand the basic argument here is why spend $200k over 4 years to earn $200k when one can spend $50k on a used truck and make $500k over the same 4 years. But to me it's too large of a gamble to take as the truck may break down and cause me to go back and lease when I could have done it to begin with-- and with a truck that will have a full warranty, be new and less likely to break down anyway.

 

Actually Swift is up front ... it is in the contract that they keep any discounts that they negotiate.

On the other side Swift allows you to use thier comdata at anyplace that will take it. There are a lot of mom and pops out there that can be several cents lower than the chains. If Swift has negotiated a discount with every truck stop in the country, more power to them.

 

I lease from Prime - and we get whatever corporate discount the company negotiates plus fuel surcharge.

But the point remains the same. So what? If an operator can make the finances work under Swifts contract (with or without the corporate fuel discount) it doesn't matter. You have your costs, and whatever revenue structure that Swift provides is what it is. If your costs exceed the gross revenue that you can generate you're going belly-up. If there is something left over after the bills are paid, then you've got a going deal.

Rug Trucker... all you're doing is whining. If Swifts lease contract leaves you cold - then don't sign it.

 

Lease operators are not charged more at outside pumps than Swift is. Whatever "discount" Swift gets is passed on to the L/Os. If there is one. There isn't always a discount.

I'm not really finding myself paying much more than I did at Prime.

 

I used to have several businesses. One was a very successful tattoo shop.

I DIDN'T HAVE STUPID TATTOOED ON MY FORE HEAD!