how?

Hey Cowpie where is Kellogg, IA at? I live 45 miles west of Sioux CITy in Laurel NE.

 

That is what is good about these forums we all have are opinions and we share them. I was never calling anyone stupid I just don't agree with some things and I am not trying to change anyone's way of doing business just sharing my thoughts on the matter.

What a borring place this would be if we all agreed.

Have a good one!

 

I agree, wait, does that make me borring?

 

To add my nickle into this. As I have been really looking at leasing compared to staying independent I have come down to an average savings of less than $200/wk. And for that I am giving up $.75- $1.50 per mile?

What it comes down is that a minority have a great deal with a small company or have been with a company long enought that they a dedicated or regular route that adds to the quality of life. I understand that. Have been there.

But when you just run the numbers the average leased O/O is hauling cheap freight.

And when you add all the discounts that a typical lease on program provides it is less than $.10 per mile.

But there is another HUGE factor when looking at running independent vs. leasing on. Not everyone has the tempermant or finacial stability or business sense to be able to make it as an independent. And I am not saying this as a slam. Everybody is good at somethings and bad at others.

Today at breakfast got off phone with broker and booked a great paying and profit load for the weekend. Only 500 miles but $2/mile PROFIT. Guy across from me told me I was crazy and would go broke like that. Huh? "your wheels have to be turning to be earning". Others agreed. He had a 1200 mile load paying $300 more gross than me. But he couldn't tell me his per mile profit or what his profit on the load would be. All he knew was that it was a bad week if he did not get 3,000 mile in.

That guy needs to lease on to someone.

 

Bill, the main reason you do well is not just the common sense you have that others lack, but also the area we live in. IL/IN is one of the best places for freight, and we have it ALL (van, flat, refer, dump, tank) so that makes a big difference too. I was in the process of getting my own authority (I still have the van trailer and flat I bought) when this gig I car across popped up. So I leased on with a company.
Some guys don't have much choice tho, as living in AZ, NM, NV and so on kind of limits you on what you can do. I believe if I lived anywhere other than the Midwest, I would be leased to a company just due to the fact that freight is scarce and rates suck in those areas.

But again, it also takes a business man to run his company profitability and understand it. The rest just hold steering wheels and block up the left lane LOL!

 

Good posts, all. It is true that all things, like location, business sense, etc have to be factored in.

And another one is this... Just because a lease on is getting that $1 a mile rate, doesn't mean the package rate is low or being kept down for the independents. It was mentioned that carriers are keeping a lot, so it must be coming from somewhere.

 

When I was leased on at Schneider, I was on their "choice" program where you assign your own loads and get % instead of mileage. I avg $1.79 for all my miles and I stayed close to home. Every once in a while I would do a run out west or to FL but tats because it wad paying over $3 a mile to the truck.

 

I lease on because with my wife out of work I've just never been able to put back enough money to cover big repairs or run 60 days before settlements start coming in. Ive been independant before with my old man and would liek to again some day it just hasn't worked out that way yet. I lease on where I know someones got my back for repairs if I were to drop a trans or blow my motor.

I just left my produce gig yesterday because they aren't keeping up with fuel. I was ding the same runs as i've done for the last year and a half and for the same money... or LESS. with $1.50 per gallon more fuel.

I start with the pumpkin monday, My old man would roll over in his grave if he knew that. but I need to be closer to home and this is cutting my expenses DRAMATICLY. my insrance is less then half and the biggest portion is workmans comp which I didn't have before, i'm saving $100 a week on the cost of submitting my bills and getting my settlements deposited to my bank, plus the fuel saving alone are worth it. I've rented my reefer to a friend while I try this out so I still own it if I have to go back to it but I sure hope it works out. I've never been a play nice with others type of guy and big companies usually don't work out well. I'm hoping the choice lease will at least kinda of keep them of my back.

another thing is i'm the type of guy who will run and run and run. My health has gotten bad running so hard and I actually need something to slow me down for my own good

 

Good Luck Medicine Man!

 

Life is full of trade-offs. What seems to get me is people that don't understand what they are trading. Maybe ignorance is bliss. If you understand this business then you can say I could get A but because of this, this and this I take B. That I understand.

But when someone says "look at all my discounts and I don't pay for this and it is all about the net". But they don't understand what the net on the other side is.

Numbers - for me to net $60k in a typical lease deal I would need to average 3,000/miles per week. I run the same miles and I net $140k (and that is taking a discount on my current mileage rate as to do this I would have to take some less profitable loads).

I don't want to work that hard. So I take my 4-weeks vacation, run my 2,000 miles a week and still net $100K. This is an easy life for a truck driver.