Why pull cheap freight.

your cheap freight might be my bread & butter

 

Yes, break even. It is a very common number that every business person should know. If you don't know what your break even is you can't accurately calculate what your minimum number is.

 

I got his point. It must have went past your head. He was only stating that a driver should know the break point so that he would know where to base his rate to make a profit. I think you have your fingers typing before your brain was in gear. It might have been obvious that someone should know how much it costs to run the truck and therefore, what the "break point" is, but it has been shown in surveys and studies that 3/4 of folks out here have no clue how to run the numbers properly to know much of anything on how their operation stands financially.

 

Cowpie1 - are you a mind reader? No, it didn't go over my head.

To me, breaking-even means that every conceivable expense including my wage is covered. If so, breaking-even isn't all that bad on a back-haul if one is making a profit on a coveted front-haul. Some people are even content to lose money on a back-haul as their profit is built into their front-haul. To me, a great paying load is a load in which one will do better than break-even with out hauling a back-haul. Granted, this type of freight is rare; however, it does still exist.

Just in case anybody is interested, today I booked and loaded a load off of the load board for $850 more than it was posted for. If I hadn't been persistent with "getting my rate", who would have pocketed all of that extra revenue? Also, I passed on some freight that came really close to meeting "my rate". I was told by the shipper there was another trucker on hold wanting the load I was discussing with him. I let it go as it didn't have enough "profit" in it; however, I could have hauled it and "broke even".

 

So what is this secret to getting good paying loads? It seems everywhere I go nowdays all I see is cheap freight. And its going like hot cakes! I've honestly tried everything I see talked about in this type of threads and always end up in the same place. It's getting more frustrating by each day!

 

I've actually lost good paying freight to my competitors from blabbing too much. If you can find something that works for you, maybe the best advice would be to keep it to yourself.

I don't have the answer any more than anybody else may have; however, I do use a few things to my advantage once in awhile. Today, being it was Friday, at the end of the day I gambled with a load that had been on the board all day. When ever I see the same load posted by many different brokers, it's a good indication to me the customer is in dire need. I never bothered to even call on it as it was way too cheap for my standards and it wasn't going to my preferred area. Being I had my truck posted for picking up in the same area as that load was picking up at, amazingly one of the brokers called me on it! When a broker calls a truck, that even further gives the trucker the upper hand.

The broker knew I was dependable and serious about my job; however, they also knew I would have just as gladly sat home until Monday. After several back and forth phone calls, somehow, they got me 25% more than the original offering on the load board from that morning. By the time I booked the load at the better rate, more than likely any other available trucks had already committed to other loads. Sometimes, it pays to hold out if you can afford it.

When I called the customer to arrange for delivery, they wanted to know if I could deliver on the weekend when they are normally closed. I would have to guess the reason why I got the better rate was in fact because of the customer's demand.

Yeah, I ended up booking a load to an area I don't particularly care to go to; however, sometimes that's what it takes to make it in this business (to do what nobody else wants to do). I've already got a "back-haul" picking up less than 10 miles from the drop on Monday.

 

Yes the waiting game, I've done that too. It is a gamble but in the end even if I get the rate I want it's cost me time, which can impact my next load. Or my end of the week haul.
I certainly know that at times trucker has the the upper hand, but more often than not thats not true. Because it seems that there is plenty of truckers/companies that will haul loads at brokers best interest rates.
As for "doing what no body else wants to do", I've tried that and found out there is usually a good reason for that. It was the spot market rates, outrageous detentions or delivery times, PITA receivers/shippers, etc.

Now I'm not saying good paying freight is not out there, I seen a couple of people on here that have found a way to work it. I just cant seem to find out how!

 

Then why did you ask? How come you assumed the other poster did not mean the same as you, and understand going beyond the break even? Semantics can be a problem in communication, but how did you assume that he was on a different sheet of music than you were, much like maybe I was on a different sheet of music than you? Maybe it is time someone post an industry standard glossary of terminology and definitions so we can avoid all this nonsense.

 

cowpie1 - I was simply being a little bit sarcstic about rickybobby's post because of his comment "caring less" about fuel surcharges. I knew what he meant; however, his comment could have been interpreted differently if taken literally.

I remember making fantastic money when the fuel surcharges were first implemented in the early to mid-2000's. I guess you could say a lot of us were "gouging" until everybody figured out the true cost of increased diesel prices.

I definitely don't claim to know the answers in this business (even though I've been doing it for quite awhile). I've seen truckers/companies who I've admired (thinking they had the answers) surprisingly go under/give up.

Yes, for those of you who have huge payments to satisfy every month, it's understandable why one can't play the game like I try to. Don't get me wrong, I've got plenty of financial distress myself. I simply try to do what I can when I can if it makes mathematical sense.

 

What is cheap freight? This is what cheap freight is to me, a flat bed trucker. My cost of operating my truck is $294 per day based on a five day workweek. This covers truck payment, insurance, maintenance, tires, and paying me. Another way to look at it is that it also cost me $1.24 per mile to run the truck. That doesn't me I will run for $1.24. Anything less than $1.60 is cheap freight, but I don't base my freight value on $1.60 either. I am in business to cover my expenses and make a profit. I determine the length of haul, days of haul and build that into my cost evaluation. When all is said and done, I try to get at least $2 per mile, depending on the location from and to.

Last week I was in Florida (where I live) and was quoted $1.30 to $1.50 to haul out of Richie Brothers Auction in Davenport. I finally was able to get a load from a direct pay for $2.25 per mile to Fort Collins, CO which made for a nice profit. Trouble was getting out of Fort Collins. I was quoted from $1.05 per mile (bricks) to $1.53 per mile (roof panels). My wife kept urging me to take one of these loads just to get out of the area. I said no, that this violates my principles. Fortunately she came up with a load paying much nicer out of Nebraska. DH was 150 miles, but the pay was worth the trip and I didn't take "cheap freight" out of Denver. Plus, freight coming out of Oklahoma and Kansas is pushing $2.50 per mile.

What I would like to know is how and owner operator can run for as little as $1.05 per mile and make a profit. Or even $1.23 per mile. The brokers said they were running that freight all day. I know my costs, and know that if I had taken one of those loads for the weekend, it would have cost me $500! As I pointed out on another thread, the average cost of operating a truck across the nation is $1.38 per mile. So tell me, if you are taking cheap freight as I have defined it, how are you making money?