How much can an INTELLIGENT owner-operator make?

Why do you want to minimize LTL? That is where the money is at, at least for me it is.

Stack it & pack it. I get paid by %, the more I can get in the box, the more I make.

Seems no one wants to work these days, no touch & drop[ & hook is all anyone wants. Any moron can do that, & there are plenty of them out there!!

Find your specialty, get good at it, people will pay good money for you to haul their product. Anyone can move boxes from point A to point B.

 

I don't do long statewide runs, I do local ones for a company.
I went door to door to companies looking that hauled stuff from point A to B.
Some people say I have no shame, or dignity... for me a NO means just come back later and try again. I'm very persistent.
I started a year and a half ago, I got 3 big rigs, 1 straight truck and 2 Sprinter vans, 4 drivers and myself work the runs.
I'm pocketing close to 5k a week, and still have 3 days a week off.

Can't say how intelligent drivers make, I don't think I'm smart, I just go after what makes me money.

 

Do you think there would be a better payback on your equipment if you bought a slightly used semi and trailer? 150K every six years seems kinda steep. If you do save the 150k. Take 80k or less and buy a truck. 20k buy a trailer. Take the other 50k and invest in something that will generate revenue outside of trucking. That way when you have a down season. You are still generating some cash flow. And from reading the posts in here, don't forget the 20k emergency repair fund.

 

Uh oh.you made him mad!! Alright who dun it?? ..lol just kidding driver,I have my rant days too!!

 

Well, my .02 worth would be the following:

Driving 120k a year is a good goal. I prefer to not look so much at the miles I drive as much as the revenue I bring in. In other words if I can drive less miles for more money than I would rather drive less miles. Lets say you do drive the 120k over the year. I think you would be doing good to average $2 a mile as your yearly average. (All miles driven) That being said, you will severely limit your available loads by limiting yourself to no LTL and no multiple stops. My experience has been that those loads you are trying to avoid is exactly where the money is at. (LTL, multi-stop and short runs under 1000 miles)

Having your truck paid for and saving for a brand new one is pretty much a wash. $2000 a month for a truck payment will get you into a pretty nice rig.

120k a year x $2 a mile will gross you at $240k

Fuel cost us about .80 a mile so right off the top I have a $96,000 fuel bill.
insurance will run you probably about $6-10,000 depending what kind of truck your running and your years of experience. I put aside .05 a mile for maint. (Even that may be too little)

Just those three things will cost you over $108 - $112,000

Now lets add your truck savings plan in there at $25000 a year and your up to $133,000 (assuming your insured at $6000)

As long as you have your own Authority you will keep all your money. Run under someone else and it will most likely cost you 25%.

IFTA taxes, IRP, tolls, permits. (All variable costs)

if you run under your own Authority you will have loadboard subscriptions, fax service, phone and Internet. Will you have Sat radio in your truck? Tv?

And then everyone has to eat and do laundry, take showers.

How much do you expect to pay yourself?

A wise person once told me... "When it comes to business, figure out what you can make and cut that number in half. Then figure out what it is going to cost you and double it. Subtract those two numbers and if you can live on what's left than go for it!"

Best of luck to you. Research every aspect of this industry and know exactly what you are in for BEFORE you start and you will do well.

 

You can throw some numbers around, but in truth, you can take 10 owner operators who lease to Landstar and each will have different expenses and revenue. Not every owner operator who leases to Landstar does well. Some lose their shirts. But, some do very well. Running for a carrier that pays percentage is not about the miles. It is about the revenue. If you lease to a carrier that pays mileage, then it is more about the miles. I would not want to lease to a carrier that paid mileage. When anyone throws out numbers, they are only talking about an average or perhaps their own numbers. You may not do as well as some, but could also do better.

There is really no way to accurately predict your net profit. Some people are better managers than others. When you lease to an agent based carrier, your revenue and success is reliant upon your ability to find those agents who have the better paying freight and to be able to do it consistently. Most of the agent based carriers have at least some who only deal with brokers and have no direct freight of their own. That means that their rates will be lower than those who have their own shippers.

Success in this business has as much to do with how well you manage your expenses as the revenue that your run. You can have high revenue, but unless you manage your expenses, you can still fall on your face. There is a sticky on this forum that breaks down an average that you can use to estimate your operating expenses. Whether it is Landstar or another carrier, they should be able to give you an average rate for their fleet. They should also be able to give you an average number of miles that their owner operators run. Yours may be different, but at least you will have hard figures to check and do some projections.

If you run percentage, you need to be willing to follow the money. In other words, you need to travel in the freight lanes that have the better rates and greater availability of freight. Again, most carriers should be able to give you some guidance and average numbers. When using average numbers you should keep in mind that they are average and yours could differ. Rates can vary considerably according to the type of freight you haul. The more specialized your equipment, the better the rates.

 

An intelligent owner/operator would perform proper due diligence and formulate a business plan/operations model around the results. You need to calculate your own operating costs, you need to sit down with Landstar or get access to their load board to see actual rates on actual loads and formulate your numbers and plan accordingly.

No offense to anyone, there's some good advice here, but you really need to do the hard work to figure this out properly. You might as well get used to doing the hard work, because you'll have to do a lot more of it to succeed in this business.

 

Keep it simple. Make sure you maximize revenue and minimize expenses, and you'll be fine...

Think of picking up loads like a game of pool. You always want to be setting up your next shot (setting up your next load). Make sure to put yourself in a good position to pick up a good next load; or conversely, make sure you're compensated appropriately for taking a load somewhere like Florida or the Northeast where the loads out typically don't pay as well. Or like some places like Montana where there just aren't many loads going out or you have to deadhead a good ways to get a load. Use this as leverage with the broker. They know it's hard to get a load out of these places.