Advice on setting up a trucking business in CA

Cheaper to take the tunnell to hawaii and it seemed quicker last time i ran it

 

I lived in Las Vegas for awhile. Was going to mention Nevada, except Harry Reed was re-elected and I lost faith.

 

This is a Fox News byline. California is by far the strongest economy in the nation and is therefore the most business friendly state. If California were part of Europe, it would be Germany, while other states would be like Hungary, Ukraine, Greece, and so on. Taxes are higher in California because the infrastructure of well designed freeway ramps and bridges are not cheap to build. So, part of the resentment truckers in other states have is really a kind of envie for the power and reach that the California economy has on the rest of the nation. it's the largest "trucker" state, with a complex mixture of immigrant and native CA (such as myself) owner operators capable of doing good work. Anyone who starts any company here knows that slipshod business practices, dodgy ethics, and broken down equipment are not wanted in California. The CA DOT and CARB are serious about business, and they don't tolerate overweight, sooty, dangerous, and leaky broken equipment traveling on these very busy highways. However, unlike a lot of southern states, the rules are clear and available on the internet. You can easily call the IRP and IFTA offices in Sacramento to inquire about how to comply and pay for whatever requirements the state expects of truck companies. Overly busy clerks can be rude, but mostly they are not, and the CHP officers are well trained and professional in their attitude, as they must treat everyone equally. There's no longer any "good ole boy" angry white guys in this state.

Right now a lot of misinformed, mostly immigrant truck drivers are hoping and praying that CARB requirements for fully soot free stacks will somehow be extended forever or forgotten. This won't happen because the big fleets and a lot of owner operators have already complied and expect their investment to be part of a marketplace. I spent a lot of money upgrading to CARB compliant equipment, so I don't want to see a yo-yo from out-of-state, idling non-compliant broken equipment, filling his truck at the dock, taking my load and promising a cheaper price for delivery.

So, if you start a truck business in California, I recommend that you buy the newest trucks possible to get reliable emissions systems. Older trucks had lots of problems as the manufacturers let the customers beta-test the half hatched emissions solutions. Buy your trucks out-of-state, to avoid the current spike in prices for CARB compliant equipment, as well as avoid paying steep sales taxes. Also, business with your associates should be well documents by contracts. Stick to business practices that require detailed written trip information for every load, which Fed DOT and all states require anyway, and written broker price contracts in hand prior to the truck rolling even for the shortest load. Impulsive verbal dispatch agreements and flimsy informal business agreements that skirt insurance and licensing requirements are a really bad idea in the California economy.

 

Well said Stockton. I was born and raised in Orange County, I agree completely with your notion that rules are laid out in black and white with no room for "interpretation" by police and judges. Most mid-western or southern people can't imagine how that can be fair, but we can't imagine how laws with a moving target can be fair. Unfortunately, OOIDA and several non-California based trucking companies have managed to make CARB a moving target. I went to Bakersfield a few weeks ago and could not understand how so many non compliant trucks could still be operating. It seems like 90% of the trucks on the road are 1995 to 2005. It all comes down to enforcement and California does not have enough money to enforce all of its laws today. Thats unfortunate for guys driving $150,000 trucks trying to compete with $10,000 trucks.

 

Tax wise isn't Nevada a good state to inc in??

 

Advice on incorporating in CA? Simple...MOVE! Or don't incorporate. With all the other taxes you have to pay as a trucking company, why on earth would you subject your company to a state tax rate more than double the national average? Come on over to Nevada where it's 0, unless Question 3 passes in November. Even then, it's only 2% on earnings over $1mil.