Work crisis ? Bad year ?

Does anyone have an idea how the expanded Panama Canal will affect the small owner-operator. Shipping lanes will shift, East to West rail will shift. It will affect the Midwest a lot. Sounds like it could be a positive opportunity for the O/O. We sure aren't hearing much.
I may be paranoid... but perhaps that's why the spot market is offering stupid/crazy rates of 1.50 or less to go to crap places. Squeezing small carriers out of business may be a motive. "They " have already flooded the market with cheap, cheap drivers, insurance and most costs have increased for the small carrier. I'm seeing lots of equipment for sale. But then again, maybe it's just the dead economy.

 

Here is an estimate of the costs per mile to operate a Class 8 truck. Everyone's costs are different, but let's assume these numbers are average.



Here's some more detail. You can plug in your own numbers.

• Fuel costs averaged $2.12 per gallon in the U.S. last week. Divide your cost per gallon by your mileage. If you get 6.0 to 6.5 miles per gallon, your fuel cost per mile is between 33¢ and 35¢. In 2012, your fuel cost was $4.14 per gallon. In March of 2000, it was $1.49.
• Equipment costs have changed, so you should use your own numbers here. I estimated that costs rose 21% for leases and overhead in the past four years. Overhead includes monthly expenses for office space or parking, or employees who aren't drivers.
• Maintenance and tire costs vary, depending on your equipment. These costs have gone up since 2012. I'll add 6¢, for a total of 39¢ per mile.
• Driver pay has risen since 2012. If you include benefits, 45¢ per mile may be on the low side. (If you're the driver as well as the owner, you might not count driver pay as a cost. But you do need to pay yourself, so add it to the equation.)

 

That chart is off a bit. At least compared to my numbers.

I am currently averaging between 5.5mpg as a low,.. to 6 - 6.5 as a high. I worked hard to get my truck into this range. Its a C15 CAT. Not many can brag about these fuel numbers with a CAT. I spend between $600 - $900 weekly in fuel. My fuel cost is typically between $1.70 - $1.90 per gallon. I do not pay pump prices.

My truck is paid for. I have no driver other than myself. I've spent exactly $6108.78 in maintenance and repairs since Sept 8th 2015. Thats including the $2900 I just spent this week. My insurance is $190 month. Tags are $1700 annually. I've reached a point where I've gotten on top of what my truck needs to remain reliable and trouble free. Dont get me wrong,.. its cost me a lot of money to get to this point. But now I can reap the rewards.

I've spent roughly $300 on straps, gloves, bungee, necessities since Sept 2015.

Thats pretty much it in a nutshell.

When I say I can sustain my operation running for $1.30 - $1.40,.. I mean exactly that. Do I run for those numbers? Absolutely not! Currently I sit a wait it out until something above $1.80 comes up. I have,.. and will continue to take $1.50 - $1.60mi loads as a last resort. But current average is still above $2 mi.



Feb 26th - March 2nd.
I ran 1408 mi including all dead head mi grossing $5180.79. Thats before my carriers 20%. I spent $677.85 in fuel. $110 in permits, no other expenses. NET $3356.79 for the week.

March 3rd to March 10th.
1959 all miles including DH, grossing $4700 for the week. $644.32 for fuel, no permits.
NET $3115.68

March 14th - March 17th
1018 all miles. Grossing $3550. $555.75 fuel, no permits. NET $2285

March 18th - March 24th
1971 all miles. Grossing $5100. $710.18 fuel. no permits. NET $3370

March 28th - April 2nd.
2803 all miles. Grossing $7975. $988.16 fuel, $300 in permits. NET $5091.84

Thats how my settlements look for the last 5 weeks. Keep in mind,.. this is off the load boards. No direct shippers,.. no special friendly brokers,.. just straight postings off DAT360 and ITS. Speed dial and a no none sense attitude. Delivered on Mon the 4th,.. 1 hour from home,.. spent the majority of the week working on my truck getting it ready to head back on Mon or Tue. Going to relax this week and burn off some steam. Anyone can do what I do.

Pretty sure there are quite a few O/O with their own authority that are having difficulty matching my numbers. I work hard to earn these numbers. You see 1500 mi for the week. What I'm not telling you is how many different loads I did within that 1500 miles.

Hurst