better to be under a carrier authority or independent?

How about the fuel discount? Do you get that? Do you get the fuel surcharge?

 

$1.12 per mile is cheap, even if you add fuel surcharge and get discounted fuel. Figure out all your costs and see how much you have left over to pay yourself and make a profit. Don't buy a job.

IMHO an owner operator is always better off leasing to a company that offers a percentage of the revenue rather than a fixed rate per mile. Schneider, Landstar, or Mercer would be better options for you. You will have more control of your loads and the lanes you run and make more revenue with fewer miles. That's the name of the game. Once you have a handle on how to run your business, then consider running under your own authority.

 

While there are successful dry van operators, you should consider pulling flatbed or tanker for better revenue on average. If you do lease on with a percentage deal, work your relationships with good brokers.

 

Target $2.00 per mile for all miles. Harder to do with dry van, but you can work your way into regular runs that pay well.

 

Speechless... bruh....

 

There aren't any companies that I am aware of that pay anywhere close to $2.00 per mile on a flat rate. That's why you go with a percentage deal and put in the work to get on the phone and find high paying loads. Park it until you get a good rate and get out of the "I gotta run miles to make money" mindset.

 

Mike, I'm a newly minted owner operator leased on with a percentage deal. I run flatbed out of OKC serving the oil industry, so the rates are very high. I'm close to finishing out the year, two months as owner operator and the first 10 months running another man's truck for the same company earning 25% of revenue to the truck (TTT).

Here are estimated numbers for 2016

Total miles - 100,000
Total TTT - $240,000
Percentage deadhead - 35%

That works out to $2.40 for all miles. Those include some hard miles running on dirt roads, so the truck does take a beating. Short hauls often pay over $10 a mile for loaded miles, to make it worth your while to do a 300 mile round trip and make revenue for the day. Long hauls pay about $3 per mile for long haul, because many times it makes more sense to deadhead back to OKC to get in line for another high paying load than to sit around with my thumb up my hiney trying to book a cheap load that will burn more days.

We also have the option to find our own loads using brokers, which I have done at times to cover fuel costs on long hauls OR if I see a sweet paying load (think Hazmat). I've developed relationships with brokers in key areas and call them in advance if I know I will get into an area to serve their customer and need a backhaul. Some loads I'm now getting paid $2.00 a mile on those backhauls, when the opening rates used to be about $1.50.

Now my situation is a little different than other owners that run primarily on big roads, and certainly different than dry van operators. I understand that Schneider van operators under the percentage deal are probably averaging about $1.70-$1.85 for all miles. Landstar or Mercer might be about the same, but SOME dry van operators have been able to get into relationships with certain customers or brokers that give them significantly better than that (think trade show, Hazmat, or TWIC).

 

If they pay you 75% of everything, line haul, FSC, stop pay, and they throw in the trailer & all your insurance, ( plates)?,
that's not a bad deal at all as long as the rate is decent.
I leased onto a small guy that pays all miles, about what your mile rate is, and made $100K year and home on weekends.

For someone just getting into the game, that's not a bad deal. Especially for van. You could do a lot better at Landstar, and even better with your own authority, but just getting into the game, it's not a bad deal, you could make some decent money, and learn the ropes.

Lot's of places offer more, but then they take back a lot more.