Best Place For A Flatbed?

Well since i started in this business the standard pay has been 75% of 100%. All 6 of the carriers i've been leased to over my career have paid that way. I do not think i am stupid. I work for above average rates and do better than most. (My opinion) My 75% may well come out to more than your 95%. Then again maybe i'm wrong about that. What i do know is most everybody has a different approach to this business and just because it does not agree with your way of doing business does not make them stupid. I may be slow but i am not stupid!

 

When you read something can you understand it?
I never called anyone stupid, I said, and I'm typing this slow so some can keep up, Its stupid to give a carrier 25% just to lease on to them. Ok?

Now you are correct, your 75% may be more than my 95%.
I like to set around and break things down when I get bored. So far, year to date, my avg running mile pay for every mile is $1.84. Thats speedo miles on the truck, not book dispatch miles. If I add 5% to that its an avg. of $1.93. If I was leased to a carrier that pays 75% it would be $1.45 per running mile. This is line haul numbers without fuel surcharge added either. I know of others that can and do make better, but I'm under zero pressure to pull any loads that I dont want to take.
And if I wasnt a lazy ###### I could make a ton of money here, but I like my home time and I'm gonna be pressed to run over 100,000 miles this year.

 

That 25% is not all profit for the carrier. Out of that percentage the carrier must pay for liability and cargo insurance. They must also support a team of safety, payroll, dispatchers and don't forget the facilities and taxes. The actual percentage of profit after everything is paid is actually rather small in the grand scheme of things. If you are a one person operation or small fleet then you can keep your overhead low by wearing several hats and instead of hiring someone to do various jobs, you do them yourself and keep all the profit.

 

So do you wait to be paid until they get paid? Paying for your own fuel upfront? Nothing invested? Sounds like you have a great, unique deal. But unless there is more to this than you stated then the carrier is loosing money on you. It is likely that they have direct business they need covered and it is better to loose a bit on O/O's to cover the excess than chance loosing the business.

And if they are making money at these precentages then why aren't you doing it. Based on how you are presenting it you could make a killing giving 90% because all these 75% guys will want to talk to you.

 

I love this attitude that a carrier has nothing at risk or invested and the O/O has all the risk.
I am budgeting $20-30K per O/O I lease on not counting trailer, if needed. Many that I have talked to that is more than what they have in the truck. And this is not counting the $50K plus that you have to look at to have an employee that will be available 24/7. Can’t hire a minimum wage person for that.
I think 75% is about as low as it should go if you are a large van carrier with a lot of drop and hook. Anyone taking less than that is giving up way too much.

 

That sounds more like a dispatch service. If I understand his post, he pays his own insurance and the carrier does the paperwork. It seems to be a lot of risk for no money on the side of the carrier.

 

I don't understand why some people feel that the carrier is making all the money and not doing anything for their cut. An owner operator does have some overhead, but it will primarily be the carrier who suffers the consequences for any problems caused by the owner operator or drivers. There are a lot of small things that need to be done that make the owner operator's life much easier, such as get their base plates and permits, calculate fuel taxes, etc., If there is a problem it will primarily be the carrier who's neck is on the chopping block. For the services they provide, the carrier should expect to make a profit. None of us is in this strictly for fun. If we don't make a profit then we won''t be in business very long. I think that it works better to consider the relationship as a partnership where each has their own responsibilities. That is pretty much the way that Landstar and some of the other agent based carriers consider the relationship.

 

Yes, no one wants to "fix" it because of where the damage is. Might have a local body shop do it. I told him if it holds for 10 days or 10 yrs I won't hold it against him.

 

My wait time is how ever long it takes me to get to the office after I get home. Only if I dont fax a bill in will I have to wait to be paid.

Yes with there fuel card.

Other than cargo and bobtail Ins. and they pay my road use tax is all they have invested in me.

Yeah its a great deal. And theirs nothing more to it. Like I said they have there own trucks that make there bread and butter and they dont have to try and make a living just off me or the other O/O's working here. In fact I was there first lease truck and it took me over a year to talk them into it.

They do but I dont haul it for the simple fact I run sidekit and would have to take it off. Only one or two lease trucks do.

Why brother with the headache of doing this on my own and the filing of paper work with the DOT, the FMCSA safety audits and all that crap just to say the name on the truck is mine for another 5% in pay. No thanks.

They dont really want to lease on any more trucks. They just told a friend of theres no only because he didnt own his own trailer. There is a member on this forum that ask me about leasing on and I said something to them about it and they only will if he has is own trailer and good driving record. Now hes just got to get moved to are area.
They dont have a big office building, with 10 different departments with 5 people per department. They dont drive big nice shinny new cars every year or live in 5000 square foot homes. Thats where most of your 25% money is going too.

And I'm not the only one here on this forum with this kind of lease deal. Les is leased on with an outfit that is vary close to doing the same as I or maybe better.
The company's that you dont see every day on the highway are sometimes your better paying carriers.

 

G/Man – I like that wording – partnership. I have been trying to figure out the correct positioning of my business. It seems that everyone is “better pay, better miles, better home time…” but it is all suspect. And as I talk to these to make sure that I am not missing some expense and to see what my competition offers I feel like I need to take a shower when I am done.

Have my first load going out tomorrow (and I will be with him) with a part-time driver that just leased on. I am paying 85% and they are covering all expenses associated with the truck. I will not have to float any money and they have their own trailer. But a typical dry van O/O with their trailer would be 85% less 3% of what they want paid weekly on (think of this like factoring, would rather give a driver the opportunity to earn 85/87% than just do 80% and assume they would rather have all the money on weekly basis). After 6-months with good safety record that will bump to 87%.

For that we can finance the plates but that will be their expense and pay IFTA if they fuel at our locations. Other fees would be $15 for every advance or factor and whatever comdata charges when using the card. Fuel card provides a discount.

Oh, and because of a business partner I will have to take $50/direct load. He would make better than that if I hauled it or brokered it but he understands the economics of this business and not looking to get rich on others work. And on that note, my O/O’s will have first pick of direct loads before they are brokered. Not that my brokerage fees will make me that much more money but all that I have pays well.

We are really looking for drivers that want to work for a small carrier that does not want to get rich on them and help them get ahead. If someone wants to be independent but needs time I will work with them to achieve that goal.

So would love to get some feedback on how to position this so that my sincerity comes through and drivers look past just all the pretty promises that others put out and will start a conversation. I believe that once they start to talk to me they will understand that I am willing to make this just about anything they want it to be (with the exception of reefer).