Brokers, Please explain the plummeting rates these days.

NIce!

 

At 8.8 average mpg you’re paying about $4.25 for diesel.

I run heavy, 76-80k gross nearly every run. Run the speed limit, but almost always first to the top of a hill. 2022 389 565/2050 X15 18 speed 3.25 rears on 24.5 LP 280” WB pulling a flatbed 95% of the time. Most loads are only on 35 feet or less of deck space, tarped and can be upwards of 6-7 feet high. I average 6 mpg and pay cash money for fuel (no card). My average fuel price Q2 was $5.035 on 4513 gallons, totaling $22725 (rounded to nearest dollar) including DEF as I treat that as fuel expense. DEF gallons were 194 gallons at an average of $3.855 a gallon, totaling $750 rounded up to nearest 10. $22725/24950 miles = 91 cents per rolling mile in fuel expense. 47% deadhead miles. $80595 revenue for Q2. I could save about 43-47 cents off per gallon right now if I still had my NASTC card, but that’s a different story in and of itself.

Not setting the world on fire by any means, but that’s my “$6 fuel = $6 per mile” story.

 

You could use Mudflap and do as good or sometimes better than the NASTC card.

 

Mudflap is great. I just wish they had more participating fuel stops west of TX/NM.

 

If you slowed down a little, you could probably save almost 12-15k a year just on fuel alone. Yeah....THEORETICALLY you would get fewer loads per week, but to earn each additional dollar, you incur additional cost...minus the tax...but every dollar you save, you keep the entire dollar.

 

If my truck was spec’d for fuel mileage and I was pulling a box I could slam up against the sleeper, I’d agree completely. But that’s not my operation nor my spec. The way I run I can leave the house before daylight, be loaded just after breakfast and make it to any of the customer locations, save for the NM spots, by the late afternoon and stay overnight to unload the next morning. Then drive the next day back home for a shower and meal and do it again another couple times. When I’m back usually Saturday by noon, I’ve got 20-30 minutes left on my 70. That’s a full week with 3 runs. A 2 run week usually isn’t as tight, and running slower (62-63 mph) can net about another .4 mpg round trip. I usually don’t because I’d rather be home Thursday by noon than Friday by mid morning. Speed adds up too, you know. And if the hopper or cattle pot is on the truck? You can forget about fuel mileage in any capacity. Too much weight and too much drag.

There’s also the route to consider. Most of the loads originate out of southwest AR. I run US 70 over to Broken Bow, on across OK 3 to Antlers and get on 375. There’s a lot of rolling hills on that route with quite a few towns, AR posted limit is 55 and OK posted limit is 65. Unless you’re basically empty, you won’t get any fuel mileage on that road. Now once you’re up on the big road in OK/KS/TX yeah you can slow down and make some fuel mileage there, but the first leg that I described is hard on fuel. There’s a fella with a 579 Pete that runs dedicated to a customer in Wichita that runs mostly the same route with similar specs to your truck and he averages about 7 mpg and runs only 60 mph. I can put nearly two hours on him in one direction if we leave at the same time. However, he pulls a conestoga and takes a fraction of the time to get loaded and unloaded, so he can stand to run a little slower.

In all it still comes down to how you need to run your own operation. If I was only hauling 9-10k payload in a box, you bet I would mirror your style. Just like if you wanted to run a pot with me on occasion, you’d see your mpg take a nosedive.

Our operations might be different along with our costs and personal values and that will reflect in the choices we make. But we both have to bid for business, and I think we can both agree that more revenue on the linehaul to start with is a good thing. Saving as much as you can is icing on the cake. Never understood trying to do it the other way around, but that’s just me.

 

Fella I used to pull hopper with a lot uses them when he gets fuel at Casey’s and likes it. I just don’t like any hands but mine touching my accounts is all.

 

That’s understandable. Thought I’d toss out a discount option. I don’t use them so I have no idea if it would even be a good option where you run or not. I have friends that use it and about their only complaint is having to do fuel and def as separate transactions.

 

Ive never been in a position where I set the price. One of the first things Im asked is " how much more can you pay?" I bid on freight according to what Truckstop and DAT have for averages for that specific lane and its never accurate. For me drivers have always dictated what the rates are

 

It's been well over a year since we ran it but the one steady we had coming back out of jersey they lost the contract when we quit doing it, didn't wanna keep up with the rate boom. The same broker just recently asked us if we'd be interested in doing it again Lol, must of weaseled their way back in. Didn't respond. I'd do it again but it would have to be direct


Got the contact info from one of the dock workers that liked us back then. Been over a year now.