I get what you are saying.
So what do you recommend?
Also, that driver is currently running our truck with a carrier. If I keep him busy on our own dispatched unit, the leased truck will be parked. I will have to look for another driver. How can I lock in a good driver before even having the truck ready?
Business Plan/ Mentor Needed
Discussion in 'Freight Broker Forum' started by haider99, Jan 17, 2016.
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Most drivers don't want to sit and wait while you are waiting for your authority and insurance to get active. They don't want to have any of those headaches - they just want to drive, and collect money. That being said, you may have to bite the bullet and insure a truck sitting idle while you wait for CVOR and US authority to go active. It took me 5 weeks iirc. You may be able to insure the truck that is currently under the other carrier at the same time - this would be a question for your insurance agent.
If I were you I would never go into this just trying to do only ON and QC right out of the gate. Never. If sticking to dry van, I would look at routes into and out of the states within about a 500-600 mile radius of ON. Think MI, IN, IL, NY, PA, OH, etc. No matter which way you cut it, it will be expensive starting up. The other half of it, do you know what rates you can expect running in these markets? Will you actually make any more money with a lot more paperwork and headache than the way you are doing it now? It will take full time dedication to have a chance at success. It is not something you can do "on the side".dancecanyon Thanks this. -
Thanks for the quick replies.
I am very dedicated in putting all my time into this business. I understand starting is the hardest part... people have told me that for the first 2 years, it would be all work and no show of any gains. So I am ready for that.
You are guiding me in the right direction, the reason why I only decided for ON-QC is because my driver is from Quebec. It would be a lot easier for us if he sticks to this lane.
But now I am really thinking of going into U.S because its the best option and while I am entering this business, why not have all the doors open.
As for the rates, I am expecting $1.80 - 2CAD all miles for going the short 500-600 radius?
You are suggesting, I get all the documents ready to go (we have a truck parked that is ready), get insurance and once I have work from broker, look for a driver to do full-time? -
You don't want all of your work to come from 1 sole broker. He will rape you. The rates going from TO to MTL are better than the rates from MTL to TO. There are more loads going east than west. There is almost always an imbalance of freight, what I mean is there is rarely a time when the inbound freight and outbound freight are the same. In these situations you get large carriers mostly to do all the easy stuff. You will need to look at all options and yes keep all doors open by having US authority.
You may get 1.80 to 2.00 CAD for LOADED miles. I am talking about TO to MTL lane here. The broker/customer does not care about your empty miles. Remember the truck eats fuel for EVERY mile and so does the maintenance account and the driver still wants paid too. This can drag your gross revenue per every mile down quickly.
I am not familiar with dry van rates to the markets I said earlier. I really can't help you with that. I just see plenty of dry van work always posted for those places. I am familiar with the dry van rate for TO to MTL and back. You would do well if you averaged 2.00 cad on the round trip for all miles. You are likely to be more in the 1.75 range. Don't forget, that lane is only about 350 miles each way. Can you cover your monthly costs with short miles at that rate? Also, even if you pay the driver 0.50, that is $175 or so per day. Will he be happy enough working for that to stay working for you? -
The 1.80 -2Cad is for the short haul into U.S. You are not familiar with those areas?
The initial plan is for the driver who lives in Montreal. He will bring a container back from Montreal (from leased carrier) drop it and take the load for own dispatch back to Montreal. When he reaches Montreal he goes home while I look for a reload. And then he returns with a reload and from Toronto he leaves with a Container. Something like that. This will not work with a new driver that isn't leased onto a carrier however. I am expecting the driver to be back home everyday... even if they have to go to Ottawa/Windsor area or drive local.
For U.S short, is there enough freight to get the driver back home same day? So is it better to run a longer haul and be home the next day?
So for now, I will get all the documents ready, insurance set up for U.S, look for work and THEN look for a new driver for U.S and also have the current driver do occasional runs to Montreal -
I have no idea what the rates are from/to those states. I have never run it myself or even called on it. My customers don't run that area. As a rule of thumb, the longer the run, the less it pays, especially in the dry van world.
I should say you are catering to a driver more than you should. You should be building a business around how YOU can make more money for yourself. Figuring out how to run it around the driver's schedule often doesn't work out for the carrier. If you find you can make more money running say, Toronto to Chicago or Indianapolis and back, but that wouldn't work out very well for the MTL guy. What would you do?
I run a lot of stuff to NJ. Lots of drivers just say "I DON'T DO NJ/EAST COAST! WEST ONLY!!!!!!!!!!" Then they also complain of pay or sitting in truck stops, etc. I am not interested in hiring anyone who says "I only do this or drive here or drive a truck with a yellow motor, I only drive during daylight, etc. etc. etc." They can sit at home and stay hungry for all I care. I have cultivated the customers, and they are a small part of a bigger machine. I have cultivated what works for me, they need to cultivate what works for them. Or just be a miserable person 24/7, that's fine too. To sum it up, I like to say, is the dog wagging the tail? Or is the tail wagging the dog? -
Drivers are a big stakeholders in this business. But yeah, I would not rely on him to begin with. I would definitely run where more money is. But in all honesty, we don't have any exposure to U.S market and never had any trucks running there. I am researching on marketing the business to customers and also drivers so that I can get the good bunch to work.
I am grateful for having a great team of drivers currently running our leased on Carriers. I am glad to be reassured from you that it is a tough process to get through at the early stage and it was not only me. -
How many trucks do you have running under other various carrier's authority? Have you secured your trailers yet? And suitable parking?
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3 trucks running with other carriers and 1 parked, total 4. We did not purchase any trailers - we will rent to begin with.
We have parking available at a fenced gated yard. -
So you don't have your own authority? I thought you mentioned something about it. If I were in your situation, I'd get my own authority instead of being leased onto some ####ty carrier. Then you'll have full control over your loads and rates.
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