Freight Rates

Im 58 yo, and run the lanes I want. My personal finances are to the point that I can run the lanes I enjoy and the type freight I prefer. Its not unusal for me to deadhead 500 to 1000 miles 4 - 5 times a year without giving it a thought. I believe I am maxing the rates on the lanes I run. I do not run time critical loads, OD, anything that can rot or spoil. Im going to leave that to the younger drivers. There was a time when the boots didnt come off for 2 days. 37 years 35 as an OO. 22 with my authority. MC 262265. Im sure if I ran the rust belt, north east and maybe CA i could do much better. Im more concerned with my quality of life than the revenue. If i can go another 10 to 12 years at .90 net todays money and continue to be happy and have fun yea. This year my wife and I went to the Ryman in Nash ville, John Mellencamp, will attend in the end of March in Abilene TX the Outlaws and Legends Festival and Red Rocks for Avett Bros with Srurgill Simpson in July, Cheyenne Frontier Days, 4 days of LockN, and visits for days with old friends in Dillon Mt and Portland OR. Hangin at Fort Worth Stockyards. There are many brew pubs that can be reached by bicycle in many small towns out west. I slept in my bed 158 days last year. Equipment payments have not been around since the great recession. My tool box goes in my truck first. I run old school equipment less ALL the bling.
im sure I could do better and I believe if we have an open conversation based on honesty we as an O/O business comunity we can have a good quality of life, enjoy our jobs, think for ourselves, and make a FINE living. ..80 - 1.00 net per mile pre taxed.
Ive entered the point in life where Im working for enjoyment. I have been fortunate to have a few rentals and equipment paid for. Thanks to this industry and thinking just like you do now, Rolling Coal. Its your time. Happy to share when I can. When my kids where young I stayed home and operated 10 units. Thats another story.

 

If you like to go to Texas you're probably right. Lots of people go down there and come back out for nothing. Why? I've never understood. I run lanes I like in the Southeast and midwest. I get home often. Worked 2 days this week and made a pile of money. Drove thru the night as usual but got compensated very well. I remember a conversation with a broker a couple of years ago lamenting how me and some of my buddies were difficult to work with at times. We would always negotiate everything and insist on top dollar, always. He lamented the fact that there weren't more of the old school guys who always seem happy with $2 rates going any distance to any destination. I found that highly amusing.

 

and this is why I always enjoy reading your post.

 

Something you know Ric. Gotta be fast. Like most drivers don't communicate a lot of them are really slow. My truck posting always has the comment "quick rate agreement". In a world where i'm sure brokers talk to a lot of people who not only don't have a clue what they need but also go "uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh" a lot that stands out. Been told so every now and then. And of course I can back it up and toss a number out really quick. If I am distracted and can't I can at least b.s. them enough to keep them interested in booking my truck, maybe, if they like the eventual quote. You can talk about something until you are blue in the face some people just never will get it.

 

On those late night bookings -- is your truck posted or are people you've worked with calling you?

 

This week I didn't post the truck at all. Old contacts. Most of the best stuff is like that. Our front office blasts out daily emails apprising 100's of potential customers of every truck's location and the cell # for them. Get a lot like that. So old relationships and that.

 

with RC, it's always $2/mile lol. What about the guys running for $2.65/mile, are they doing it wrong too ?

Epmtrucks, look guy, not gonna argue with you. I don't buy your numbers, and I don't buy the way you account in general. Seems like everything that's "paid for" you don't include in your expenses, and everything that must be paid for in the future is also not there. With good accounting I think there has to be some acknowledgement that the stuff that's "paid for" and was an expense must be in there. In another thread I think you mentioned you have rebuilt several engines over the years. yet there is nothing in your expenses. I get it, you figure that was paid for already. So if you have to rebuild an engine again then you jump the rate up for a couple years until it's paid for, then bring it back down ? To me it makes more sense to allow for those types of expenses as you go. If we disagree, I can live with that. It does seem that you have good control over your spending and are a knowledgeable guy and a heck of a trucker.

 

Whats to be paid for in the future, also the revenue not collect is not included. Its not there, so there for you cannot apply to any balance sheet.

 

My way of thinking is this. I want that cost per mile to include everything paid for and expenses coming. Sure, some of it is estimated. But when I say $1.25/mile what that means is I think if I had an account and put $1.25 in it for every mile I run there would always be enough money in it to not only pay the business back for past expenses, cover current expenses, but also future expenses. It should cover everything from my shoes to chains and binders, log books, ink for printer, a new computer, to truck purchases and engine rebuilds. Of course in the real world a $5,000 expense isn't going to cooperate and come exactly when there is a $5,000 balance in the account. But over time it should balance out, if it doesn't then I need to be raising my cost per mile.

 

I keep liquid funds to accomadate (3 units) rental property or trasportation needs. I do a lot of predictive maintance, rentals and truck, based from what I have learned from the past, and have eliminated a lot of expensive on road shop or dealer shop cost. My truck and trailer purchases 84 pete 15000.00 in 2007 sold 7500.00 2014, 94 KW 12000.00 2013, 2000 MAC 4800.00 @ auction 2007, $24300.00 equipment cost over 7 years. Approx 600000 miles .04 per mile equipment cost. That will continue to drop has I acumalate miles. I have an historic adverage over the same period of .15 per mile, parts and repairs, $90,000.00 to improve, (make it better when maintaining and repairing) . The bulk of the miles have been the last 5 years. We still had some masonry contracts to finish. I started using quick books pro in 1997 when we started operating a more than 1 truck business that grew to as high as 15 but stayed mostly at 10 units. We still use the same accounts, just less 0,s and it provides a wealth of historic and YTD history in which you can monitor present and develope future business plans. When we where running 10 trucks 1/4 of 1 per cent of the gross for the year was 2 $1200.00 mortgage payments. I know my numbers. They are in Quick Books. Just plug in the miles and do the math. Nothing has been eliminate, altered or discounted as to its need to be entered into the accounts. I can enter any date fields 10 years to 1 week and retrieve all data, and can compare any date fields to another.