Fuel surcharge; is it worth it?

The one thing that is off topic and should be said - don't let them pay for your plates. Get them yourself.

 

i'm independent, not leased i do not get/charge a fuel surcharge, i get my rate that i charge for my services, however i can't get the same rates now that i was getting when fuel was high. its just not broken down as a fuel surcharge. i guess i would want to know what the average rates are for both company's. 80-90-70% means nothing without knowing what that percentage is from. 75% of $6 dollars per mile is better than 100% of 98 cents per mile

 

It will make it easier to switch companies if you have your own plate. If they deduct the plate in say 3 months, and things go south. You will have to leave the plate that you paid for with them. Both have advantages and disadvantages. If things work out, it really is simpler to run their plate.

 

sounds like double dipping lost my donkey one week gone in 60 seconds
load % and then fuel surcharge % too Scram kittypower

 

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is the situation where fuel surcharge is combined with significant discounts on fuel at the pump from the carrier. That can be a major combination since fuel is one of the most major costs. When you combine something like, say, 25 cents a mile along with getting 40-50 cents off the cash pump price for fuel, now you are talking a major thing. I am getting 23 cents a mile fuel surcharge right now. My actual fuel cost per mile is hovering around the 25-26 cents a mile mark for the winter. So when fuel surcharge is calculated in, my cost for fuel is about 2-3 cents a mile. Now I am getting an average per mile rate from the carrier I am with of roughly $1.05 a mile (variable rates based on length of haul). So minus fuel cost per mile alone, the net is over $1 a mile. With better average fuel economy over summer months, I actually make money or at least break even on actual fuel cost with the fuel surcharge most of the time.

Only forced cost I have is $10 a week for qualcomm (no deposit or install/remove fees). Prepass / Easypass is optional at $18.05 a month, but the carrier picks up 100% of tolls thru it by using it. A time saver and free tolls, the $18.05 is worth it. They reimburse me annually for my base plate cost. They pay for all permits. I can get my insurance anywhere I choose, but they have some pretty good in house rates so I go that route. And $38-50 an hour when I have to sit over 2 hrs at any customer, along with $75 for the 1st extra stop off and $100 for each extra stop off after that. I use their fuel card to get the at the pump discounts. Most transactions are free. Roughly 60 cent per transaction for those occasional ones that do have a fee. Fee is dependent on truck stop brand. I probably rack up no more than $3 a month in fuel card fees.

I am an LLC with an S Corp tax structure, so I am a W-2 employee of my own business. I pay myself $800 a week salary (roughly $41,600 per year) based on the average annual income of heavy truck drivers in my area of the country as determined by the U.S. Dept of Labor. After all expenses, including fuel and payroll (which includes employer portion of SSI tax), my net for the year thus far is hovering around 50 cents a mile. Was close to that all of last year. By being set up the way I am, only income tax on that net. No SSI as that is done via payroll and any net is not normal income, but a distribution from the business and subject to income tax only.

Home every weekend and not on any dedicated run stuff. I just limit all runs, generally, to no more than 500-600 miles from the house in any direction. Also by the house once or twice during the week.