How are they doing it???

Is not being able see "Marten" on a trailer a bad thing?

 

$1.44 per mile cost? Seems really high. What is the breakdown?

 

If your Cost is $1.44 / Mile you better be getting loads at the Min of $1.83 / Mile

 

Some of our local truckers with chromed out rigs have wives with good paying steady jobs. It allows them to be super truckers since if they make money it is just adds some gravy to the check book. I wish it was my situation but it is not and it is the path I chose but it would be fun to dream that my my paycheck didn't really matter.

 

Actually sounds quiet low. My equipment is paid for and my cost is higher than that. This comment really riles people sometimes but as a one truck show if he is responsible for feeding a family and maintaining a household off that truck then those count as legitimate operating expenses that he has to cover. It's not going to happen at $1.44 a mile average unless your name is Jerry Moyes, Kevin Knight (you get the idea). If you're one truck and you're in it to profit you don't make any profit until all truck and household expenses are covered for the year.

 

Where do you run? Unless you are trying to stay in the Southwest or Florida, you still should be able to average 1.80+ with a van.


Do you negotiate?

Guy getting loaded next to me is going to the same place I am & asked what I was getting. I told him $1800, he said $1500. Turns out his wife dispatches him from home & she doesn't feel comfortable haggling so she just accepts the opening offer if it meets his minimum.

 

We try to tell newer O/O's that the better paying loads go to established / well connected trucks. It takes time to make connections. Most of us do ( or did ) not work off of load boards, they usually only show the loads that have already been turned down due to lower rates.
Everybody's situation is different. My cost per hub mile is a buck fifty five, and my revenue per hub mile is two dollars fifty one. I pull local dedicated farm products, quite happy being home every night.
Reefer is probably not your answer, unless you have connections.
I can make any business look profitable on paper using published figures, but the real world is much different. Good luck