Independent Truck Dispatching

Thanks for the reply.

Do you think $400 for a really good week to the truck is too much? Say the driver grosses $8,000 on like 3,500 miles. $400 is 5%. At 7%, that's $560 just for dispatching!

I'd think at some point you'd have to cap what you make, otherwise your client might start to get pissy about paying that kind of money. Has that been anyone's experience?

Also, how many trucks have you found you've been able to handle at a time? I can't imagine myself being able to handle more than 4 or 5 at the most, by myself.

 

You say JUST for dispatching like it's easy lol, Some drivers make it easy, some don't, some brokers make it easy, some don't, it's a mixed bag and you never know what's going to happen, I've had some really good loads booked that the drivers refused, etc.

As far as making too much, the way I see it, two ways, A. If the truck is making $10,000 a week, that's $500 for me, If they are making $15,000 a week, that's $750 for me, if a guy is making gross of $15,000 a week is ######## about it, he's probably not going to be making $15,000 a week for long. Even at 10K etc, that's 40K.

Also, if it's capped, then I max out and move on to another truck so if we cap it at 7K then Im capped and I move on to another truck...

 

I didn't think it was possible to gross $10,000+ a week for a dry van...even coast to coast in 7 days I'm guessing $8k at most.

For other, specialized freight, I guess I can see it, especially for reefers during busy season.

But I'm guessing it's easier to get $10k for a reefer than it is $8k for a dry van.

And as far as easy, I'm guessing dispatching for one truck should be easy. As far as having the time to do it right. When you got 3 trucks that are all empty at approximately the same time, I'm sure that's when the pulling-out-your-hair commences.

 

Again,

Easy is relative, having cooperative drivers makes a huge difference.

I get a good 30-40 emails a day just from freight blasters, broker contacts, etc. It's extremely easy when you are in sync with the driver, that you know what they want, and how they want to run, etc. It's extremely difficult when the driver doesn't know what they want, that happens more often than not.

10K a week is easier with reefer and specialized than Van, for Van you have to catch a really good load at the right time to hit that, it's hard, not impossible, but the driver and dispatch have to really really be in sync and there has to be the element of trust, that the dispatcher is looking out for the truck when 3pm hits and the dispatcher is telling the driver to be patient as there is nothing good for him right now etc.... more often than not the driver gets impatient and will want to book a mediocre load going to a bad area than wait til 5pm and run the risk of not getting anything...

 

Hmm. What's the math behind that? I can see how it's important to keep the truck rolling high dollar miles, but at what point does time become a bigger factor? Do you ever have to have your driver sitting for a night? What good is $3/mile when you're only getting 1,500 miles at that? Not trying to argue against what you're saying, I'm just wondering when does time become a bigger factor than rate, and how do you balance that fine line?

Thanks again for reply.

 

The only time I've had a driver sit is if a load fell out at the last minute.

It is a very fine line between sitting for a good rate and getting miles in.

I can move a truck as many miles as he can drive every day every week, the rate won't be there though, so the truck is just spinning his wheels, I've had drivers ask for that, they give me their minimum haul rate and anything above that is fine as long as they are moving, I tried changing that mindset to do less mileage for a better rate, they wouldn't have any of it.

The bottom line is that the truck needs to make a certain amount of gross profit per day/per week/per mile. You need to know all three numbers and tell me all three numbers so I can help make you money. If you tell me that you need to make $1,000 a day then I can plan out loads for you that get you to that, while one load might be $500, it takes you to a $2,500 load in three days, there's your $1,000. Now obviously you have to take mileage into account, but you aren't going coast to coast in three days with two loads, and more than likely you aren't going over 1,000 km on a load in two days etc.

The guys that just want the miles, ended up with a lower profit margin than the ones that had the patience to wait. They drove more miles, used more gas, more wear and tear, more costs, for nearly the same average rate, than the ones who didn't.

Some guys have the luxury of waiting and some don't, I get that, but for the long haul look at things, having patience pays off more often than naught.

 

1,500 miles at $3 a mile in a week is very profitable for me. I understand where you're coming from. I think if you ever got out here doing it in the real world you would better grasp reality. But again there are guys you could build a $3 avg on 1,500 miles in a week and if they sat for a length of time at any point during that week they'd complain, gripe, moan about not rolling. There is no place for impatience in this.

 

I guess there is also the fine line between rolling more miles and make more profit, minus wear and tear on the truck. I'm wondering how you calculate that, if you do, and I'm betting Rollin Coal probably does.

Running 2,500 miles and profiting $3,200 vs. running 1,500 miles and profiting $2,500. Not including "wear and tear" on the truck. Do you calculate that as "depreciation"?

I'm thinking to myself that if I were ever to go independent, I'd try to make as much profit as I can, be ###### the miles I drive (up to a certain point).

I'll take running 3,500 miles a week @ $2.25/mi if it means I'm making a profit of $4,300, rather than running only short, high dollar miles, say 1,500 miles @ $3.25/mi and making only $2,800 profit. Certainly $1,500 more in a week will make up for any extra wear and tear on 2,000 miles.

I know you like to say "work smarter, not harder", but there is a lot of truth in running more miles to make more money. I guess it just depends on how much one wants to make, and how they like to run. I imagine some guys actually LIKE running 3,000+ miles, and that may be just as important to them as the money they make, ignorant or not.

Anyways, I bet you independent dispatcher guys run into all sorts of character types. Sjmay above mentioned just that.

I'm also willing to bet there are a large handful of guys running 3,500 miles a week and still making a lot less than what Rollin Coal makes on his 1,500 miles.

Those are the kind of guys I think I'd want to try and get signed on to my dispatch service.

EDIT: Numbers are showing me that running 3,500 miles vs 1,500 miles would cost $250 more a week for the cost of a $150,000 truck. Not including depreciation and all that fancy crap.

Now the toll an extra 2,000 miles takes on the human body I can't calculate. Not sure how to do that

 

I try not to over think this stuff. There's no reason to complicate the simple. Most definitely if you're dispatching you want lots of truckers who think in terms of tall miles and big gross revenue. You'll make out well as long as you can look in the mirror. I couldn't do that. If I was dispatching I'd want those trucks taking profits also. Cause I know what it's like to never get anywhere churning out 3,000 mile weeks for peanut butter and crackers.

 

I'm trying to think of it this way. The more knowledge of the market truckers have on their side, the better rates will be. If there are indy owner ops out there complaining about not getting good paying loads, maybe think about hiring someone who has the time to call on 50-75 loads instead of 10.

Isn't that what trade is all about? Helping each other become more prosperous by selling our labor? I can look in the mirror.