Landstar rates , what are you guys averaging on all miles for Van?

okay I understand, then of that 680 you are still paying for all of the gas, tolls, or anything else that travel expense wise?

as far as being on landstar are you classified as an w2 employee? also as far as tractor maintenance do they offer anything to assist with cost?

thanks for helping me out by the way

 

Yes you pay for your fuel, maintenance, everything associated with the truck. It's your business, so you pay for all its costs, no different than if you had your own authority. The percentage you give up to LS covers all the back office stuff- billing, compliance, etc. Some guys think the LS cut is too much but I don't get into that debate. I make it work for me, as do thousands of other guys. That's another thing that's kinda like religion...what I do works for me, what some other guy does is between him and his God. I have my own trailer (stepdeck) so my percentage for truck and trailer is actually 73%. So owning a trailer helps.

As you are independent you work for yourself, not Landstar so no W-2. And for the truck maintenance, it's your truck so the repairs are up to you to decide when, where, what. etc. They do have a program called LCAPP that offers discounts on parts, service, etc. I have long standing relationships with suppliers from my previous job, so I get great deals on parts and I do all my own repairs so I have never used LCAPP. The most important thing to know is that they will not babysit you whatsoever. They will not really even offer you a suggestion of what to do. Every decision is yours to make.

I can tell you that right now is a terrible time to think about joining unless you are swimming in money. Rates are very low and volume is way down right now. If you can work a company job for now, do it. You would be more likely to fail at a time like this.

 

Another thing I would add is to look for @double yellow and also @blairandgretchen
They both have threads detailing how they got started. There are others, but those are the two that I found helpful to me during my beginning at LS last year.

 

UPS is a whole different way of figuring Fuel Surcharge, they have several hundred small shipments on a trailer and their rates are much higher per hundredweight than a basic truckload carrier. Truckload carriers usually call it a cents per mile rate, while LTL carriers, (Less than Truckload Lots) call it a percentage. It is usually based on a truck getting 6 miles to the gallon and buying fuel for 1.25 per gallon, then the fuel surcharge is supposed to make up the difference on what the fuel is costing, so the person paying for the fuel is not making less than he/she would if fuel was 1.25 per gallon. To make money on Fuel Surcharges, get more than 6 miles to the gallon AND buy fuel in a cost-plus agreement that is cheaper than the retail price quoted that the DOE sets the index on.

 

No I will wait until I have at least 2 years experience and a hefty down payment on a truck to keep my payments low. And I would definitely wait for a busier time of the year to start.

So I know you can only speak for yourself, but since you pay the 15.9% tax for owning a business and the income, im wondering what kinda total tax percent you end up having at the end of the year after all your write offs etc.

 

Taxes are complicated and I am still working on it figuring that part out. I worked for a co. on W-2 part of last year, then also have my business and leased to LS...throw in the O-bum-a care mess and it's crap soup. So...I don't know yet.

 

Fuel surcharge is a way for truck owners to reduce the risk of volatile fuel prices. Each contract can be different, but if there is any sort of general rule it is:

$1/gal base price of diesel
6 mpg fuel mileage

It costs that truck $0.17/mile to drive down the road.

Now let's say diesel prices shot up to $3/gal. Without a fuel surcharge, it would cost $0.50/mile to go down the road but if a shipper pays a $0.33/mile fuel surcharge, it still costs you $0.17. In fact, no matter what the fuel price is, your effective fuel cost per mile remains unchanged...

 

Oh okay that makes sense, so basically, depending on the contract of course but in general, no matter what fuel prices are ill be paying .17 per gallon, ill pay the full amount up front during the trip, and then once its completed ill get the pay x 0.65(their van), then whatever the FSC ends up being depending on the gas prices I get ill get "refunded" back to me to make my cost of fuel equal to the agreed upon base price. do I have that pretty much right?

 

Just to clarify. FSC is only for routes from point A to B that Landstar has a contract to run. Most freight is what is called spot freight and no FSC.

 

Does LS do a 1099 for the lease guys?