Under 20% of gross in fuel expense 3 years straight. Very nice. Always my target rarely my result. Usually closer to 25%.
Lets talk - or not - numbers.
Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by blairandgretchen, Nov 20, 2023.
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2023 has been better for me overall, I am on a dedicated power only account and the rate only changes with fuel surcharge, besides having a month off in March because my one month old transmission failed in the middle of north Dakota thanks to a blown cooler line, that they wouldn't warranty even though cooler and.lines were brand new to. I take the blame for that partially, not recognizing the leak in my parking spot 2 days before the failure, but in my defense I run at night and the failed hose was blowing it out the back behind a sleeve but I still should have noticed it. My gross is down a bit because of that month off and I have taken over all the maintenance on the truck since then so my over all costs per mile are down. Also regeared and on my second 18 SPD so have finally figured out how it wants to be driven for mileage so fuel costs have went down. Ifta's from last year we're right around 4.5- 5.15 my last ifta was 6.47 and it should only get better from here, got some fuel issues worked out and truck maintenance is looking pretty good right now. The downside to this account is dedicated means dedicated, I am 5 days a week driving mostly 2 lane roads in the middle of nowhere at night and the winters suck up here, told myself that last winter was my last doing this but I will be doing it this winter and for the foreseeable future thanks to rates on the open market being in the toilet for the foreseeable future
aussiejosh, cke, Siinman and 8 others Thank this. -
Thanks @blairandgretchen for posting that. I did this as kind of a "semi retirement" until I can afford to retire.
Your #'s are makin me want to look at mine a bit closer, especially after seeing your miles driven.Last edited: Nov 21, 2023
Rideandrepair, Feedman, cke and 5 others Thank this. -
O/O w/authority… year 3
I’m rolling almost the exact same mileage as last year. Down almost .40 cents per mile. All that .40 comes from 1/3 the shipments. 2/3 are direct customer and rates haven’t changed with them. This equates to about %12 to %16 percent loss in gross revenue depending on how you look at it. Right in line with what I’m hearing the overall market is down.
That said….. my customer is telling me they are changing our rates down at the beginning of the year. Expecting a %10 cut from them…..
I’m still well within my comfort zone and expecting to cut back my miles next year too… I’ve been pushing hard knowing it was coming to a slow down. I wanted to fill the war chest as full as I could get it.
Looking at alternative business opportunities to be prepared should circumstances arise?
I’ve made it into my 50s with less than 0 education by just getting outa bed every morning and putting my boots on. Just going to continue doing the same until I can’t, then do my best to cut expenses glide the slope.zmster2033, Jed2009, Cat sdp and 20 others Thank this. -
I'm down 40 grand gross this year. I haven't had to live any differently.
fordconvert, Albertaflatbed, Rideandrepair and 7 others Thank this. -
I don't do a lot of miles, that's not how I am paid. Somewhere between 50-60k per year.
But I'm 22k down from same pay period last year, and that was 17k down for the year before.Albertaflatbed, Rideandrepair, bzinger and 5 others Thank this. -
Years ago I remember seeing a reefer hauler from Nebraska with a sign on the trailer doors that read “this recession doesn’t bother me a bit, I was a failure during the boom”
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It's a good time to have payed off equipment and very little debt is all I know.
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Yup, The lady that does my taxes and book-keeping advised me three years ago not to incur any heavy debt. She was right, as she usually is. We had a long talk about what constitutes "heavy debt". She said that in my case it meant not borrowing money to buy things that wouldn't repay the cost of the loan over half the life of the loan.
She's the one who made up my exit plan and so far it's working out really well. I gotta confess though...I love hearing the guy I sold my tankers to scream about how much it costs to run them. He was the customer for years and he used to scream about what I charged him, too. I opened my books for him when he bought the trucks so he could see for himself. When he wants to complain now I make him pay for lunch...and he complains about that .
I won't lie, I've done alright in this business but it's mostly because of the good advice I get. I wish I'd been smart enough to surround myself with people like that fifty years ago.FullMetalJacket, PSM379, PPLC and 16 others Thank this.
Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds
Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.
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