In November I was very picky on what loads I took and would dead head 400 miles to take a load paying good or sit for 3 days waiting. I averaged $3.11/loaded mile but didn’t make any money. This month I decided to just keep the truck running. With fuel coming down I made a mental note that $2.50/mile should be the floor. I left home (Fort Worth) on Saturday November 26th. 11/27 Drop in Billings, MT 11/28 Pickup in Greybull, WY 12/1 Drop in Stroudburg, PA 12/2 Pickup in Philadelphia. 12/5 Drop in Brookings, SD 12/6 Pickup in Sioux Falls, SD. 12/8 Drop in Greenville, SC 12/9 Pickup in Athens,GA. 12/12 Drop in St. Louis 12/12 Pickup in St. Louis. 12/13 Drop in Beresford, SD 12/13 Pickup in Sioux Falls. In Mt Vernon, IL for the night and will unload at 0600 Friday morning the 16th in Birmingham. I have a pickup scheduled Friday noon in Chattanooga with a drop in Phoenix on Monday and a pickup Monday afternoon that I’ll drop in Texas on Wednesday and that will be it for the year. This trip will be 9 loads, 2 required 4’ drops, 2 were under 10,000 lbs, 3 others were under 20,000 lbs and the heaviest was 42k. I’ll be around $2.70 for all miles loaded and unloaded. After fuel, an oil change, insurance and yard rent I’ll be a little over $20k for 3 1/2 weeks. It’s hard to say what net profit will be over time but I’m happy with $1.95/mile left after the above expenses. And I realize this was my first month of serious running so maybe this will never be repeated. But I love working the boards in the evening. I love negotiating for my services. I love the hunt!
Deadhead can be a silent killer if you don’t factor it. A $3.50 a mile load going 800 miles becomes a $2.30 a mile load with 400 mile deadhead. But sometimes more importantly, sitting for 3 days waiting on the money is the bigger mistake. Time is money. That’s 3 days on the calendar that are gone forever with zero revenue generated. Makes no sense to me. Everyday away from my home/family is an important measure of revenue. My daily rate is just as important a measuring stick as my rate per mile.
My daily rate is the only thing that matters to me. I do not go out without hitting over it and then if need to adjust on other loads I can to even it all out. If I cannot get a load by end of day I will dead head out of that area and try again the next day. I will never sit unless I am at home.
[QUOTE="AgPilot1, post: 12245131, member: 333120" But I love working the boards in the evening. I love negotiating for my services. I love the hunt![/QUOTE] You.love it cause its new to ya .. give it some time ..When your love of the hunt turns to hate .. and after you get bent over a few times by those brokers you LOVE Negotiating with
That's good. It's always nice when you enjoy an aspect of your job that most people hate. But spending time studying the boards and still not making any money is like doing 10 gallon work with a 150 Pawnee...it keeps you busy but you're really not accomplishing anything.
I started my career in a 150 Pawnee so I get the analogy. However is $20,000+ in 3 weeks after fuel and insurance spinning wheels not making money?
In November deadheading ate up a lot of fuel. I only ran 5000 miles. I didn’t lose money but when I said I didn’t make any it’s because for the time spent I could of worked at McDonalds. Part of the learning curve. This month I didn’t sit at all and my longest deadhead was 120 miles. All my resets were accomplished with a load on and combined with a 10 hr. Also with my fuel discount I’m averaging $2/gal less this month.
