Ok $$$ question reefers

How much deadhead? You have to incluse all miles driven in your figures. Some drivers ignore deadhead but they don't just magically go away, they cost just as much as loaded miles. That Chicago load puts you in the hole at $1.13 per mile round trip. Edited... misunderstood, an extra $1,000 puts you at a $1.70 per mile. Depends on your cost per mile, not anything to be jazzed about, but ok. Good luck calling a broker asking for their load at a$1,000 more than they offer and getting it. Always good to ask,be prepared to hang up and inquire on other loADS.

 

I guess if your happy at $1.70 per mile it works. Just keep in mind when we talk about carriers hauling cheap freight, we are talking about YOU!
I averaged $2.12 last year based on the odometer, and I'm not happy about that, but I deadheaded about 20% of those miles. Oh yeah, I'm leased to a company, so my expenses are quite a bit lower than someone with their own rights.

 

Of course reefer and flatbed $1.70 is way cheap. So-so on dry van side. Looking to get my average to $2 on all miles, I'll be happy with that pulling a dry van, but like you say fortycal it's not saying much pulling in $2 with fuel/parts/tire prices the way they are. Just curious where would you be satisfied avg/ratewise all miles pulling a flat 40cal? I figure by the time I get one $2.50 on all odo miles would be about right, if fuel stays the same?

 

I would say I'm satisfied at $2.12, as I know I'm doing WAAAYYY better than a huge majority of O/O and authority holders. $2.50 per odo mile is my goal with less than 10% oversize loads. I'm about 5% right now. I would have been at $2.50 had I hauled some cheap "backhauls" or laid over in Miami instead of bouncing home. I'm in the planning stages of adding another truck and $2.50 is my goal for that truck as well, but I would be profitable at last years numbers. Of course, if I bought a 10k Freightliner and hired a driver for 35 cpm 1099 I could make a killing with those numbers!!! Then again, the driver might just bobtail to Vegas and use my truck as a hotel while he drove a cab for a month!

 

If you're talking raw cpm as-in invoices divided by miles, I'd say your rates tell me more about your knowledge of the industry and your lanes/customers, and less about how profitable you are. On the "backhaul" topic, I have taken exactly one load at a below-break-even, and only for a regular customer as one leg of a well priced 3-leg round trip. Otherwise, I'll take a break-even run to get out of a bad market, but will DH out if that's not available in a sensible amount of time. I price the trip in expecting to DH out. A break-even trip is an unexpected upside.

I'm not saying it's ok to run cheap rates, nor am I questioning how well you are doing. I'm just saying a good looking cpm doesn't necessarily equal a strong business plan.

Or, you might be running up north in the turnpike states paying 10-30¢ a gallon more for fuel plus tolls and steeper terrain versus the guy running into FL for $2.50 and out for $1.50. Not that I do either of those.

 

Forty, you are running flats so need to look at what others doing flats are doing. Most Independent O/O's pulling a flat are seeing better than $2.25/mile on all miles. I spoke to a lot of drivers before buying my flat last year. So setting goal of $2.50 is doable even coming out of FL.

Rollin needs to get off his lazy but and start throwing chains, straps and tarps.

 

Lazy? I think my dispatchers might have a dispute with that comment. Apparently I'm the king of prompt, orderly paperwork as well.

 

You should be prompt. When you have 2 1/2 hours sitting in your truck while you are being unloaded.

Wait, sorry, those doors can be hard swing them open and shut.

And I'm sure you have to crawl in the back and take a nap on those loads you have to crawl into the trailer and put a load lock in.