On your way out of business?

$2/mile for 1000 miles / week? Sign me up! </sarcasm>

 

Sometimes I think it would be so easy to just forget the deadhead miles and go for the revenue. It is always such a big challenge to cover deadhead miles with paid revenue from the loads. Seems like most people are to one extreme and others on the other end of that spectrum. It would be awesome to find a nice balance between the two maximizing gross revenue and earnings.

 

Isn't that why you have to bid one-off loads as round-trip loads unless you know you can get a decent back haul?

 

A fun FAIR atmosphere. And by "fair," I assume they mean instead of soda machines, they have a Ferris wheel and bumper cars with a carny hawking some cheap stuffed animals in front of a rigged shooting game...

And funnel cakes.

 

I gave up worrying about empty miles this year, I'm at 61% empty for 2015, and my average all miles is extremely close to that of 2014. I don't have 2014's numbers with me but IIRC I had around 30% empty. My gross is $75,000 less this year but my net is going to be almost the same as 2014, with my miles this year 20,000 less than 2014. This has been a real eye opener for me to say the least. Staying loaded all the time does not necessarily equate to a higher net.

 

You nailed it oscar. I stopped worrying about dead head a long time ago. I've found out that if I just get a good rate then all those small problems like dead head cost just seem to take care of themselves.
all the time I wasted on those "connecting" loads did not equate to more net. Just more work.

 

and a whole lot more time.

 

My deadhead increased from 23% to 30% from last year to this year. I don't necessarily mean covering those empty miles with a load. I do that as much as possible as long as it works and doesn't waste time. I just mean getting high enough rates that cover that deadhead. That's the difficult part. I did several deadheads this year over 600 miles. A few of them were covered by the rate. Many more only covered the deadhead with a convenient backhaul or when I made it back home a decent local haul. I was just thinking maybe not being as aggressive on rates, and if my overall average is down 30 cents or so from where I want it, then to hell with it. Just keep on trucking. Get more freight and increase gross revenue. My gross was down too much this year.

 

That's about the equivalent of 1.50 leased to a carrier , for having authority its not burning up the world

 

Can you spell that all out for me? Either way you are paying for plates, insurance, fuel, tires and repairs. The only difference I can see is you having to do your own accounting, IFTA etc. How does that add up to $.50 per mile difference you are claiming? Over a years time at 100k miles that works out to $50,000. I know that stuff does not add up to that much. That 50k may come in handy some time.

The original post was for $1.15 per mile. Just for the ease of math let's figure on 100k miles per year. That is assuming that you would be paid for ALL miles at that rate. $115,000 vs $200,000 is a big difference. Let's assume that you do 120k miles and are paid for every mile (which you probably are not) that only brings you up to $138,000 while his rate brings you up to $240,000. Even at $1.50 you would still be 60k short on 120k miles. Fuel insurance and other expenses, except maybe repairs, are all going to be pretty much the same.

There are many, many owners out there that cannot average $2.00 per mile every mile for the entire year pulling a van and even some pulling a flatbed.

My boss has specialized in heavy haul. We sometimes travel 250 miles to get loaded and then another 350 miles past that to deliver and then come all the way back empty. He gets a lot more than the standard rate because we have the equipment to handle the oversized or overweight loads.

No he is not burning up the world but he has a lot less stress searching for the next load now. That and he only goes into the surrounding states and Washington now. Can't count Idaho when it only takes an hour to cross it... LOL