Picking my own freight baby! My journey to & of being on Schneider choice, the Adventure & Numbers!

The KW Advantage is a stripped-down Kenworth just to let you know

 

Well I'm certainly not saying they're 100% full proof, but they have the best track record allegedly, and I've had two and had great luck.

 

If all a guy wants to do is pull every day average non time sensitive freight like singles and lumber going to a warehouse type yard, is only a little better money. If he gets into more specialized high value and time critical freight, its a huge difference. I learned a long time ago i don't want to compete in general commodity markets that any monkey can haul. The big carriers can make money in that market simply due to their volume. 5 cpm profit adds up to a lot of dough when ya got 10k trucks. It works for them, doesnt work for my one truck operation. So i pull freight that training companies will never see. Boeing isn't putting a 5 million dollar engine on a truck driven by a guy with 3 months experience that had never even seen a jet engine, let alone knows how to secure it without damaging it.

 

What got me looking seriously into getting my own authority started with first just projecting out the potential income based on what Schneider is "supposedly" getting on the loads I haul. Just figuring in the loss there, and calculating out every additional expense I could think of, I found I would be doing myself a big favor by moving toward my own authority.

With that thought, I also realized that I would not be hauling the same loads that Schneider hauls, as most of these out of my home area are contracted drop and hook facilities. So, I have been reaching out to the owner operators at these facilities and getting some more detailed numbers. Upon seeing these potential numbers, I became even more enthusiastic about my options.

I've basically come to the realization that I pay Schneider a significant amount of money to be my back office. I benefit in no way by their discounts, as I found I can do as well or better in fuel and any other purchases through being a member of NASTC.

At this point, I am simply working through any numbers I can find in order to compare a dry van operation vs. reefer operation. Only reason I am considering reefer is that I am located right in the home area for Tyson and feel like I can work myself into some nice loads out of there when I leave home. That said, I haven't convinced myself that the potential increase in rates there will justify the increased operating cost and headaches that go along with hauling perishables.

For me, it comes down to living out a dream in a way. Ever since I started doing this, I imagined myself being totally independent. I've owned trucks off and on since the early 90's, and been leased to some really small outfits, and now a huge mega carrier, but never taken the complete dive into 100% running my own trucking business. That itch has never went away, and given the amount of time that I have to sacrifice away from family doing this, I feel like I owe it to them and myself to be as profitable at this as possible.

All that said, taking this type of leap is very nerve wracking.

 

Keep in mind something, you will never average the same numbers schneider can charge for freight. How many thousands of trucks do they have? Plus what? 3 trailers per truck? You can't provide the volume, nor the dropped trailers. General Mills won't pay you the same rate they pay Schneider, if they will deal with you at all. So basically just write those big box customers off, you aren't getting them at even a decent rate.

That doesn't mean you can't do good with your own authority. It just means you have to find a different market to compete in. The same goes for reefer work. Tyson doesn't want to deal with a 1 truck show. Go for small time shippers that ship a couple loads a week. Or better yet, get out of the box game all together and get a flat.

 

What you said is why I approached the individuals hauling out of the same customers I pull for. I found their numbers to be better, hauling to the and regions I pull Schneider loads to.

As for a place like Tyson, those loads are out there through the brokers that handle their freight. Independents haul these loads all day long.

In some cases Schneider rates are higher, any many cases, the rates are lower. One place where Schneider makes their money is by storage of the freight on their trailers, not necessarily by the rate you get to haul it.

Lots of variables to look at, which is why I am easing into this slowly.

 

Yes those independents go through the broker, and that broker won't pay you a penny more than he has to.

I'm not trying to shoot down your dream of being independent, it can wireless and does work for many. But i think you are trying to rush it. Going from a company like sni to your own is gonna be tough. I've brevet been with sni, but from what i gather reading posts ig guys that are, or have been with them, they quite a bit of hand holding, they just disguise it beret than most to keep the illusion of independence.
I would suggest adding a step in your process. Before going straight on your own, take a year and lease your truck to a company that does no hand holding. Someone like landstar, admiral, mercer, or the other agent based companies. Learning how to establish relationships with agents will give you a big head start when you start negotiating with brokers. The lessons you will learn in that year will pay off big time when you do go out on your own.

 

Dealing with a broker isn't as bad as some make it out to be. It's all in how you present and represent your self.

It's not easy but not as hard as some think.

I'd rather deal with a broker where I could Atleast negotiate my rate I'm not saying I'd do better but I don't honestly know. It's been years since I've had to deal with them but for now SNI works for my needs. However if things on my end were to change I'd leave SNI and find a better fit then. As of now SNI is the best fit for me.

Besides I've got to many irons in the fire now don't think I need more work.