Playing with numbers, productivity and operating costs

I'll qualify my post by saying that these kinds of arguments always depend on the nature of one's work and that there isn't one approach that can be applied across the board. These kinds of posts also depend on arbitrary numbers being plugged in, in order to validate the argument.

If you drop and hook boxes and move them around the country, this likely won't apply to you. But if, like me, you live load and unload everything and need to always deliver early enough in the week so that you can reload by Friday @ 5 PM or you're SOL until Monday.

I do a rounder a week at an average of 3500 miles. Some guys I work with drive way slower and do 3 trips in the time I do 4, and tell me that driving faster never gains anything. I don't buy that any more than I buy the argument that if you work for a high enough rate you don't need to worry about costs.

I run a lot of western Canada and my fuel costs per US gallon are a little higher than if I ran in the US exclusively, but these are my actual numbers for price per US gallon, maintenance and fixed costs all in Canadian dollars.


$4.25/gallon

@ 7 mpg $0.607/mile

@ 6mpg $0.707/mile

Maintenance $0.10/mile

Fixed costs $4,000/month (insurance, interest, principal, depreciation, workers comp, pro-rate, parking etc. etc. )
$0.38/mile @ 10,500 miles
$0.28/mile @ 14,000 miles


3 trips a month@ 7 mpg @ 3500 miles each:

$0.607- fuel
$0.10 maintenance
$0.38-fixed costs

Operating cost: $1.087/ mile

Assuming you have the work available.......

4 trips a month @ 6 mpg @ 3500 miles each:

$0.708 -fuel
$0.10 - maintenance
$0.28 -fixed costs

Operating cost: $1.088/ mile


What do you think?

 

Neither of us looks for our own freight but we do set out own pace. If it's tight but doable for a Friday reload I'll push to make it happen. The other guy will hang back and deliver Monday. Part of it is that they live or have kids that live along the way. I live on the left coast and run east so once I'm out I can't slide by the house.

Holding off waiting for better paying loads still means being "at work" and not at home. To me there isn't much difference except if I have room on the deck for LTL. Then I'll hang back and try to capitalize on it.

 

Chalupa:

Fixed costs are fixed per month but not per mile.

Maintenance costs are accurate. That's about what I spend on the tractor and trailer. Tires, oil changes, washes and running/ on going repairs.

I did replace the motor along with some other stuff at the same time last year. That cost is in the "fixed costs" for two reasons.

A) Canadian tax law doesn't permit expensing such a large repair bill. They want us to capitalize it and then depreciate it.

B) I financed it so it makes sense to do A.