Rates have dropped..

The thing Ive seen are you guys being able to put together LTLs alot easier than us

 

Is that for van loads??? Right now, there are 51 loads available with in 75 miles of my home paying $3.00 and 20 paying over $4 a mile for flat/step

 

I always try to fill out the trailer everytime. It does get hard to find loads 10' and under for my top deck, but I've done it numerous times. This run I have on now (unloaded my denver stops Friday and unload my Casper Monday morning) I had all lined up last friday before Easter. At the time, it was what there was available, and of course after I booked the loads, some came up right out of New Orleans going back towards home, but that is the price you pay sometimes to book stuff that far in advance.

I lucked out on the load going to NJ and got a good rate. I was prepared to DH all the way to Omaha. And to be honest, that might have been a better option as now they are calling for a blizzard here starting Monday and I'm trying to get home by Wednesday night in Chicago (load doesn't deliver till Monday 4/15) but I might be sitting at a truckstop waiting it all out.

 

The reason you cannot cover that load is that such a job is paid by the hour not per mile. At least, that's how I'm looking to such a load. Right now, an agent posted a local job in Montreal - 400 $ loading now (!!) and delivering tomorrow morning. It has only 17 miles to go, that's true. But if I'm grossing 400 $/day each given day... that's a sure recipe to go broke. What will be left into my pocket it will not cover the expenses. From my P&L file I figured out I need at least 1000 $day gross to keep up the business.

 

Talking about the place you need to be seems to me like a casino game and far away from any business plan. Following the idea, you can go very far with that. "What if I was in Bora Bora now, on the the beach drinking cold wine?" . Well, I'm not! Always it will be something left, I should do that or be there ... You cannot run a business on dreams. At the first side you have the option to choose your load. In real world you are going after the money. If there is no other load then a 3,50 going into no men's land will wait 2 weeks into the parking lot for that load going into that heaven of load rates!? I really doubt about that!

 

It was a same day load. You could load that morning and deliver after lunch.

 

Thanks for your answer, Mr. OZR. On paper (or half of it) that looks great. But I a men of numbers, to my disadvantage . So, 400 $ gross means :
400- 15$ FS= 385$; 385$ -35% (LSTR fee)= 250$ left for me before any expenses. My monthly expenses (business + household) are somewhere at 6500$/month. 6500/30 days= 216$/day taking in consideration 30 days, but we all know we are not working each given day. Even like that, admitting this pure fiction theory, that means a " huge" profit of 34 $. Into my opinion, you cannot run a small business like mine at a rate of 34 $/day profit. We have to take in consideration that day is lost, so doesn't make any sense to suppose I will have another load like that and my revenue will look better.
We can imagine all kind of projects. And that's a very good attitude... But the idea has only one small problem. In the real world is way different. 9 out of 10 loads picking up into my home city are 1,70-1,80... I know this is the price into this area. But in real world, local trucking companies are picking up all day long this loads. Because they know there is some room left to pick up another 2-3 LTLs. I'm with LSTR since September 2010 and along this journey, I've seen probably 3 or 4 LTL on the load board. I'm not bashing LSTR or your opinion. I'm just trying to expose the point of view from a BCO to a LSTR agent. Cause I'm considering the communication a starting point on the way to the goals.

 

So what is a normal daily take for you with $6500 expenses per month?