Running with JCT

Hi Captain, thanks for reading. My average is actually a little over $.40/mile. Let's run some numbers and check this out:

My average miles per week when I stay out running is right at 3,000. Let's use the same fuel numbers. I paid for 434.7 gallons of fuel that week and got 7.1 mpg. Multiply those numbers together and you get 3086 miles worth of fuel bought. 7.1 is typical for me, although it has been rising lately. 3086 miles is close to average. So, for the fuel expensed to me on my settlement, I could have run an additional 447 miles to have a slightly above average week. Of course, my fixed costs: insurance, Qualcomm, the fixed portion of the truck lease, etc. (you did go to the JCT website and look at their calculator, right?) stay the same; for me they are $377.29.

My variable expenses are fuel, maintenance, and the variable portion of the lease. (DEF too, if you REALLY wanna dig deep! I actually bought enough DEF that week for 4000 miles but let's ignore that) Fuel is already paid for in this calculation with those extra 65 gallons. The maintenance escrow is charged at $.07/mile (my balance is currently $3137 to the good, FYI) and the variable lease is $.18/mile. The fuel surcharge was $.43/mile and, of course, there's the miserly $.90/mile that we get paid for keeping America running, lol. Now, JCT, in their infinite wisdom, pays PC Miler miles, AKA, "short miles". One wonders how much sooner Roger Bannister would have broken the four minute mile had he been getting paid by a trucking company, but I digress. . .

So, to be fair, those extra 447 "driven" miles would be more like 435 "paid" miles. So now we have 435 X ($.90+$.43)= $578.55 for additional revenue, and 435 X ($.18+$.07)= $108.75 for additional expense. That is $469.80 net that we can add to the original $715.33 in my settlement to total $1185.13 for a very slightly higher than average week when getting 7.1 mpg. $1185.13/3064 miles = $.3868/mile plus $.02 safety bonus for $.4068/mile, assuming that I keep the truck out of the weeds!

There you go. You can pay for a truck and still make about 40 cents/mile with JCT. You have to watch your mileage and plan your fuel stops and run, run, run! If I can answer any more of your questions, or analyze to death some more numbers let me know!

And now for some obligatory begging:

I know there must be some JCT execs reading this thread so this is for them.There are companies out there paying a buck a mile. Some even pay more for essentially doing the same job. Yeah, JCT pays fuel/road taxes where most don't, and the FSC is a few pennies more than most, but bottom line, we, your loyal drivers, are due for a raise! For a nickel a mile, I could see my family. I could order a Subway Club instead of slumming off the five dollar menu. Someday I might even be able to retire! So, spend a nickel already!

 

If you've owned your own business before, then you're way ahead of most. You can easily succeed at JCT if you like to run hard. Your five years experience is more than I had when I came over. As for picking a truck, I went with a Cascadia with 180k miles on it. I think that if I was going to start over I would grab the new Cascadia Evolution if they have any. There are also some ProStars and T660's, but I don't know that much about them. Starting with a new or slightly used truck will let you run with minimum downtime for repairs and with a warranty for peace of mind. The Evolution, I think, is $120/week plus $.21/mile. I would look carefully at that budget-wise to see if the numbers work, but I suspect that they do.

 

You're welcome. That little exercise was for me as much as it was for you! I just noticed that you're in Ft. Worth. I go through there a lot more than I go through the house (Las Vegas area). Good luck on your research!

 

Ok, housekeeping's caught up. Got rolling this morning from Van Horn and soon after got a call from a planner. I'm sitting in Lordsburg waiting on another driver to do a swap. He has a load that delivers in Casa Grande in the morning that I'll do and he can roll into Phoenix after getting his HOS back in order. Good deal for both of us!

I like Casa Grande too because we do some drop and hook pickups there. I've picked up a couple of loads outta there that went up to Seattle and let me roll thru the house. Gotta love it!

 

Hottest I saw in Texas was 81 degrees. Go figure!

 

Got over to CG last night and slept outside the gate of GiantCo. I had a stupid o'clock appointment time, so got in a door and went back to sleep. Everything went well so cruised to the Streakin' Beacon for a wash-out and then to Love's to fill the reefer.

A word about trailer wash-outs: You dry van guys (and gals, don't want to be sexist!) might have to sweep the floor occasionally for some load or other. Reefers have to be clean every time. I get some dry loads sometimes, but it's mostly some kind of food product and shippers insist on clean trailers. Some loads absolutely require a wash-out, but others can get by with a good sweeping. A wood-floored dry van is an easy sweep out. These &%$# reefers with their channeled floors are a PITA! I stole somebody's idea and bought a battery powered leaf blower. They run about $100 at Big Blue or Big Orange for the 18v model and work amazingly well! I can blow out a trailer in under 3 minutes without breaking a sweat. Highly recommended! I would love to get the 24v model, but they don't always have them in stock. . . more power!

Being empty on a Saturday with JCT is not an envious position to be in. Most of the time they will get you a pre-plan Thursday or Friday to make sure you can keep moving, but sometimes you swing and miss. Let's chat a little bit about pre-plans. As a lease-operator, or "glorified company driver" as I've been described before, you have the right to refuse a load. . . In theory. I say that because I've never refused a load before. If you do, you go to the bottom of the planner's list (and presumably to the TOP of his shiat list) and may have to sit for a while. In Colton, CA it might be a LONG while!

Like I said, I don't have any direct knowledge of refusing loads, but if I ever get a pre-plan to a certain POS shipper in Broken Bow, I'll find out. I've spent my last second sitting on their property waiting on "product". Keep in mind, one of the not-so-delightful quirks of JCT is no detention pay. I know. . . RIGHT! I'm sure that when JCT negotiates rates with this giant chicken-ship company, that they waive detention pay for a higher price. It's time to kick some of that down to the drivers. I WANT MY NICKEL!

I guess it's time for a shower and a nap. The monsoon weather seems like it hits Arizona earlier and earlier and it's muggy out!

 

Had a preplan to New Orleans loading tomorrow but got called later for a load picking up today in Nogales. I don't have the particulars yet, but it's going to Portland for about 1600 miles.