So you want to "own " your own company

What's that old saying..... if you gotta ask you can't afford it.

 

in response to rambling redneck, Yes Im a broker, however the reason I said yeah right has nothing to to do with me not wanting to pay it, it has to do with, from the experience I have had with shippers thus far, shippers refusing to pay great rates like that on most loads. ( unless theyre are special circumstances that force them to) Sure there are some out there that do, but ask a NJ shipper for that on dry freight sometime..So lets not go on the whole " I hope your freight sits forever" tangent, the reason I ask is because I want to know truthfully what it costs the person who is doing the work ( the driver) to make his job worth his time. My portion of that is always the same and both parties know what it is. put it this way. If every load you pulled payed exactly 2.00/per mile ( loaded or not) would you be living comfortably?

 

Lets ask this, what is the load off the east coast that you are paying .90 cpm to the truck paying the broker?

 

I surely know this in a year once I buy my truck its not moving for anything under 1.60 and that is still pretty cheap in my eyes. It cost a lot more then the average person thinks to operate a truck and I personally dont think most brokers know what it cost to operate a truck unless they have prior experience or say there the wife of a trucker like some.

.90cpm..... How do you make money off that? It cost almost that to operate a dang truck, so what are you making a year 25 maybe 30 grand if you dont have any major breakdowns?

To many brokers, not enough freight, to many companies out there hauling CHEAP FREIGHT and making the rates lower and lower every week.

 

To the broker who does not know the cost's to operate a truck
.......and then also make a profit,from an O/O viewpoint:

Add up these numbers:
1)fuel, we have to front $ until being paid by a broker,
(also fuel tax quarterly)
2)Insurance
3)Maintenance costs, wide range of cost's here,
depending on the age/condition of the owners truck.
4) Tolls, weigh stations,etc..
5) permits or special permits
( say a daily,weekly liquor license if you haul beer, wine)

Just these dollar amounts here on average add up to MINIMUM .85-.95 mile.

6) 2-3 weeks out, groceries, food,hotel bills,laundry,etc.
7) Office supplies,(copier paper and printer ink,etc.), log books and related forms,
including postage and overnight envelopes,
( if you do your paperwork from your truck as a lot of owners do).
8) Truck wash's ,etc.
( unless you don't care if your rig is filthy)
9) Cell phone and Internet cost's,
( if you a wireless internet modem in your truck).

Again this a short list,
if anyone wants to add to this please do so............

And then on top of all this, must be sure to have payment for a breakdown if/when it happens to keep rolling.

We know brokers have price in mind as to what their customers will pay or what that broker will pay w/o thinking what it really costs to move a truck fully loaded.

Many brokers think that large companies that accept and run cheap freight,
( read back haul rates to move this freight),
also think that O/O's will also accept that freight at that same back haul rate, on a regular basis.
You'll never make $ moving freight at back haul rates, most O/O's know this, some don't.
I turn down those low rates, I wait for a better rate.

crusin

 

Most of the freight leaving NH and MA pays less then a dollar. Those are the loads that are posted with prices. I just left NH for CA on a long run for $1.50 which isn't too bad. I don't have a truck or trailer payment so for me it's a pretty good deal. I can come back home for close to $2.00 but that's hauling onions on a flatbed and I hate produce markets.

When all is said and done at the end of the month I make about $1.50 on all miles traveled which is around 10,000. I'm no super negotiator so anyone should be able to do that if your willing to stay out for 3 to 5 weeks.

Ya just got to keep moving!!!

 

As a new to the game owner ( I pay a driver 25% ) the average over the last 2 1/2 months is at 1.62 per mile. Occasionally the d/h is 4 or 5 miles down the road and sometimes it is 50+. The last 2.5 months has been a huge learning experience for me and I try and keep it a positive attitude through it all....was recently offered .75 per mile and that was the lowest that I have been offered yet. I turn down a good bit of freight partially b/c my driver doesnt want to drive for a cheap rate and mostly b/c I would rather wait for a decent load. Operating a truck out of Tampa, FL has its challenges in terms of a decent rate however it has picked up recently. The 1.62 average obviously b/c of the word average has had its share of low paying and decent / high paying loads over the last 2.5 months. For the record it is a 53' Dry Van - hope this helps. And yes there have been a few repairs lately - a $600 Air Bag Repair in SC and a $1100 AC / Transmission Repair but we are in the trucking business so we should expect that crap....if not a desk job would be nice....I hear they do not break down! Hope this helps!

 

Adding insult to injury. If you live in Maine / and or want payment from companies in Maine, there is a wonderful new law you need to be aware of here. Any contractor that works in the state of Maine that wishes to collect from another company / town of Maine / State of Maine is now required by law to carry workmans comp and Unemployment Insurance and be able to prove of said compliance to recieve payment for work.

This insurance btw runs about 5 grand a year. Stinks when your a small business that will gross 4 grand per year. Anyone want to buy a 60 hp Farm Tractor with implements?

 

I don't think that law applies to companies of just 1.

 

This thread is incredibly helpful to people looking to get INTO the industry. Now we need a post like this to help people get OUT of the industry.