What are we doing wrong?! This is long but the backstory is necessary :)

People get it in different ways. "Find your own loads"...ok but if we are bringing in the same thing as the dispatcher, who is only taking 5%, the larger issue still remains. We will keep 5% of a small amount. 1 thing you said that was helpful, which may have been accidental based on your tone, was get rid of the dispatcher. Perhaps we need a better dispatcher OR need to know how to find better paying loads. If we dispatched ourselves, that low gross rate is still an issue because we would use the same method to find loads. Driving our own truck which would eliminate a sizeable income that is carrying the business is like putting the cart before the horse. We need to increase the gross first then it would make sense to quit a decent paying job to drive our own truck. I've seen many people fail for doing the exact same thing you are suggesting. They think they have to do everything in the business in order to make money. This early in the business, we would even be happy with breaking even. We know profits are slim to none during the early stages. Many people in many industries try to take on too much and fail for that reason. I do think you made a valid point about the dispatcher. We may need to look for a dispatcher that can get better rpm, while we continue to look for dedicated runs and/or establish relationships with shippers or brokers that can provide better rpm. We are still learning.

 

I agree with you. I am sure we are not operating efficiently but that is where I don't know what address. Our largest cost is fuel, of course! Last year we averaged $770 per week in fuel. Is that a normal range? Insurance...is what it is. In 2024 we averaged $555 a week for insurance. We are getting the absolute lowest rate we could find. We shopped around at renewal time last year and did find some areas to skim the fat but couldn't do too much if we want to stay compliant and safe. We don't pay ourself and we put every penny from the business, back into the business.

 

Also, our CPM is $2.39 so I am looking for ways to get that down. We did just have a large expense when purchased the trailer and tractor in September so that is impacting the CPM. Is that still too high?

 

Awesome...thanks! Enjoy your day buddy