What is the cpm you would want for this type of work?

Even for the distance 100-110 miles roundtrip, you don't think you would get more per load? My friend is getting more for less mileage. $135 is scraping by...and really scraping. Total business costs equal out to $115/load (of course, that is on the ambitious side, because it includes counting in getting another truck and lots of maintenance and being fully prepared in getting an additional 3rd truck replacement with lots of payment)...even keeping it as is, it would have to be at the minimum $170 to make all that happen and also be super-prepared and actually pay myself, maybe even $175-180.

I think the $20,000 yearly truck payments (which is even less for me...but put that in as a standard) would take a HUGE drop once paid off. At this rate, keeping 3 mo, 6 mo, or 12 mo of operating expenses on hand would be covered...whatever it is, the operating fund would grow instead of having to draw out from.

What am I missing? If someone thinks the operating costs are off or even low, let me know!!

 

$9200/week...that's $478,400 for the year. I can't make a profit unless I charge $478,400 for a mostly one-truck job that does 137,000 miles/year? I will have to ask my friend how that worked out given he does almost the same loads and mileage plus or minus a few details for less than half of that...and still saved money for his 2nd truck a few months into it and even had to rent trailers as an added hindrance...at not even half that rate. That he is going to expand it for more locations, he must be looking for more punishment. Even the useless cpm number of $3.50 in this scenario would mean a very inefficient business at $478k/year, if that is what you need to make it work. Your acceptable cpm (yes, useless except for comparative purposes) is supposed to go down as you get bigger, not go up. Sheer volume allows you to have tighter margins as you get larger, not the other way around. A substantial and regular volume of income from loads generates the income...why does everyone calculate more loads as a hindrance?? So I'd be better at 1 load/day and call it a day?!? I'd rather be maxed out to generate everything I can on a regular basis as the volume covers all of the basic costs like insurance, permits, truck payments, all of these non-variable costs that are the same whether I do 1 load a day or 10. The percentage that these non-variable costs affect me 'decrease' as I do more loads.

People are saying it can't work, others make it work...but asking $383/load ($9200/week) is a lot to go 100-110 miles.

 

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the input. I really do. But how does my friend not only do it, but thrive...and push for more? I use the numbers, straight numbers that a lot of people use. I even pad the costs to protect against the unforeseen.

yearly non-variable costs for 2 trucks:
$20,000 Truck payments (even less if you already own, but still put it in as a plan for a new one)
$10,000 Insurance and bobtail ins
$2,000 Permits, tags, licensing
$18,000 Maintenance ($1500/month)
$100,000 Diesel (not as variable given mileage is a set 137k)
I evened it all out to be $150,000 just to keep it simple, but all of it seems safe.

Let's start with fuel costs. With lighter loads but shorter hauls with immediate dump and half the trip is DEADHEAD empty, you still wouldn't pay $0.80/mile here in fuel costs (maintenance already above)...Even if you were, doomsday case: $110,000 if you are really terrible at the pump and can't fit the nozzle into the hole until the 5th try and spill the rest of the ground. When it's your gas and your making this a company, you kinda watch out for stuff like this.

a lot of the above is deductible, so it doesn't even count against taxes. What does is the amount over this, which is income. So would you need a personal income of $300,000 to make it worthwhile? $100,000? less? What are you guys doing that this is a bad deal? I seriously feel as if everyone here must already be 'clearing' 6 figures a year or something. Even if I was pulling good money like a friend driving for Wal-mart (which would take me 10 years to even get to that payscale at $70k), I'd prefer this.

at $190/load and yearly gross at $237,120, with total costs from $150k-160k, that is still $80-90k salary. While putting away as much towards costs as I put, you would think the business would be invincible.

at $200/load and yearly gross at $249,600, that is 90-100k. Could also put someone to drive 6 months a year for 2 loads/day, 6 days/week for 26 weeks at $70/load for under $22,000 during high season, have him do 'every' load during low season for 6 months for $33,000. Let's see, that leaves me working only 3 loads/day for 6 months during high season with him and take a 6-month vacation and still get 35-45k/year with 6 months off to blow in Costa Rica. Yeah, that would be extreme......ly awesome.

Seriously, are the numbers off that much? I tried to cover diesel...my friend did this so differently. He didn't even have a truck to start. He hadn't used his CDL in a year, bought a truck cash and went at it, got a backup, and is buying off rental equipment now (trailers). It's hard to think of costs and values when driving OTR and try to compare it to this. Who can average $250,000 driving 130-140k miles OTR. Good luck even getting something consistent to get that mileage. Even if you could, HOS makes it impossible...but driving local is typically even worse as there are no miles. It's definitely an unusual situation.

So, in this scenario, is $190 or $200 per load a gold mine or a money pit?

 

You're right...you can't go into this with a top of the line truck and expect it to work. It can, but you'd be just as happy to trade it in for 2 day cabs. Cheap, low-HP day cabs with fuel economy are the answer here...even my 2010 Volvo VNL780 is overkill. But if you like your truck and just pick up a day cab as you get going, alright.

I have to make $2900/week (including fuel) to make it work...actually a lot less but assuming the 150k expenses/52weeks. An average week can get $4560 income gross ($190x24 loads)...$1660 salary/week average for the year is $86,320. And what if I did pay someone to do 2 loads/day for me for 6 months of high season (2loads/day*6day/wks*26wks*$70/load)for $21,840k and took off 2 months for low season (3loads/day*6days/week*8weeks*$70/load = $10,080.

So 86,320 - (10,080 + 21,840) = $54,400.
Just to point one thing out, $86,320 salary for 137,280 miles means I am getting paid 63 cents per mile...as salary!!! Not too bad, especially to have such a high cpm salary 'and' lots of miles...it's usually one or the other, not both.

Even the other driver would be making $31,920 just to work a 'light' 8 months/year (2 loads/day for 6 month, 3loads/day for 2 months, plus 4 months off to do whatever) and he has zero involvement in worrying about anything but getting a paycheck. Not bad either way.

Is making $54,400 salary for 3 local loads/day, 6 days, 10 months with 2 full months vacation ok, knowing all maintenance and truck replacement plans are fully funded? 3 loads/day seems to be a pretty low stress situation. If my truck and maintenance fund are full, that money goes straight back to me.

MNDriver, thanks for the heads up. Let me clarify or define what I mean by local here...it's all interstate highway driving. I use local in that you go and come back a few times a day and it's only a little over 50 miles each way. Maybe my not being more descriptive is why it came out wrong like this and people think fuel will be approaching $1/mile. Does that change things? There are so few stoplights, I could try to count them on a map. Straight-shot highway. I think my description messed that one up.

Or is there something else? I incorporated the plan for two drivers so everybody gets to have their time in Costa Rica and no burn outs. Yeah, it may not be necessary to that extent, but it's there.

Load numbers are kinda fixed like I said...no surprises. If this is where all of the doubt originates from, then you are looking at the wrong thing. I am more concerned with maintenance and fuel mileage. I also put $20k for the truck payment, but that will drop. Those are the only two things that can affect anything. So is maintenance cost of $1500/month for one active service truck reasonable?

Fuel with nearly 98% interstate and half the trip riding with an empty trailer should be ok...maybe even average. I actually can only guess at this one just like you guys, but I still put it at $0.80/mile as a precaution. To think, if I get $0.67/mile for fuel cost alone, that is an extra $18,000 cash profit that I am not currently counting as it's unverifiable at the moment. I am trying to give myself bad, conservative numbers on costs. I just don't see how some of you get to needing $300+/load to make it work, while some people (some of you also that have seen or done it) think even a little under $200 might work. I have to look that over. I know everyone has different fixed overhead...but really, how can those numbers be so different?