What to charge myself per mile?

LOL, We got out of the hay business in the 90's, so that price was back then. lol

 

You might like figuring an hourly or daily rate. I've personally seen $90/hr charged & heard of up to about $120/hr.

My research & figuring shows $900-$1k/day seems to be a reasonable goal, depending on costs.

 

To be perfectly honest, you will get a million different answers from truckers on what rate they would pull it for. I might think to get the best answer for what the going rate on your load really is, pick at a broker’s brain.

 

Occasionally I make a point of asking some local carriers if they can move a load for me. Sometimes they approach me also. Whether they move the load or not, you will have a pretty good idea where the market is.

The other way is to figure cost plus. Figure ALL your trucking costs, which you probably know anyway. Then figure what it would cost to get a premium driver to leave his job and come work for you next week You are a small carrier so you need a PREMIUM driver. A sub standard driver will make you uninsurable in a month. I might venture a WAG you're looking at $.60/mile for all miles + benefits + the employers share of all the deductions....and $2/mile to cover the trucking so over $2.60/mile cost. I would guess you're like me and Wal-Mart and everyone else.........the manufacturing business subsidizes the trucking business.

 

I agree with your first part, but the reason I say talk to the accountant is because how the business is arranged and how a charge to another company may be done with reducing the tax liability for the trunking part of the operation.

Setting a rate based in spot market rates seem to be self-defeating and could cheat the employee.

But again we don't know much other than wha that op posts about his business.

 

I did mean to not pay employees. I meant to run the trucking company so it shows a loss of profits or near loss, break even. This will offset the tax liabilities. Trucking is easy to have a loss in profit.

 

Why per mile?

You have a lot of fixed variables with data to back it up - fixed # of loads, mileage, time, etc....how do you value the runs as a whole?

Given the fixed #'s, you have to adjust for fuel and profit margin of whatever you're making and selling.

I'd price it as a load - 600.00, for example - and then adjust around for spots in fuel and expected margin of goods when loaded; giving you a window (again, for example) of 600.-900.00 per/load.

Sort of a rough sliding scale per load with built-in profit sharing.

Or just go per load and give out quarterly bonuses based on the above factors, just in a three-month lump.


But I think mileage is adding some unnecessary granularity in the payment side of things. You know the loads, you know the distances, you know your costs. Where does the load need to be?