Why do truckers charge per mile instead of per pound or per gallon?!

1203 companies charge by the gallon by the mile

 

Truckers don't charge anything, carriers do.

 

If the truck sits for a week and doesn’t move or idle, is the rate zero? Of course not. It’s all cost plus then converted to whatever unit of measure

 

And the conversion is by the gallon by the mile

 

I consider every angle and method in the 30 to 60 seconds it takes me to decide on whether or not I can/want to run the load. Mileage is the easiest though and once you really know your business it is easy to just imagine the load and mileage quickly and spit out a number...

 

Potatoes often pay by the hundred weight.... That means for every or partial 100 pounds pays a certain amount. This is how my carrier charges for our potatoe loads....

For instance... A few weeks ago I hauled a load of boxed fresh-pack potatoes from Idaho to St. Louis.... Approximately 1600 miles. The rate was $7.50/ hundred weight. I think the gross revenue for that load was about $3250. Which means I hauled between 43,300 and 43,400 pounds of potatoes.

 

I charge for every foot I drive.

 

I’m not sure where you have seen this at. Are you sure your not thinking of how many companies pay their drivers? A trucking company (carrier) dose not charge a flat rate per mile.

A carrier will take into account the miles (and with that goes the fuel needed), the time required, any required tolls, where the load is going (is it a bad or good area for reloading?), and other factors when accepting a load.

 

You cant run a business [for long] without a profit. You cant quote a job for X amount of profit until you can calculate your cost per unit. Whether your unit is hours, tons, miles or days is up to you. Some log haulers charge by the boardfoot, some by the ton,some by the mile, some by the load.. For instance.

If youre talking general interstate freight, dollars per mile is a pretty common method. But not all miles are the same either. WV vs Kansas vs NYC.

 

I have hauled and been paid by the mile, by the weight, by the unit and by the gallon, by the load and sometimes by the ton mile, it all just depends, no the commodity and the deal you make with whoever.
I also haul by the load, up to 45,000 then more and more for ever 5,000 pound increment too.