Turn Down That Load!!

[eztruckloads]

I know what you’re thinking, “I have to get home” or “If I’m parked I’m not making money.” You’re right, and we are all guilty of using those reasons taking loads that we shouldn’t even look at. But there are other things to consider, the main reason is the cost to operate. As an owner/operator or a small trucking company, you must run your business as a business, which starts at turning a profit.

Let's think about the RPM that you are actually getting from Brokers or other Freight Forwarders to the CPM that you are spending.
You should have the answer to that question in the back of your mind each and every day. You should be able to answer that question without thinking, exactly how much it takes to operate my truck.

This is not just for fuel and labor, I mean for insurance, taxes, licensing, maintenance, labor and fuel all bundled together. In order for you to run your truck and make money, you need to run it a certain CPM.

When you see a load posted to a load board, you should be able to do the math and determine the profitability. Profitability = Total Revenue – Total Cost, where Total Revenue is the load pay plus any fees and the fuel surcharges.
I think we all need to live by “Say no to cheap freight.” But how many of us actually put the motto into action? It starts with each of us as individuals. We must operate our businesses in a successful manner in order to survive in this highly competitive industry. Calculate your cost to operate, add your profitability, and commit it to memory. And remember, if the load you are looking at doesn’t meet your profitability minimum, then help yourself and the rest of us – Turn Down That Load!!

John R. Spinella

[bigtime]

How are we suppose to know how many drivers know their CPM? That's like asking how many change their underwear everyday. I would hope 100%, but its probably lower than that!

[Flatbedpete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eztruckloads I know what you’re thinking, “I have to get home” or “If I’m parked I’m not making money.” You’re right, and we are all guilty of using those reasons taking loads that we shouldn’t even look at. But there are other things to consider, the main reason is the cost to operate. As an owner/operator or a small trucking company, you must run your business as a business, which starts at turning a profit. Let's think about the RPM that you are actually getting from Brokers or other Freight Forwarders to the CPM that you are spending. You should have the answer to that question in the back of your mind each and every day. You should be able to answer that question without thinking, exactly how much it takes to operate my truck. This is not just for fuel and labor, I mean for insurance, taxes, licensing, maintenance, labor and fuel all bundled together. In order for you to run your truck and make money, you need to run it a certain CPM. When you see a load posted to a load board, you should be able to do the math and determine the profitability. Profitability = Total Revenue – Total Cost, where Total Revenue is the load pay plus any fees and the fuel surcharges. I think we all need to live by “Say no to cheap freight.” But how many of us actually put the motto into action? It starts with each of us as individuals. We must operate our businesses in a successful manner in order to survive in this highly competitive industry. Calculate your cost to operate, add your profitability, and commit it to memory. And remember, if the load you are looking at doesn’t meet your profitability minimum, then help yourself and the rest of us – Turn Down That Load!! John R. Spinella

First off how many of you have new or newer trucks that have a payment attached. How many miles do you get from a gallon of fuel. What is your Liability Insurance and Cargo Liability cost. What did your plates cost. What states are you running and what is the per gallon fuel tax for that state. What does your Tax people charge per month and quarter to do your filings if you don't, if you do what do you feel your time is worth. Take all these number and average them out over a 2500 mile per week run and you should have your cents per mile cost.

Advantages we have all our equipment is ours, no loans, but also not new. Where a new truck should have less breakdowns, we have our basic numbers of what repairs are per month per truck. Maintenance should be all the same, but it isn't. We use all synthetic oils, and still change motor oil every 10 - 12000. Oil is cheap compared to overhauls. Every 250000 we do bearings and every 100000 do an upper. We have never had a major breakdown. Our maintenance costs are high, breakdowns nearly 0. We run our brakes to within 1/3 and tires the same way. The old tires and brakes we sell to other companies and make good money on them, almost enough to cover 75% of the new cost. We do not run recaps, because of the weights and lengths of haul we do. We do not any bio fuels, because they have caused us more problems than they are worth.

[Flatbedpete]

A simple way to stop cheap freight is to just do a minimum average. Cost of fuel on the national average and divide it in half. Today would be at $4.50 per gallon = no load moved for under 2.25 per mile and this is still a poor rate. We are going to charge per mile what the price per gallon is. Just like back in the 70s. With companies going out of business like they are today, this does nothing but drive the costs up to transport freight. Think about it. There is how many less trucks on the road, so this means there is this many less chances for a shipper or broker to get the load moved for a low rate. The news is starting to now say we are in trouble. They are not talking about the truckers like we warned them on. They are talking about the general public and its added expenses due to fuel and utilities. With a home loan and car loans included, the general public is hurting bad now, and this is going to get worse with a new increase in food costs. All retail businesses are complaining now because of the increase to them on freight, wait till they find the freight is not going to be on time or even there.

[r&c]

OOIDA has a new member program on thier site that helps you figure cost per mile. You just need all your figures handy.

[LLL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flatbedpete A simple way to stop cheap freight is to just do a minimum average. Cost of fuel on the national average and divide it in half. Today would be at $4.50 per gallon = no load moved for under 2.25 per mile and this is still a poor rate. We are going to charge per mile what the price per gallon is. Just like back in the 70s. With companies going out of business like they are today, this does nothing but drive the costs up to transport freight. Think about it. There is how many less trucks on the road, so this means there is this many less chances for a shipper or broker to get the load moved for a low rate. The news is starting to now say we are in trouble. They are not talking about the truckers like we warned them on. They are talking about the general public and its added expenses due to fuel and utilities. With a home loan and car loans included, the general public is hurting bad now, and this is going to get worse with a new increase in food costs. All retail businesses are complaining now because of the increase to them on freight, wait till they find the freight is not going to be on time or even there.

If you pull flatbed like your name implies, then yes, $2.25 more reasonable. But if you pull containers, or just simply 99% drop and hook, chances are you will not see anything close to $2.00 a mile. Most companies that do drop and hook pay about 1.50, but those are the people that usually don't have their own authority, so the company is responsible for getting you home if there are no loads. So the trade off is more money=more risk.

[Flatbedpete]

My name implies correctly, I do mostly flatbed loads, I also have a 50 ton lowboy for oversize and overweight loads as well as a dry van. The FB is the most versatile though, I prefer to haul steel or palleted building materials so that's the one I use most often. I also know that van loads typically get paid far less than flatbeds just talking to other O/O's on the road. If you want a good program to check your CPM, I suggest this one:

TruckMiles.com by ProMiles Software - Free Truck Routing, Maps, Trips, Mileages, Diesel Fuel Prices, Road Conditions and more!

It's TruckMiler, you enter all your information it gives you the CPM and cost of fuel per mile based on the national average of the day. It also gives you what your final profit will be. It's not always right on but it's damned close for the most part.

Petes Wife