FIRST WEEK IN THE BOOKS

[FREE TO FAIL]

I wanted to get some feedback on my first long week expediting After running all the numbers for the last 8 days i got 2100 loaded miles 110 paid deadhead miles and 2450 odometer miles. The trips did not exceed 400 miles and had Chicago 3 times (ugg!) I grossed 2660.00 with FS and bought about $660.00 worth of fuel. I sat one day in Saginaw MI which was a total bust ended up deadheading out ... never going back to that town!

I would like some input on these numbers i beleive that while the mileage was good for a solo, the rate was not, My company pays on a percentage basis. I hauled a lot of NLM auto freight and notice that the rate was quite poor on some of the loads, but after sitting I felt that I had to turn the wheels to make something. I turned down a generous amount of loads as I felt the deadhead was excessive for the length of the run.

I dont beleive I can make a profitable wage based on these rates even though truck and insurance only runs under $1200.00 a month. I know i am the new guy but the freight doesnt know it and i should have the same opportunity at the longer and better paying runs. (I said as much to the operations manager as well)

Anyway for those of you who havent read my posts I run the 2002 Volvo 24' truck. I know no one here really likes to talk about the money but I want to open that dialog for myself and other new drivers as well.

 

[RichM]

So for the week you earned about $1.08 for all miles. In my opinion the miles are good but the pay is low. It's always a hit or miss to accept or decline a load. You can second guess yourself to death. I gather you are running as a single so the HOS rules really impact you.

I don't know what company you are with but when I ran single I did my best working in the NorthEast and New England areas. Competition seemed to be minimal and a lot 250-400 mile trips would come up that the teams would refuse but you could run every day with a good return, also the Company I was with had high tarrifs for that section of the country.

I sent you a PM on this subject.

 

[x06col]

Me thinks, that for a contractor $1.10 per mile all miles is ok.
Also, my math puts you at roughly 8K clear each month, after your truck, insurance, and fuel, if, you are able to keep those numbers up.
Depending on how graciously you choose to live, there are funds available for equipment replacement. So...... now what?

 

[davekc]

I agree with the above. Your average is nothing to dance in the isles about, but you need a longer period of time to make a fair call.
If you do this weekly, you are probably ok. If this is representitive of a great week, there would be cause for concern.
I would give it alittle more time to evaluate. Additionally, if you are getting a fair amount of 400 mile loads, you have to factor DH and wait time per load into the picture. You only have that 14 hours to work everything, so you have to keep that in mind.
As mentioned, that thanks can be provided to the idiots that put out the new HOS last year.







Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[jaminjim]

Like the others said a week does not make a year. Give it four weeks to see what your pay is for both all miles, and loaded miles.
Looks to me that your paid miles are better than average for how many you ran, and your deadhead does not look out of line. Just a little low on the pay per mile. (loaded) And that in turn brings down your PPM (all miles).

Just remember that running for a percentage that you have to look at more than a week.

Just my 2 cents

 

[TeamCaffee]

I had one other thought on this post. One time being in an area and not getting a load out does not necessarily mean that this is a bad area and you should never go again. If you where to do this in all places you would end up being very limited to where you would stay.

 

[ATeam]

Two things jumped out from your post; the vow to never return to "that town" again, and your idea that some loads involved too much deadhead.

Success in expediting requires an open mind. Any time you take a vow to never do something again, you limit your opportunities the next time around, because the next time around may be different than the last time. Just because it happened that you waited too long in "that town" once, it does not mean you would wait too long next time. Also, if a very good load delivered to "that town," it would be unwise to turn it down because of a vow which was made based on a bad waiting experience weeks, months or even years ago. Keep an open mind and be careful about vowing yourself out of the business.

You did not say what "too much deadhead" means to you, so I do not know if you are making the same mistake some drivers make. Get this into your head: ON A LOAD, DEADHEAD MILES DO NOT MATTER. ALL MILES DO.

This may be less true for a company that pays per mile than one that pays a percentage of the load. Still, the ALL MILES number should be considered with every load offer.

The formula is: Total Pay/All Miles = Pay per mile

Example: You are offered $1.50 per mile for 400 loaded miles, with 100 miles deadhead to get to the pickup. Your total pay is $600. Thus, your all miles number is 500 (400 loaded + 100 deadhead). $600 divided by 500 miles equals $1.20 per mile.

In the above example, the $1.50 per mile includes the fuel surcharge. If your offer does not include surcharge, simply add the surcharge to the loaded mile pay to get your total pay number. Similarly, if your carrier pays tolls, or fuel surcharge on deadhead, or relocation pay, or anything else; add it all together to come up with your total pay amount. Divide total pay by total miles to get your pay-per-all-miles result.

Our company pays percentage of the load. We recently took a load where the deadhead was more than twice as long as the loaded miles. Still, we took the load because our PAY PER ALL MILES was well above the minimum we will accept to haul freight.

 

[Olko]

Howdy

The key to all of this is to know your cost per mile to run that truck. Add to the cost the amount you feel you need to make to justify you moving YOUR truck. If it isn't close, tell them to do un-natural things to the load and themselves.

Back in the day, our figure was $1.00 per mile, for all miles, with serious consideration as to where the load would leave us laid over. Of course you have to use figures that are relevant to todays circumstances.

Kevin

Former "D" unit Driver and Owner Operator with my wife WendyCal.
Possible future Driver of a "C" or "D" unit with the same wife.