just thinking!

underdog777 · Feb 6, 2011

In a perfect world we could get all the expediters in the country together.And decide to not haul cheap freight any longer.Because i know most the time when im offered a reduced rate i turn it down.My goal for the van and it seems fair to me is at least .92cpm.Anything less and i feel the carrier is robbing me.because i know most the time they get at least a 1.50 a mile i figure i need 62 % of the 1.50 to make it out here.With all the fees the company hits you with it should be 1.00 a mile.I know my fees are 70 week.And this should start with vans all the way up to tractors.just me thinking out loud!

nightcreacher · Feb 6, 2011

underdog777 said:
In a perfect world we could get all the expediters in the country together.And decide to not haul cheap freight any longer.Because i know most the time when im offered a reduced rate i turn it down.My goal for the van and it seems fair to me is at least .92cpm.Anything less and i feel the carrier is robbing me.because i know most the time they get at least a 1.50 a mile i figure i need 62 % of the 1.50 to make it out here.With all the fees the company hits you with it should be 1.00 a mile.I know my fees are 70 week.And this should start with vans all the way up to tractors.just me thinking out loud!

I may be all wet,since I dont drive a van,but I would say,depreciation,interest on the note ,fuel cost,service couple times a month,tires couple times a year wash once a week,figuring on 1500 miles a week,cost per miles is,as I guess,about 37CPM.Figuring most trucking companies are paying tactor trailer drivers 40CPM drivers wage,you should be able top get by with 77 cpm.Like I said,this is just a guess since I dont drive a van.THe other answer is dont work for carriers that give those big discounts

xiggi · Feb 6, 2011

What exactly is cheap freight anyway? Is it the same rate for someone who paid 5 grand for a van compared to the person who paid 25 grand? Is it the same for a young guy who lives at his parents and has no expenses as it is for the person who has a home and kids? How about the person that fixes his own food compared to the one that eats in restaurant. How about if your in Laredo or Chicago is it the same rate? What about for Sue who drives 70 compared to Sally that drives 55?

I always hear this term cheap freight tossed around when in reality it can not be defined over the broad spectrum.

zero3nine · Feb 6, 2011

Cheap freight is all relative. If I sat around thinking about the $0.90 to $1.10 per mile I get now living in Georgia compared to the $1.50 to $1.70 per mile I used to get living in California, I would go crazy. Instead I focus on the house payment being under $900 instead of over $4000.... and my house here is twice the size on thrice the land in four times better neighborhood with five times more polite neighbors and six times better air quality....

I can go on and on.... AND I've been home sleeping in my own bed all weekend.... Superbowl on my very own couch instead of streaming to my Droid on the dashboard.

Life is good. No, I don't make as much money now but my quality of life is far improved.

fired at you from my Droideka

OntarioVanMan · Feb 6, 2011

This is not a one size fits all business..even tho carriers via "The Contract" try to make us like that
everyone is an entity in their own realm...
Independent of each other and no set standard..only the standards they themselves set....we are NOT a collective...

nightcreacher · Feb 6, 2011

Having your own authority is fine,as long as your getting the freight directly from each and every customer.If your going thru a property broker,or partnering with any of the big companies,in the long run,your bottom line pay isn't any different than those that lease to any of the big companies.

zero3nine · Feb 7, 2011

nightcreacher said:
Having your own authority is fine,as long as your getting the freight directly from each and every customer.If your going thru a property broker,or partnering with any of the big companies,in the long run,your bottom line pay isn't any different than those that lease to any of the big companies.

Some freight I get directly from my customer and some comes from a 3rd or even 4th party.

I just added another courier company to my vendor list today... could be very good... they just had their only distance runner quit on them. So we'll see what happens. 60% plus FSC with a base minimum $115 charge for a van request.

fired at you from my Droideka

purgoose10 · Feb 7, 2011

nightcreacher said:
I may be all wet,since I dont drive a van,but I would say,depreciation,interest on the note ,fuel cost,service couple times a month,tires couple times a year wash once a week,figuring on 1500 miles a week,cost per miles is,as I guess,about 37CPM.Figuring most trucking companies are paying tactor trailer drivers 40CPM drivers wage,you should be able top get by with 77 cpm.Like I said,this is just a guess since I dont drive a van.THe other answer is dont work for carriers that give those big discounts

Well the key word here is "get by". I'm not in business to get by, I'd like to make a profit.