Other drivers killing us!

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
Just saying revenue without expenses is not how much money someone makes, it's money generated only.

Good point. Revenue per mile and total revenue are but two pieces of the larger puzzle. But it is important to know how to calculate them just the same.
 

xiggi

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Actually, there is a pop quiz every day you are in the business. The answer may seem obvious and simple to those who know how to calculate it, but pause to note that not everyone does. One of the down sides of experience is forgetting what it is like to not know the things you now know.

Very well said short and consice. :thumbup:

Sent from my Fisher Price ABC-123.
 

Moot

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Translation = I fly by the seat of my pants. :)
That pretty much describes my operation. Way too many variables for a single truck owner/operator to adhere to any one formula. Be flexible, be Gumby; but in expedite, don't be Pokey. Ragman....
 

davekc

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Fleet Owner
Once someone know there true costs to operate, then it is the miles into the total revenue minus your costs.
 

paullud

Veteran Expediter
Actually, there is a pop quiz every day you are in the business. The answer may seem obvious and simple to those who know how to calculate it, but pause to note that not everyone does. One of the down sides of experience is forgetting what it is like to not know the things you now know.

Some of the hardest people to learn from are geniuses and people with a lot of experience.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using EO Forums mobile app
 

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
Used to be easier BEFORE...EO.....just run and run, pay my bills, cash left in my pocket..I must be making money...LOL....now people want numbers......gee whiz....
 

crich

Expert Expediter
Fleet Manager
US Navy
Also some drive for fleet owners who won't let a driver turn anything down.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

But still to this day the first words out of anyone here is drive for a fleet owner till you get some experience.
 

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
Let's wrap up the revenue-per-mile part of the thread.

As others said above, the formula is: Total revenue earned divided by total miles driven.

This is true of one load or of a set of loads, and it is true the same for all expediters.

Notice that it does not matter what kind of miles were driven (loaded or deadhead, paid or unpaid). Notice that it does not matter how the pay was earned (loaded miles paid, deadhead miles paid, or any other pay from the run(s) earned in any other way (fuel surcharge, reefer relocation, lift gate, labor, debris removal, etc.). The formula is simply, total revenue earned divided by total miles driven.

For the three loads above:

The total revenue for Load 1 is $700
($3.50 per mile x 200 loaded miles, zero deadhead pay).

The total revenue for Load 2 is $3,800
($1.65 per mile x 2,000 loaded miles, plus $500 deadhead pay)

The total revenue for Load 3 is $4,410
($2.10 per mile x 2,100 loaded miles, zero deadhead pay).

The total revenue for these three loads combined is $8,910

The total miles for Load 1 is 400 (200 loaded, 200 deahdead).

The total miles for Load 2 is 2,500 (2,000 loaded, 500 deadhead).

The total miles for Load 3 is 2,340 (2,100 loaded, 240 deadhead).

The total miles for these three loads combined is 5,240.

So, using the formula:

Total Revenue/Total Miles = Average Revenue per Mile

We have:

$8,910/5,240 = $1.70
 
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Moot

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
.
This may sound harsh but Screw Solidarity! It ain't gonna happen in the trucking industry. There has and always will be someone to take the "cheap freight" for whatever reason.
It may sound harsh, but its the truth. If I wanted solidarity I would still be an employee making a guaranteed amount per mile/hour with paid vacation and other benefits. I like what I am doing now and for the most part, do what I want, when I want. Other drivers may be killing themselves, but they are not killing me. Not yet anyway.
 

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
Used to be easier BEFORE...EO.....just run and run, pay my bills, cash left in my pocket..I must be making money...LOL....now people want numbers......gee whiz....

In the past when rates were higher and expenses were lower, you could make a lot of mistakes and still make money. Not so today. The numbers have become more important.
 

cheri1122

Veteran Expediter
Driver
But still to this day the first words out of anyone here is drive for a fleet owner till you get some experience.

Very few fleet owners would instruct drivers to accept every offer - in fact, I don't know of a single one who would do that. Leaving aside the question of employee vs contractor, it's not a productive strategy for maximizing revenue, or for keeping drivers, either.
 

jrcarroll

Expert Expediter
Very few fleet owners would instruct drivers to accept every offer - in fact, I don't know of a single one who would do that. Leaving aside the question of employee vs contractor, it's not a productive strategy for maximizing revenue, or for keeping drivers, either.

Cheri;
They (greedy owners) are out there. They will have you run every load offered, while trying their best to micro-manage the driver (s).
 

cheri1122

Veteran Expediter
Driver
Jr: I don't know about greedy, [they won't make maximum revenue that way!] but they aren't the brightest bulbs on the string of lights, for sure. They'll be frequently having to find new drivers until they go broke.
 
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