What is a good rate

May 03, 2023 at 05:13 AM CST + 4 - 2
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. So forgive me, I’m relatively new to the bill side of things but I’ve been in trucking for a couple years and I’m wanting to get into this side. I’m going to put my dad who has been driving for 20 years into a truck but neither of us know what the actual going rate is for tonnage in this sector. I want to get in but I’m not trying to sink rates by not knowing what is a good going rate.

Replied on Wed, May 03, 2023 at 08:23 AM CST + 1
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. There are a lot of factors. Product, time, effort, hours of operation, reload availability, and most importantly your cost of operation turned into a per mile scale. Your cost of operation is most important, and you need to be making more than that to account for any unforeseen costs & repairs whilst still making money. Everyone's price is different. Don't just run for your operating costs....it is a stain on our industry, and people are thinking they are going to weather this rate storm by running for their operating cost; but it only takes one break down to blow an operation up. Don't be afraid to tell someone no. Hope this helps

Replied on Wed, May 03, 2023 at 08:23 AM CST

+ 1

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

There are a lot of factors. Product, time, effort, hours of operation, reload availability, and most importantly your cost of operation turned into a per mile scale. Your cost of operation is most important, and you need to be making more than that to account for any unforeseen costs & repairs whilst still making money. Everyone's price is different. Don't just run for your operating costs....it is a stain on our industry, and people are thinking they are going to weather this rate storm by running for their operating cost; but it only takes one break down to blow an operation up. Don't be afraid to tell someone no. Hope this helps

Replied on Wed, May 03, 2023 at 09:04 AM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Quote: "There are a lot of factors. Product, time, effort, hours of operation, reload availability, and most importantly your cost of operation turned into a per mile scale. Your cost of operation is most important, and you need to be making more than that to account for any unforeseen costs & repairs whilst still making money. Everyone's price is different. Don't just run for your operating costs....it is a stain on our industry, and people are thinking they are going to weather this rate storm by running for their operating cost; but it only takes one break down to blow an operation up. Don't be afraid to tell someone no. Hope this helps" That helps a lot actually. My biggest spot where I’m at is turning that RPM into Rate per Ton

Replied on Wed, May 03, 2023 at 09:04 AM CST

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

Quote: "There are a lot of factors. Product, time, effort, hours of operation, reload availability, and most importantly your cost of operation turned into a per mile scale. Your cost of operation is most important, and you need to be making more than that to account for any unforeseen costs & repairs whilst still making money. Everyone's price is different. Don't just run for your operating costs....it is a stain on our industry, and people are thinking they are going to weather this rate storm by running for their operating cost; but it only takes one break down to blow an operation up. Don't be afraid to tell someone no. Hope this helps"

That helps a lot actually. My biggest spot where I’m at is turning that RPM into Rate per Ton

Replied on Wed, May 03, 2023 at 09:18 AM CST + 1
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. If you click on the RATES tab and put in origin and destination you can get an idea of recent rates per ton and per mile.

Replied on Wed, May 03, 2023 at 10:13 AM CST + 1
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Quote: "That helps a lot actually. My biggest spot where I’m at is turning that RPM into Rate per Ton" RPM = rate devided by miles. So if you reverse the process 'rpm x miles = rate & then divide that by your trailer capacity (i.e. 25 ton)'. This should help you get a rate per ton basis on your loaded miles. We run everything by 25 ton, even though we run spreads & can usually haul 27 - 27.5 tons. Everyone is going to pitch the commodity like it's going from Point A to Point B, but that isn't the case....because you have to get to your nearest reload, or in a lot of cases....get back for another one of the same loads. Hope this helps

Replied on Wed, May 03, 2023 at 10:13 AM CST

+ 1

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

Quote: "That helps a lot actually. My biggest spot where I’m at is turning that RPM into Rate per Ton"

RPM = rate devided by miles. So if you reverse the process 'rpm x miles = rate & then divide that by your trailer capacity (i.e. 25 ton)'. This should help you get a rate per ton basis on your loaded miles. We run everything by 25 ton, even though we run spreads & can usually haul 27 - 27.5 tons. Everyone is going to pitch the commodity like it's going from Point A to Point B, but that isn't the case....because you have to get to your nearest reload, or in a lot of cases....get back for another one of the same loads. Hope this helps

Replied on Wed, May 03, 2023 at 10:23 AM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Quote: "If you click on the RATES tab and put in origin and destination you can get an idea of recent rates per ton and per mile." The rates tab needs a lot of work. It shows the rate per ton, but it is a general average. In my opinion, it shouldn't be used as the basis for business done. I'm not Joe Schmuck-a-telly, and just because he will haul a load for this; doesn't mean we should. Rates should be figured out between you & the shipper.

Replied on Wed, May 03, 2023 at 10:23 AM CST

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

Quote: "If you click on the RATES tab and put in origin and destination you can get an idea of recent rates per ton and per mile."

The rates tab needs a lot of work. It shows the rate per ton, but it is a general average. In my opinion, it shouldn't be used as the basis for business done. I'm not Joe Schmuck-a-telly, and just because he will haul a load for this; doesn't mean we should. Rates should be figured out between you & the shipper.

Replied on Wed, May 03, 2023 at 12:09 PM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. I was checking out the rates around me that were posted and from the looks of them they weren’t fantastic. Only things i could find was .20-.30/bushel

Replied on Wed, May 03, 2023 at 01:33 PM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. These aren't my numbers. This will help you know what it takes per mile ( $ ) to run your truck. When you get offered a load, run your route from the point of unload, to load and to unload. Example = Empty miles (from unload to reload) 100 miles. Loaded miles (load to unload) 500 miles. A total of 600 miles. If it cost you $2.00 a mile to run your truck you need to make sure you take no less than $1200 pay on the load. BUT!!! That is Not a good rate. You need to make a profit and be able to pay for your personal bills etc! Some brokers aren't offering much over $2.50 right now. The more you request the better off it will be for you and everyone else in the industry. This is an excel sheet I have used to help figure what I need for a good rate and what it cost to run my truck. The way prices are up and down and depending on the area, I refer to this all the time.

Replied on Wed, May 03, 2023 at 01:33 PM CST

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

These aren't my numbers. This will help you know what it takes per mile ( $ ) to run your truck. When you get offered a load, run your route from the point of unload, to load and to unload. Example = Empty miles (from unload to reload) 100 miles. Loaded miles (load to unload) 500 miles. A total of 600 miles. If it cost you $2.00 a mile to run your truck you need to make sure you take no less than $1200 pay on the load. BUT!!! That is Not a good rate. You need to make a profit and be able to pay for your personal bills etc! Some brokers aren't offering much over $2.50 right now. The more you request the better off it will be for you and everyone else in the industry.

This is an excel sheet I have used to help figure what I need for a good rate and what it cost to run my truck. The way prices are up and down and depending on the area, I refer to this all the time.

Replied on Wed, May 03, 2023 at 03:03 PM CST + 1
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Quote: "That helps a lot actually. My biggest spot where I’m at is turning that RPM into Rate per Ton" I figure my per mile rate by looking at all my past expenses for example, one quarter. I will figure each expense at a daily rate. Here are some of the ones I use: Insurance (liability, cargo, umbrella, workman's comp, etc.) Repairs/Maintenance (what have you paid, what do you expect that's coming) Supplies Office Supplies (I include my accounting software, any subscriptions such as this one to BulkLoads, etc.) Payroll (if you plan to pay your dad) Profit (what do you plan to make ) Any other items you may have such as loan payments or trailer rental, etc. Per mile fuel rate* Daily fuel average** Figure each of these for the quarter then divide by 91 or 92 depending on the quarter. This will give you your daily rate. Then, figure your fuel. Use the current average fuel price (I use the national one because it's lower in my state) and divide it by your average mpg (I use my IFTA mpg for the previous quarter). For example, if the average fuel price is $4.00 and you get 4.53 mpg (4/4.53 = .88/mile). *Then, figure an average of how many miles you plan to drive a day. This doesn't have to be exact. Multiply that average by the per mile fuel rate you figure in the paragraph above. Now, you have everything you need to figure what it costs you to run per mile. Add all those daily figures up. Do NOT include the per mile fuel rate. You used that to figure your daily fuel consumption. Take that total and divide by the average miles you plan to drive daily. For example, if your daily costs come to $1,500 and you plan to drive 600 miles per day (1500/600 = $2.50), then you would need $2.50/mile on each load to give you what you need to pay all your bills and earn a little profit. I hope this helps! ~Jennifer D & J Trucking, LLC

Replied on Wed, May 03, 2023 at 03:03 PM CST

+ 1

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

Quote: "That helps a lot actually. My biggest spot where I’m at is turning that RPM into Rate per Ton"

I figure my per mile rate by looking at all my past expenses for example, one quarter. I will figure each expense at a daily rate. Here are some of the ones I use:

Insurance (liability, cargo, umbrella, workman's comp, etc.)
Repairs/Maintenance (what have you paid, what do you expect that's coming)
Supplies
Office Supplies (I include my accounting software, any subscriptions such as this one to BulkLoads, etc.)
Payroll (if you plan to pay your dad)
Profit (what do you plan to make )
Any other items you may have such as loan payments or trailer rental, etc.
Per mile fuel rate*
Daily fuel average**

*Figure each of these for the quarter then divide by 91 or 92 depending on the quarter. This will give you your daily rate. Then, figure your fuel. Use the current average fuel price (I use the national one because it's lower in my state) and divide it by your average mpg (I use my IFTA mpg for the previous quarter). For example, if the average fuel price is $4.00 and you get 4.53 mpg (4/4.53 = .88/mile).

**Then, figure an average of how many miles you plan to drive a day. This doesn't have to be exact. Multiply that average by the per mile fuel rate you figure in the paragraph above. Now, you have everything you need to figure what it costs you to run per mile.

Add all those daily figures up. Do NOT include the per mile fuel rate. You used that to figure your daily fuel consumption. Take that total and divide by the average miles you plan to drive daily. For example, if your daily costs come to $1,500 and you plan to drive 600 miles per day (1500/600 = $2.50), then you would need $2.50/mile on each load to give you what you need to pay all your bills and earn a little profit.

I hope this helps!

~Jennifer
D & J Trucking, LLC

Replied on Fri, May 05, 2023 at 06:08 AM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. 😒

What is a good rate

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