Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/141405
Short & sweet that short-haul work." Operators might find a well-paying niche in a particular area of the country and sit on that for weeks, even months, Bethea says. If regulatory and length-of-haul trends continue, he says, "it's pretty obvious wages and pay will have to go up, and it's just a matter of it all coming back to the consumer. I don't know when you'll see that in a big way industrywide, but I think that's the other thing that's coming down the road." For over 20 years, Fitzgerald Truck Sales has been the largest glider kit dealer in the country. We have refined our production of gliders into a steady enterprise, which earned us the name of "The Glider Kit Specialist". The added savings of the fuel efficient rebuilt 12.7 Liter Detroit 60 series are very substantial with an average of 6.8 - 7.5 MPG. What's a Glider Kit? A glider kit is a completed chassis purchased without an engine and transmission. We then install a custom built pre-emission engine and remanufactured transmission to create the ultimate truck! What are the Benefits? •Our price averages 25-35% below MSRP of a new comparable truck • More fuel efficient, Lower maintenance cost, Less downtime • 3 year/300k nationwide engine warranty • 1 year standard nationwide transmission warranty, 3 year available • Daimler and GE financing available Text INFO to 205-289-3555 or visit www.ovdinfo.com freight. His biggest run is typically the 2,000-2,500 miles from either McAllen, Texas, or Nogales, Ariz., along the Mexican border to Hunt's Point in New York City – or another 200 miles north to Connecticut. Rates to the truck are "right around $2 to $2.50" per mile, Trott says. "I have heard that some guys are getting about $3." For many owner-operators – particularly those under the burden of a truck payment, as Johnston's example suggests – shorter hauls won't work on such rates without drop-and-hook arrangements, Trott says. Occasionally, though, he's able to put together a few short runs with rates that "end up paying better than one long run," he says. Trott reflects a point of view heard often throughout the world of independents: "I would prefer it if I could keep doing short runs with big money in them. But it's all a game you have to play with some brokers." Leased owner-operators who are self-dispatched tend to think about length of haul in similar ways. Operating primarily pulling a company dry van with his tractor leased to Landstar, Chicago-area-based John Scott says short-haul rates are a lot better than what he describes as often "junk" long-haul rates: "You really have to like the long-haul to do them." "In my situation, short haul just means more work if it's not a regular dedicated job," Scott says. With short haul in a self-dispatched program, it's much easier to end up "either sitting around looking for that next load, or you may end up deadheading," he says. "It's much harder to put together multiple short hauls that would benefit our bottom line." When it comes to maximizing the potential of higher short-haul rates, percentage pay can be "the great equalizer" when combined with diligent planning, says Mike Bethea, Schneider National's director of independent contractors. "Drivers don't like to sit around and wait, because there's a cost to doing that," but "in our contractor world, particularly the guys running under percentage pay, some really look for LOWER YOUR EXPENSES INCREASE YOUR PROFITS! SALES (866) 553-0369 www.fitzgeraldgliderkits.com 752 Interstate Lane • Crossville, TN 38571 July 2013 | Overdrive | 31 Untitled-6 1 Short_and_Longhaul.indd 31 6/20/13 2:15 PM 6/27/13 3:03 PM