Hello ladies and gentlemen, i have been a reader of these forums for years and now this is my first post. I am currently in the Army deployed to Afghanistan, when I return state side i will be getting back into the trucking business. I have always wanted to go into Household Goods but i am not sure. this is what i would like to know from the viewers of this site.
i would like to know what the average revenue and average miles from different sectors of the industry

Dry Van
Reefer
inter modal
Flatbed
Step deck

I would like to know what are some expenses that are specific to the following industry. I am familiar with the sectors that are listed above.

Household Goods. When I was making 125k hauling dry van i always saw ads for 1099s that were 199k, what expenses goes along with this extra revenue.

3 axle heavy haul i would love to know some info about the division, as much numbers as you can provide me.
Also if i forgot any thing feel free to ad

 

First of all, thank you for your service, Motor Transport Operator.

Secondly, you posed a question that has no concise answer. Revenue varies from operation to operation, not just segment of the industry. Generally, dry box is the lowest paying, yet I have a friend in SoCal who is averaging around $1.80 a mile round trip (with his own authority) from SoCal to Denver and back. There’s plenty of box haulers who don’t average $1.50. You simply can’t say to yourself, “I want to make “x” amount a year, so I therefore must go into “y” segment of trucking. It just doesn’t work like that.

A general truth is that the more complicated and specialized the job, the more it pays. It’s simple supply and demand. If you do something that few others want to do or can do, you can command a higher rate for your services. If you do something that requires little or no special skills (pulling a box), then you are competing with more people for the freight and you have less control over the rate. There’s RGN loads that pay $20 a mile and much more. Of course those require very specialized equipment, very specialized training, escorts and maybe police escorts, maybe a power line crew, etc., and you might only drive 100 miles a day.

 

thank you musicman, it is very difficult to get number for the specialize divisions

 

i'm leaving intermodal in a few weeks to go on my own. (already have customers and what not) i actually do quite well pulling rail containers. for example.. today i did a $930 day and didnt go more then 300 miles. i'm not going to lie that is on the high side. my normal days are 500-700. i HATE and i mean HATE the rail. we deal with NS and CSX. CSX is a class in their own and just great.. the NS.. its enough for me to hate it. the rail beats your truck to no end and normally you are always running super heavy. again.. im very lucky i have great dispatchers and they see my hard work and it pays off.

when i go on my own, i work my 4 days a week.. ny to ohio and back and thats it.

i really really wish i had time to learn heavy haul.

 

As mentioned, there are many many variables. Type of trailer obviously, but also the value of the freight, state of the economy, time of year and the lane. In the past 5 years or so I can say I have moved only one load under $2/loaded mile. These days $3 is on the low end for a step deck. Low deck steps and RGN's are in the $4 to $5 range. Many of my loads are wide but the rates I'm posting are with the permit costs already taken out. Some guys may be doing better, but these are very very good rates for me. We're talking summer rates in winter. However, they are loading out of MD and NJ and delivering into ON and QC. That is not everyone's cup of tea. Also, there is no southbound freight out of ON and QC.

For example, today I loaded 2 legal step deck pieces 120" wide x 27,000 lbs in the Chesapeake Bay area. It took me 3.5 hours to get loaded and secured. I am now in Binghamton, NY. I have a crane appointment Friday at 08:00 south of Montreal. This load pays $2875 less $375 in permits and $100 in tolls. $2,400 net of tolls and permits on 638 loaded miles. 100 miles DH to PU and 260 miles DH home. I figure my CPM at $1.60/mile including driver pay x 998 = $1597 in costs, which leaves $803 profit on the load. It should be noted that I am a carrier and not a driver or a lease operator.

A new aluminum and steel step deck will cost over $40,000. A new mechanical two axle 35 ton RGN will be over $50,000 and will let you scale ~50,000 lbs or a little less.

Hope this helps

 

I used to pull HHG for quite a while. Based on your 1099, you can expect to reatin 25-35% of your 1099. Much, much less if you have no HHG experience.

 

I do dry box general freight. My 1099 for 2011 was over $190,000. Home every weekend, off on holidays, by the house once or twice a week, and took two weeks off in October.

My net was near $70K for the year, even after factoring out health insurance and other little goodies besides the truck operation.

 

When dealing with open deck trailers rates can vary considerably, depending on what you are hauling. The more specialized you get the higher the rates. There are some who will still cut rates, but not as much with heavy haul and over sized as with some other types of freight, but it does happen. I was hauling a fairly regular over sized run a few months ago and someone came in and cut the rate by 25% and included permits in the cost. That hasn't happened as much with me as with other types of freight. My rate did not include permits, those were extra. One difficulty you have when you become more specialized is that you may find yourself doing more deadheading. Sometimes you may haul freight that could go on a flatbed but you have an RGN or double drop. That means that you will haul for the flatbed rate or not get the load. Specialized equipment is usually heavier, too. That can create a problem finding a load that will work with the weight restrictions.

If you goal is to get into heavy haul or specialized freight, I would start with something such as a flat or step deck. You can get into over sized with both trailers. It will give you a feel for how to properly secure your load before spending so much money. Even older RGN's and double drops are expensive.

 

is there anyone out there who have alot of info about hhg, how long i would have to stay out, and how much i have to pay for labor.

 

Before my uncle passed away, he settled in with United Van lines and he bought a Freightliner with a huge sleeper. He had been doing HHG for many many years. He claimed that he made $225K+ per year before expenses, but he did most of the work himself and rarely paid helpers. My aunt rode with him and did all of the paperwork and packing. They would pack the whole house themselves and refused to pay the agent to send packers. It pays more, but takes more time. I don't know what he paid when he did pay helpers but he once paid me $100 for a days help.