What does it cost you to operate your truck?

[Big John]

I was just wanting some feedback on what some owner operators think it cost them per mile to operate there truck. I have come up with .72cpm and thats before I ad my wages.

[Teal 95 KW]

Depends on how much stuff my helpers break. D'oh!








.72cpm? OMGREMINDMENOTTOLETYOUBECOMEBUSINESSPARTNERSWITHME !!

[Truckdobe]

Now that fuel is down some, it's around $1.20 (incl 50cpm driver wages).

[Rev.Vassago]

I was just wanting some feedback on what some owner operators think it cost them per mile to operate there truck. I have come up with .72cpm and thats before I ad my wages.

You must have a truck with no payment, and have a deal with the devil that it doesn't break down............ever.



I am at $291 per day, and $0.71 per mile. That factors in salary, but does not factor in "trip specific" charges, such as labor and tolls.

[solo379]

I'm estimating mine, between $0.70-80, depending on a fuel cost.
That's include everything, before wages, and benefits.
I own tractor only, with company paid plates, permits, and fuel taxes(no charge back).

Since i don't have truck payments, i've estimated "truck depreciation", at $0.15 a mile.
Maintenance, also is estimated, since the truck is relatively "new", and don't need much for now, but it will later...! :sad: :wink:

[BanditsCousin]

I figure a buck a mile. If my rental is $767 (w/ 1500 miles) and the fuel it uses, its somewhere around that.

767/1500= 51cpm (tractor rental- mileage/taxes inc)

1500mi/6mpg=250gal x ($2.70/gal) = $675/1500 mi= .45cpm

Inusrance/Workman's comp- $760/mo/6000 miles= 13cpm

All in all I am at $1.09 per mile for a truck I don't own, never have to pay amintenace on, and never have to worry about being without a truck if I breakdown.

On the bad side, If it costs 1.09/mi to run, I need to run 703 miles to break even, or pay $767 if the truck doesn't even do a mile in a week.

[rank]

Fixed Costs
$115,000 truck with a 5 year life expectancy = $23,000/year
$50,000 trailer with a 10 year life expectancy = $5,000/year.
Truck maitenance = $10,000/year
Trailer maitenenance = $5,000/year
Liabilty insurance = $13,000/year
Cargo insurance = $2,000/year
Enless permits etc etc etc = $1,000/year
Fines & tickets = $0
Idling time = $0
Showers & meals = $0
Finance charges = $0
Collision/comprehensive Insurance = $0
Tolls = $0
Employment insurance - $0
Pension Plan = $0
Health care benefits = $0

$59,000/year in fixed costs.

This truck and trailer (it's one of three such combinations) runs about 100,000 miles per year so it's fixed costs are $.59 mile if you want to figure it that way. But half of those 100,000 miles are dead (because there's no such thing as a cheap freight backhaul LOL***) so maybe someone can tell me how to calculate CPM based on that.

Operating Costs:
Fuel prices are running about $.52 per mile
The hired driver gets $.33 per mile when he drives.

Figure about $1.44 CDN per mile.

The REAL numbers are this: Cost per load is $2600. Revenue per load is $3000. 100 loads per year (840 miles return) gets me $40,000 before tax.

It gets better. There are three trucks and trailers and they don't all do 100,000 miles so their CPM....and the average CPM of the trucking operation goes waaayy up.

***By the way....if there's no such thing as a cheap freight backhaul, who takes all those "$2-per-mile-flatbed-with-tarp-warehouse-it-over-the weekend" loads off the load boards?

I keep "setting the rate" at $3 per mile for these loads and they keep laughing at me. I guess my numbers must be off.

Later.
looks like snow and freezing rain.
Gotta go tarp a 13'6" load.

[BanditsCousin]

I can see 10K a yr for tractor maintenace, but I can't see $5000 in trailer maintenance.

[rank]

I can see 10K a yr for tractor maintenace, but I can't see $5000 in trailer maintenance.

Yeah you're right.

There's other stuff that probably should be factored in too.........I didn't allow for Worker's Compensation Insurance, the depreciated value (limited though it may be) of the truck and trailer at the end of the 10 and 5 year period, scales, cell phone, faxes, internet, corporation fees.......

[Rev.Vassago]

I can see 10K a yr for tractor maintenace, but I can't see $5000 in trailer maintenance.

Yeah you're right.

There's other stuff that probably should be factored in too.........I didn't allow for Worker's Compensation Insurance, the depreciated value (limited though it may be) of the truck and trailer at the end of the 10 and 5 year period, scales, cell phone, faxes, internet, corporation fees.......

I noticed you had some stuff under "Fixed Costs" that shouldn't be there.

Fixed costs are costs that occur NO MATTER WHAT - even if the truck isn't moving.

Items such as:

Truck maitenance = $10,000/year
Trailer maitenenance = $5,000/year
Fines & tickets = $0
Idling time = $0
Showers & meals = $0
Tolls = $0

are VARIABLE COSTS, not FIXED COSTS.

Also, your maintainance is quite high on what is obviously a new truck. My maintainance runs me about $500 per month at the most. Everything else is covered under warranty. Unless, of course, you are talking about a "maintainance account".

Why is your liability insurance so high? My liability/physical damage only runs me about $315 per month on a $107,000 truck.

Also, what sort of taxes are you required to withhold as an employer in Canada? Here in the states, the employer is responsible for paying some of the taxes. I also noticed that you aren't factoring in any taxes. If you are planning on turning a profit, you better change that.

[Rawlco]

***By the way....if there's no such thing as a cheap freight backhaul, who takes all those "$2-per-mile-flatbed-with-tarp-warehouse-it-over-the weekend" loads off the load boards?

People who don't realize that they should/could ask for more.

I keep "setting the rate" at $3 per mile for these loads and they keep laughing at me. I guess my numbers must be off.

Thats 3.00 Canadian dollars, correct? About 2.60 USD.

On a loadboard the other day I saw a 95,000 pound RGN (Removable gooseneck/lowboy) load paying I think $1700 on 1000 miles. :shock:

[Big John]

On a loadboard the other day I saw a 95,000 pound RGN (Removable gooseneck/lowboy) load paying I think $1700 on 1000 miles.

Was it a Landstar load?

[rank]

Items such as:

Truck maitenance = $10,000/year
Trailer maitenenance = $5,000/year
Fines & tickets = $0
Idling time = $0
Showers & meals = $0
Tolls = $0

are VARIABLE COSTS, not FIXED COSTS.

Yes but I "fixed" the cost a zero on most of those items so it's moot. I put these items in there just to illustrate that there's many, many expenses to consider....and all of mine weren't in the calculation.

With regard to the maitenance costs, you're correct that it's a (self run) acount. Anything less than the budgeted amount is a bonus. I tend to estimate on the safe side. I don't like suprises.

Also, your maintainance is quite high on what is obviously a new truck.

Not quite new. It was a one year old T-2 back when they were a hot ticket. It looks like a mistake now.....but he wanted a new T-2. And those are Canadian dollars.

Why is your liability insurance so high?

I'd like to know also. The driver is 67 years old with 20 years experience and one speeding ticket on his record. Something to do with going to the US. The Canada only truck is only $1,500/year. I'd love to know what other non fleet Canadian o/o's pay to run stateside.

Also, what sort of taxes are you required to withhold as an employer in Canada?

Basically it's about 30%.

I also noticed that you aren't factoring in any taxes.

Yep, I'd need to charge about 30% ontop of every penny over the $1.44 to cover the taxes. But based on what I've seen on these internet load boards, I don't need to worry about that.

There was a recent load that offered a flat bed $1300 for three drops and 750 miles. What's that......$1.70 a mile? Using my $1.44 number, I'd gross $200...$135 after tax. For three days work. I'd sooner deadhead the 400 miles straight home and get re-load two days sooner.

...And no, I'm bidding $3.00 US per mile for a SD + tarp. A'int nobody banging down my door but it needs to be that to make it worth the hassle. After all, it's only a back haul. 8)

[brian]

I think i`m around 78 cents a mile now, but i`m only taking 5 cents a mile these days for my maintenance/equipment fund. all my equipments paid for and if I go get another one it comes out of that fund, or if I get take a catastrophic hit on parts ( I do my own work) it also comes from there, anywho if any of those scenarios happen I bump it up to 15 cents a mile for the account.

right now my thresholds 1.80 a mile if over 1000 miles, 2.50 a mile if under, most of my work these days is oil field stuff with relatively short runs (400 or less)

[allan5oh]

Fuel cost for me is around 30 - 40 cpm, depending on fuel mileage and fuel cost(Canada is cheaper).

Using a "cash flow" method, I'm paying $1,400 a month for the truck. That works out to 14 CPM, since I average 10,000 miles a month. The truck will be paid off next year.

Using a "net worth"(wich is how it works with income tax)method, the truck is probably costing me much less, around 6-8 CPM, since it has depreciated faster then I can pay it off. This isn't unusual.

Maintenance is very good, I do almost all the work myself, and I do a good job. This year I've spent over 10k, including new drive tires, a deer bumper, new rad and air-air, and a bunch of front end work. Many of this stuff wont be done again, so I'm not too worried. Figure 10-12 cpm easy(for this year). Last year it was MUCH lower, 3-4 cpm.

Income taxes shouldn't be figured into the cost of the truck, they are two seperate issues.

I do not pay any type of insurance.

Should food be figured in? I mean, you have to eat anyways. You don't put the food into the trucks fuel tanks, it goes in your belly. You'd have to do this if you were trucking or not.

Given all this, I run from about 46 cpm all the way up to 64 cpm, depending on accounting method, fuel mileage, and fuel cost.

[solo379]

I do not pay any type of insurance.

Could you elaborate a bit more on that?

[Rev.Vassago]

Should food be figured in? I mean, you have to eat anyways. You don't put the food into the trucks fuel tanks, it goes in your belly. You'd have to do this if you were trucking or not.

This is a lousy way of figuring your expenses. Next you'll be saying that you don't want to include your cell phone, because you'd have one anyway.

Expenses are expenses, no matter whether they occur in a different situation or not. That's why I can figure out why so many of you don't include a salary in your cost per mile figures.

[allan5oh]

I'd like to know also. The driver is 67 years old with 20 years experience and one speeding ticket on his record. Something to do with going to the US. The Canada only truck is only $1,500/year. I'd love to know what other non fleet Canadian o/o's pay to run stateside.

While I can't tell you what my company pays on my behalf(I think they might even be self-insured), I sure can tell you why it's so high.

Lawsuits.

I've heard of situations where people specifically target Canadian carriers. They automatically must have a $ amount of insurance to operate in the states. Theres been many situations where someone has made a completely false claim, say for $5,000. The truck driver had nothing to do with it. What happens? The drivers insurance company pays it out. It's more expensive to fight it then it is to just pay it out. If it was an american company, they don't need to hire a whole bunch of different lawyers to fight it. Canadian companies do.

In Manitoba, vehicle related lawsuits do not exist. About 15 years ago, the province abolished them. You can still sue the crown corporation that runs insurance, specifically for the amount of your settlement, but you cannot sue the person.

[allan5oh]

I do not pay any type of insurance.

Could you elaborate a bit more on that?

I do not pay vehicle insurance, either my company pays for it on my behalf, or they are self-insured.

[allan5oh]

Should food be figured in? I mean, you have to eat anyways. You don't put the food into the trucks fuel tanks, it goes in your belly. You'd have to do this if you were trucking or not.

This is a lousy way of figuring your expenses. Next you'll be saying that you don't want to include your cell phone, because you'd have one anyway.

Expenses are expenses, no matter whether they occur in a different situation or not. That's why I can figure out why so many of you don't include a salary in your cost per mile figures.

Should I include my personal vehicle expenses as well? Or how about my house, since I use it as an office? Cost of living <> cost of operating a truck.

Salary isn't included, because I do not have to pay one out. I am self-employed, so all the "excess" money goes to me.