[BanditsCousin]

I've seen this question asked a few times here and in the owner operator forums, but I found an article that explains it MUCH better than I can. Click the link, it says the ins/outs and profits of hhg o/o's and company drivers....

http://www.roadstaronline.com/1999/04/9904104.asp

[Mackman]

Average gross income for owner-operators: $133,045

that seems low the way you guys talk. :?:

[BanditsCousin]

Theres a lot of reasons why...

Some guys use straight trucks, and go that route, and this also incldes class a and b local contractors. I talked to the recruiter for Wheaton and he said some guys do over 400K but their avg was abou 189,000 for all fleet vehicles. Some bedbuggers don't work in the winters, as well.

[Sealord]

Knowing the net would be more enlightening. BOL

[Rev.Vassago]

Although the average net income is about $31,000, there is the potential to make a lot more ? if you know what you?re doing.

I would love to know how they came up with this figure. It would be a cold day in hell before I did this for 31 grand a year.

Agents can be small, with a handful of trucks, or very large, such as Graebel Atlanta Movers, with 85 trucks.

I think the author of this article doesn't understand what an agent does. Graebel Atlanta owns ZERO trucks that go OTR - all are owned independently. The only trucks they own are for local work, which is a completely different ball of wax, as many of them are for shuttles, pack jobs, O&I, etc.

The American Moving and Storage Assn.?s annual owner-operator survey shows five-year average revenue at $133,045 and net income at $30,938.

If that is the case, that owner/operator is doing something VERY WRONG, or they are only working 4 months out of the year.

?A new, inexperienced operator will make around $120,000 to $150,000,? says Nelson Cross, Fort Wayne, IN, a North American Van Lines contractor who?s been in the business for 12 years.

That's odd. The first 5 months I was a HHG O/O, I grossed just over $91,000. According to this "expert", this should have taken me about 8 months to do.

The large difference in numbers represents knowing how to load and deliver claimfree and use maximum available space,? Cross says. ?Movers get paid by the pounds by the mile, so the name of the game is density.?

No, the name of the game is TURNOVER. I'll gladly take a 15,000 lb load as my only shipment on the trailer, if I can turn it over in 2 days, than to wait an entire week to fill up with 30,000 lbs.

While revenue of $120,000 to $300,000 may sound pretty good, keep in mind that?s gross revenue. You?ll probably get to keep one-quarter to one-third of that,

1/3 is the number I go by. If your expenses are higher than that, then you aren't very good at managing your costs.

Labor typically costs about $10 per hour or $100 per day per person.

I wish.

?Lumpers will eat a new or shy guy to pieces, playing on their inexperience,? says Cross. ?I always recommend new guys hire an experienced, full-time helper to ride with them.?

:shock: That's why these guys are only averaging a net of 30 grand a year. :shock:

According to AMSA, professional movers pick up more than 33% of all household goods shipments during the three summer months: June, July and August.

More like 40% - 45%.

I think they needed to do some more research on this article, as many of the numbers seem way off.

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by Sealord

Knowing the net would be more enlightening. BOL

About 1/3 of the gross, on average.

[Teal 95 KW]

I'm with Rev. on this. Bandit sent me the link on AIM tonight, and I about died laughing. Those figures are horribly skewed, and the author apparently knows nothing about what he's writing. Of course, that's pretty typical these days.

[BanditsCousin]

The rest of the article was what I was mostly talking about as afr as getting into the business and the lifestyle. The numbers are a bit off, and remember, doesn't reflect only 18 wheelers that are contractors. Plus, the 31,000 a year may be "reported" profit, not actually or vice versa Look past the numbers....