2000 miles a week in a van

terryandrene · Feb 18, 2008

There has been a lot written recently, by aspiring cargo van or Sprinter expediters who have visions of earning a good living by expediting in a cargo van. When folks read that vans drivers occasionally enjoy 1500-2000 mile weeks and occasionally average over a dollar a mile, plus fuel surcharge, it piques their interest. Many folks seem to think that the price of admission to the lucrative world of expediting is little more than the price of a cargo van or Sprinter.

It's time for a reality check, as I see it. You've heard that many cargo van/Sprinter operators drive 1500 - 2000 miles per week. That's true some weeks and untrue other weeks. You can't judge a year's worth of revenue on a decent week's mileage. Those that would translate 2000 miles per week potential to 100,000 paid miles potential in a cargo van would be sadly disappointed. It has probably happened to a very select few, none of whom we've met.

I'm open to dispute here, so let me offer that a cargo van's gross mileage in a very good year will be in the neighborhood of 100,000. Now-a-days, 75,000 is a more practical figure. I base that number on 18+ years of cargo van operation and observation.

With a van team operation leased to the typical expedite carrier, I estimate that you'll experience about 30% deadhead mileage, probably more as a newer inexperienced driver. That leaves you about 52,500 paid miles, during a good year. If you are available for dispatch a respectable 85% of the time, this equates to about 45 weeks. 52,500 miles divided by 45 = almost 1200 miles per week average; stay out longer, get more miles.

I'm not trying to be a naysayer here. Like I said, I'm offering a reality check. If there are any van drivers who do not agree with my comments above, please share your experience or opinions for those who are looking in on this thread.

Critter Truckin · Feb 18, 2008

Well stated. I wish I could say that we all were getting the miles, in whatever vehicle. Fact of the matter is, that's not always realistic. There have been weeks where we've run upwards of 4200 paid, and others where we've gotten maybe 1000-1200. Freight goes up and down, just a matter of where you are and what you're working with. Vans, I can't say much because I don't run one, but I've heard everything from can't sit still to slim pickins. All I can say for them is to keep their heads up and their right foot down.

letzrockexpress · Feb 18, 2008

Terryandrene,
Even using the very fair numbers you have shared here, I would have to call you a supreme optimist... I am a solo in a van. I averaged 1734 loaded miles per week from 1/1/2007 til aproximately October.
During this time I was available somewhere close to 95% of the time. From 10/15/2007 thru 12/31/2007 I averaged about 1350 loaded miles per week. From 1/1/2008 til today I have averaged 944 loaded miles per week. I'm barely hanging on...regardless of the rate per mile.

Falligator · Feb 18, 2008

I agree. It used to be....about 1 year ago i was getting "at least" a load offer everyday. Now it's been about every 2 to 3 days at best. A lot more sittin especially with the way our economy has been going. And I'm not getting into detail about that. I'm lucky to get around 1500 miles. I'm really happy if I see that 2000 (very elusive) week. I hope things change for the better come spring

dhalltoyo · Feb 18, 2008

Agreed!

70,000 - 75,000 miles per year would be an accurate average for a driver that stays on the road and seldom is out of service.

In 2006 I ran 70,000 miles over the course of eleven months.

At this point in time I am not recommending that anyone buy a cargo van, straight truck or tractor to begin a career in expediting. The learning curve is too costly! That fact coupled with a decrease in available freight offers will not allow any room for even the slightest margin of error.

A couple of wrong decisions (all new owner/operators tend to make some) and the truck will wind up in classified section.

LDB · Feb 18, 2008

As usual Terry gives great advice. It's wise to heed his advice.

arkjarhead · Feb 18, 2008

Terry,
I'd like to ask you a question. Would you say that expediting, especially in a cargo van/sprinter, is one of those deals where people have watched others make money in the past and now alot of people have jumped in and flooded the market?

Let me compare it to something else. Emus. There were some people who got in on the ground floor of the emu business and made good money. (I'm guessing that's what you did 18 years ago in your first van) Then when other people saw these few making good money off of emus everyone had to have some. Next thing you know the market was flooded and the price went from through the roof to through the floor. Next thing I knew everyone I knew with emus had went out and shot them all because they said that was the best business choice they could make in their position. (hopefully we don't have to start shooting you guys, j/k)

Anyway I'll shut up now. I just thought I would offer an analogy to go along with my question. You always give good advice so I trust you to try your hardest to decipher my crazy redneck heiroglyphics. Everybody stay safe.

terryandrene · Feb 19, 2008

You're wrong Ark. I never used my first van in the emu business ;-}

When we started with Roberts Express, we often had $2000 - $3000 weeks as a team operation, and that was in 1989 - 1995 dollars. Life was good when Roberts and Tri-State were the only nationwide Door to Door, Exclusive use expediters on the road. Now there are many thousands of expedite trucks operating nationwide in all manner of ways. Vans were eagerly recruited because of the lucrative one and two skid auto JIT freight. Word traveled fast about the use of cargo vans, particularly among OTR truckers, tired of the big road, scales and logs. Expedite also became an attractive source of pension supplement among military and civilian retirees.

These days, we have truck shows, workshops, truck salesmen, the internet and news digests that cater to expediters and the expedite community. Word still travels fast that this can be a good opportunity for people needing a job in these trying times. Fortunately, expedite trucking is a great business opportunity...for the right size truck. Therein seems to lie a problem of perception. So many folks seem to think that any size truck is good for them, when in reality, the financial opportunities lie with the straight trucks, NOT cargo vans, not last year and not this year. This is not to say that cargo van owners are all going broke. Quite the opposite. Many of us do as well as we desire and many do not. I just am trying to emphasize that this is not the size truck for an entry level trucker who NEEDS to earn a living for his or her family to live modestly.

greg334 · Feb 19, 2008

So Terry.... let me get this straight ... you never used your first van to haul Emus so I assume that you have used your other vans?

The only reason I ask is I thought I saw you driving down the road last week with an Emu's head out your Fantastic vent.

I thought FedEx was trying out something new in marketing.

terryandrene · Feb 19, 2008

Correct you are. It's FedEx Custom Critter

arkjarhead · Feb 19, 2008

I didn't mean you hauled emus in your van. I meant I figured you got in on the ground floor of expedite with your first van.You know ground floor meaning when it was getting started. I know it was a bad example. I would say so sue me, but some may take it seriously. Remember it's the redneck heiroglphyics. They can be hard to decipher at times. It doesn't have to be emus. It could be any business where a few people start off good then the market gets flooded, and there is less to go around because everyone is trying to get a peice of the same pie.

RLENT · Feb 19, 2008

terryandrene said:
There has been a lot written recently, by aspiring cargo van or Sprinter expediters who have visions of earning a good living by expediting in a cargo van. When folks read that vans drivers occasionally enjoy 1500-2000 mile weeks .........

Well, all I can offer is my own actual experience - when I was with my previous carrier I was averaging 750 miles per week - at a rate of $1.19 per loaded mile, including FSC (in a Sprinter) While the paid mile rate was nice, every load involved 50% deadhead - so it was ultimately a loser - and the reason why I changed carriers.

Since I changed carriers (end of November, beginning of December) my weekly paid miles, for the 8 1/4 weeks I have been in-service, have averaged 1690 per week. The three weeks in December were slower (around 1500 per week) compared to January to early February (over 1700 per week) - but December's rate per mile averaged slightly higher than January/February (by about $0.05 per mile - probably due to the slow(er) time of year - and competitive pressures.)

Do I expect that the above numbers will continue ? Not necessarily - like most folks I'm ever hopeful that that will be the case, but I ain't betting the farm on it.

Many folks seem to think that the price of admission to the lucrative world of expediting is little more than the price of a cargo van or Sprinter.

A vehicle will often get you in - but it's certainly no guarantee of success .... however one defines that.

It's time for a reality check, as I see it. You've heard that many cargo van/Sprinter operators drive 1500 - 2000 miles per week. That's true some weeks and untrue other weeks.

I would agree. My own hi-lo range probably runs from less than 500 miles (with my old carrier) to around a low of 800 since I changed carriers, with a couple of weeks of over 2000 miles.

You can't judge a year's worth of revenue on a decent week's mileage.

Totally true.

Those that would translate 2000 miles per week potential to 100,000 paid miles potential in a cargo van would be sadly disappointed.

Indeed .... I think that in the approximately 43 weeks I have ran over the last year, I have hit 2000 or more miles in a week twice ..... at most. That may change over the coming year (due to my changing carriers) ...... or it may not. Only time will tell.

I'm open to dispute here, so let me offer that a cargo van's gross mileage in a very good year will be in the neighborhood of 100,000. Now-a-days, 75,000 is a more practical figure. I base that number on 18+ years of cargo van operation and observation.

That would comport with my relatively meager experience (coming up on 1 year in March) I currently have some place between 80K to 84K total miles (not paid) since I have started last March.

With a van team operation leased to the typical expedite carrier, I estimate that you'll experience about 30% deadhead mileage, probably more as a newer inexperienced driver.

Possibly - I know that my high initial deadhead was largely due to my original carrier's mode of operation (one-way loads) - I do know that the carrier that I'm with now seems to be very focused on minimizing deadhead.

I'm not trying to be a naysayer here. Like I said, I'm offering a reality check.

Terry - I don't think you being a naysayer - just sharing your wealth of experience - which is very significant. I certainly appreciate it.

There's little doubt that I am an optimist - hopefully not a totally unrealistic one.

Expedite also became an attractive source of pension supplement among military and civilian retirees ..... I just am trying to emphasize that this is not the size truck for an entry level trucker who NEEDS to earn a living for his or her family to live modestly.

I would wholeheartedly agree - with the provisio that everyone's situation is different. Without knowing the exact specifics of anyone's given situation it's hard to say whether running a cargo van or Sprinter would meet their financial needs. Might work for some - not for others - possibly the majority. I certainly wouldn't want to be doing this (as a solo in a van/Sprinter) as the as the sole breadwinner for my family, with it as my only source of income.

CharlesD · Feb 19, 2008

I think a lot depends on where you get your loads. Some carriers just love those one way deals. The first carrier I leased to did mostly local stuff and if you got something long they were asking you how soon you'd be back in town after you dropped. Then I switched carriers to try to cut down on the deadheading and increase the average length of haul. That worked, to a degree. Starting out I made a few mistakes, one of which was being reluctant to move out of bad areas because I didn't want to deadhead. Toward the end of last year I decided to get my authority because I thought that would all but eliminate the deadheading. Since then I've learned a few more things and made a couple more mistakes, but it's been a better arrangement than I had before just being leased to one carrier and depending on them exclusively.

Right now I still run for them but I'm also doing a lot on my own. They know I have my authority so everything I run is under my MC, even what I do for them. I'm kind of treating them like any other broker. My main focus is still keeping deadheading as low as possible, or getting enough on a run to cover the deadhead. I'm always looking to combine loads as much as possible. If I get a load offer that's only one or two skids and I have room left over, I'll go on getloaded.com or some other broker board and try to find an LTL to throw on with it. Sometimes those LTL rates are lousy, but when you throw one of those on with a good expedited load, provided you have the time to do so, you can increase your rate on a run. I'll also run an LTL, just to relocate to a good area if there's one available. I was talking to another driver at a ts last week and I mentioned getting an LTL just to cover my costs of relocating to a better city and he said that he'll never haul that cheap @#%$. My view is that I'll do whatever I can to make sure I'm making at least something when the van is moving. I've been averaging about 1700 paid miles recently and I've hit 2000 a couple times. I'm expecting, or hoping, that things will pick up some in the spring and summer.

I guess the point of that ramble is that if you're relying on a carrier to get you 2000 miles, don't hold your breath, but 2000 is not out of the question if you have enough sources for loads.