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5 Sprinter Vans - 2018 Financial Results are In

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Van2017

Seasoned Expediter
Owner/Operator
Hi Guys, I'm pretty new to Expediting, less than 2 years. Have 5 vans, one MB Sprinter and 4 Transits. Here are my results for 2018. Not sure if it's worth it due to amount off stress on me and my family.

Total miles, empty and loaded - 834,000

Revenue $ 626,500
Expenses
Depreciation (91,500)
Salaries (225,400)
Insurance (37,500)
Fuel (119,950)
Tolls (8,120)
Repair (3,840)
Maintenance (7,950)
Admin/Office (4,500)
Travel/Hotels (1,240)
Interest (4,520)
Misc (4,250)
Total Expenses (508,770)
Profit, before taxes $ 117,730

What do you think?
 
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LDB

LDB

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
Depreciation is a line item expense, and the value of the vans is down, but it isn't money handed over to others like fuel or repairs. Add it back in and you're about $200k profit or $40k per unit. A lot of O/O don't do that well. Sounds like you are doing pretty well.
 
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Grizzly

Grizzly

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
.75 all miles doesn't look that great to me. Actually looks sad .. but it's probably close to the norm.

You put 834K mi on 5 vans, avg 166K each? I assume you have teams in each, correct? Crap load of miles ..

$200K profit, after purchasing the vehicles, is a break even year. Of course repairs will start to increase steadily each year going forward.

It's not worth the stress because you have people blazing all over the country logging some serious hours. How often are you sleepless wondering what'll happen in the event of a serious accident?

Question, I'm curious ... what made you invest in this to begin with? Isn't real estate looking better everyday?
 
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B

BigStickJr

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
If you drove a van anywhere near 166,000 miles to do that, I feel sorry for you.
If you sat in your recliner, then kudos.
As referred to earlier, margins will get slimmer as vehicles age and costs rise.
A terrible thing about a van is with mileage like this,if financed, you’re probably so far upside down that you hope you can keep them running through the term of the note.
 
V

Van2017

Seasoned Expediter
Owner/Operator
I don’t drive vans, but don’t sit in the recliner all day either. I have an office job and this is just a side gig to keep me busy. I have paid off 4 Transit just still make payments on the Sprinter because it’s at zero interest for 36 months. I expect vans to last 400K for Transits with $5-$6K Residual. A little longer for the Sprinter.
 
Grizzly

Grizzly

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
You have solos averaging 166K mi per year? I think that's nutty. I guess you find it somewhat exhilarating.

Personally I believe in driving less miles for more $ .... .76 all miles is not good in my book. But like I mentioned, it's probably closer to the norm. Especially when you're looking at accruing miles rather than making more per mile. My DH% is very low compared to the norm.
 
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Van2017

Seasoned Expediter
Owner/Operator
Yes, we do about 4K miles per week including dead head. Dead head miles are about 50 cents. I agree with you that the freight is cheap, but since I’m not driving and sagnificant deadhead works for drivers, let’s be it. My drivers doubled their prior income and don’t complain. Some of them worked in Alaska in the fish factory doing 16 hour shifts in wet and cold environment; driving vans while listening to the music it’s like a vacation. They go for 1-2 months at a time, averaging $1K + per week.
 
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brokcanadian

brokcanadian

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Just thank god someone posted numbers instead of treating it like a trade secret.

Thank you for the post!

If your drivers are happy and you cleared over $100k of course its good. Sure you could work on bringing up revenue per mile in the future, but very few "new to expedite" have accomplished what you have
 
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Grizzly

Grizzly

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
brokcanadian said:
.... very few "new to expedite" have accomplished what you have
Click to expand...

What experience exactly do you base this on? Do you think van2017s achievements over the past year are unique? Or even difficult for that matter? Having the capital, how difficult is it to throw 5 vans onto Panther, XPO, wherever ..
 
V

Van2017

Seasoned Expediter
Owner/Operator
Panther, FedEx or XPO will give you $1,500-$1800 gross per week, we do $3K+ per week. I work with 4-5 brokers and also bid on Sylectus. Sometimes if we are lucky we do partials, especially from Chicago to CA, WA or OR trips.
Cargo vans is a tough business, and now I’m ready to move up into Straight trucks with teams. According to my analysis I can gross $25-$30K per month.
 
brokcanadian

brokcanadian

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Ah I see where you're going. Could have saved the hassle leasing those vans to a carrier, and spared his family the hassle.

So he's not a driver, was able to do his regular work, pay off 4 vans in about a year,
makes nearly 20% profit (although I didn't see the van payments in those numbers) I think that's pretty good, based on just about any angle I can think of.

Now I assumed, with the op asking if it was worth it, that they were finding their own freight. Are they leased to a carrier? I dunno. I do know, most drivers don't have fleets, so if he's not even driving ya he's doing better than most.

Its really up to him if he feels its good however
 
Grizzly

Grizzly

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Van2017 said:
Yes, we do about 4K miles per week including dead head. Dead head miles are about 50 cents. I agree with you that the freight is cheap, but since I’m not driving and sagnificant deadhead works for drivers, let’s be it. My drivers doubled their prior income and don’t complain. Some of them worked in Alaska in the fish factory doing 16 hour shifts in wet and cold environment; driving vans while listening to the music it’s like a vacation. They go for 1-2 months at a time, averaging $1K + per week.
Click to expand...

You have Chinese migrants driving your vans? :D
 
Grizzly

Grizzly

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Van2017 said:
Panther, FedEx or XPO will give you $1,500-$1800 gross per week, we do $3K+ per week. I work with 4-5 brokers and also bid on Sylectus. Sometimes if we are lucky we do partials, especially from Chicago to CA, WA or OR trips.
Cargo vans is a tough business, and now I’m ready to move up into Straight trucks with teams. According to my analysis I can gross $25-$30K per month.
Click to expand...

By partials I'm assuming you mean shipments that you can combine going west, even though the customer has paid for exclusive use?
Yes, we've had the discussion about straights previously. I think it'll be a good experience for you ... DOT regs, ELDs, etc ...
 
Solar

Solar

Expert Expediter
Owner/Operator
In my book, I believe you did great, and you created better paying jobs for some hard working people.
 
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