any info on bolt express
- Thread starter miker
- Start date
My friend just started with Bolt two weeks ago (in a Ford E-350 Extended Cargo Van) and he has already grossed 5000 dollars. He got one load that paid .92 cents a mile, one that paid 1.25 a mile, one that paid .86 cents a mile, one that paid a dollar a mile, and another that paid .86 cents a mile. I have not talked to him since this saturday, so i'm not sure if he has grossed more money since this weekend. But, what you have to take into consideration is that one .86 cpm load was 1,200 miles from Louisville, KY to Laredo, TX and the other was 1,500 miles back out of laredo after 2 days of sitting. The 600 mile load was 1.25 a mile, then there was a 250 mile load at almost a dollar per mile, then the 1000 mile load from Toledo to Texarcana Texas at .92 cpm, the another load from Atlanta to somewhere in ontario, Canada 900 miles at around a buck per mile. Another factor is that Bolt will empty move you after you have been sitting for over 24 hours (they pay you 10 cpm for deadhead) so my friend has done quite a bit of repositioning. You have to be proactive about getting loaded, and you have to do Canada. That's why my friend got that load to Canada out of Atlanta even though there were three other trucks ahead of him. He was the only driver available to go to Canada and a lot of automtive manufacturers still operate in Canada. Also, two of the loads were from "regular customers" the rest were off NLM. I hope that helps you out some.
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My friend is also a very reliable source. He has recently been with two other companies in the past two months. At one company he only did 2,900 in six weeks and at the other, he grossed 700 bucks for the entire month. SO, when he gives me info, it is always 100% accurate, whether it be good or bad.
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miker
Seasoned Expediter
correct me if i am wrong but that sound like a pretty good deal as long as u r willing to move around to get the loads, which i am, i would rather do that to keep moving over sitting and waiting for more than 24 hrs. I'm going to assume that a 24 hr dispatch has to be a huge plus ? what state does ur friend live in?
It is mike. But it is not a guarantee. Even my friend expresses concern about "when the lucky steak will end!" Nothing is guaranteed in this business. The only thing that is certain is that the potential to make good money is always there. All we can do is go with the flow of things. Also, knowing your freight lanes and repositioning can put you in the best possible position to make money. My friend deadheaded out of Toledo because there were already 26 cargo vans in that area. He decided to go to Lousiville where there are no vans. I will have to call him later on this morning to see if this strategy worked in his favor. At any rate, I would definitely recommend giving bolt a try, and I do wish you all the luck in the world.
He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
2 companies in 2 months eh? hmmmm....he's good but impatient.
All i'm going to say is that my buddy was all set to go lease on with the Fed a few months back and when they ran his DAC report, they told him that he was not what they were looking for. He is a very good expediter, never turns down loads, and he has never been late on a load. He just does not put up with carriers that can not keep his truck rolling. So, he can actually write a book about Panther, Express 1, Bolt Express, Expressway, Prestige, some independent courier companies around Atlanta, and TriState. That pretty much sums it all up. Thankfully for me, my friend does not have a computer, so he will never know that I used him as a reference.
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miker
Seasoned Expediter
hey I sure appreciate the info, and anymore if youcome up with it. I have talk to the recruiter there at bolt but just briefly, it's good to know that me living in South Carolina wont be a factor. Oh btw were these rates that he was recently paid including the fsc? thats all i want to do is keep moving , i can make up for lower paid loads as long as we keep moving .Thanks blizzard
I guess some people are quicker at getting that "feel" for a carrier....your friend has done well!
Yes, these rates also include the fsc. As a driver, you should not get cought up on the fuel surcharge. It will make your life much easier. You can also take all of your loads and average the rate per mile to get an "average rate per mile" for all loaded miles.What you should do is figure out how much you will make by adding up the total gross and deducting what you will spend on fuel. If you get a 1,500 mile load that pays you 1400, and you get 15 miles per gallon. It is more than likely going to take three tanks of fuel to deliver the load (considering you have a 31 gallon tank). That is 93 gallons times lets say 3.50 per gallon (again, assuming you have a gas engine). This comes out to be around 324 dollars to run the load deducted from 1400 gross, which leaves you with approximately "1,076" dollars in profit. This is not bad for 48 hours worth of work.
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Correct...The FSC will come and go...but your base rate will remain stable. If you have to depend on the FSC then the base rate is too low.
I guess some people are quicker at getting that "feel" for a carrier....your friend has done well!
My friend remembers the days when Express-1 used to let solo guys go from Fountain Inn Souch Carolina all the way to ST. Paul Minnesota in 36 hours. He used to pull down some pretty serious coin with the big red E, they just had a hard time bidding him out of Atlanta. He also said a few choice words to Dwain Ridgeway when he quit, so his chances of ever coming back to work with the big E have been thwarted.
miker
Seasoned Expediter
ok, thanks for that tip, just new to the biz and hear about fsc all the time, the company that I am working for now ( very small) she adjust's it to help me as much as she can since i will go anywhere and stay out. Nice small family biz, last week with the miles i ran and she paid me came to 1.22 cpm total, and not that i am a person that wants to jump around ( driving is the 3rd job that i have since 92) but they dont have 24 hr dispatch so it seems like some times outside 8 am and5 pm not much happens, also im not sure that they have the resources that someone like bolt would have. I would love to work withh both carriers but just dont know if that would work?
What is the name of the company that you work for?
miker
Seasoned Expediter
I'm really sorry , but i have been asked to not share that info. I hate to say that but it is a request from the company and if i dont honor that then my family could possibly suffer from my not honoring their request, I hate to say that because you have helped here. I hope you understand
Blizzard, your friend must be well qualified money wise to run the miles he's running because he won't see his first pay check until three weeks after Orientation.
chefdennis
Veteran Expediter
Bolt has been good to me as well. That being said, you will sit for a few days sometimes, you will get dry runs and you will get low paying runs as well as good paying runs. Sometimes you will DH more then you might like, but most often itis to get a good load.
The dispatchers work hard and do their jobs. I am sitting in laredo tx right now, coming from laweranceburg TN. The big thing with them that they stress it to take what they offer you even it is isn't the best load, but in the end, it all works out, and to be honest, it has for me.
Oh I am also in a 1 ton ex van.
Anne, Kelly and Mark are good people!!
Oh and bolt does hold 2 weeks runs up front, but you get it in the 3rd week, it isn't something they keep back until you leave. And if you can't run without that money for 2 weeks, what are you doin in business to begin with!?!? If you don't have enough for fuel , tolls and food for a minimum of a monthupfront, id be rethinking my position. And that is NOT Directed at you MIKER, it is just a general deal for anyone getting into this business. Thatw what a business plan is for...
The dispatchers work hard and do their jobs. I am sitting in laredo tx right now, coming from laweranceburg TN. The big thing with them that they stress it to take what they offer you even it is isn't the best load, but in the end, it all works out, and to be honest, it has for me.
Oh I am also in a 1 ton ex van.
Anne, Kelly and Mark are good people!!
Oh and bolt does hold 2 weeks runs up front, but you get it in the 3rd week, it isn't something they keep back until you leave. And if you can't run without that money for 2 weeks, what are you doin in business to begin with!?!? If you don't have enough for fuel , tolls and food for a minimum of a monthupfront, id be rethinking my position. And that is NOT Directed at you MIKER, it is just a general deal for anyone getting into this business. Thatw what a business plan is for...
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