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Do you know what it cost for you to operate?

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csands007

Seasoned Expediter
Surcharge is it enough? Just the fuel charge below is what it cost in fuel alone, not taking into tires, oil, maintain, insurance ect. So many drivers do not take into account what it takes to get the job done. Talked to many ask about what it takes them per mile to run their van, to my surprised most have no idea.

Cost per gallon
$3.00
12 Miles Per gallon .25 Cost of fuel per mile
13 Miles Per gallon .23
14 Miles Per gallon .21
15 Miles Per gallon .20
16 Miles Per gallon .19
17 Miles Per gallon .18
18 Miles Per gallon .17


$3.10
12 Miles Per gallon .26 Cost of fuel per mile
13 Miles Per gallon .24
14 Miles Per gallon .22
15 Miles Per gallon .21
16 Miles Per gallon .19
17 Miles Per gallon .18
18 Miles Per gallon .17

$3.25
12 Miles Per gallon 27 Cost of fuel per mile
13 Miles Per gallon .25
14 Miles Per gallon .23
15 Miles Per gallon .21
16 Miles Per gallon .20
17 Miles Per gallon .19
18 Miles Per gallon .18

$3.50
12 Miles Per gallon .29 Cost of fuel per mile
13 Miles Per gallon .27
14 Miles Per gallon .25
15 Miles Per gallon .23
16 Miles Per gallon .21
17 Miles Per gallon .22
18 Miles Per gallon .19

$3.75
12 Miles Per gallon .31 Cost fuel per Mile
13 Miles Per gallon .27
14 Miles Per gallon .27
15 Miles Per gallon .25
16 Miles Per gallon .23
17 Miles Per gallon .22
18 Miles Per gallon .21
 
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nightcreacher

nightcreacher

Veteran Expediter
Bottom line,my tractor runs me $1.53 every mile I run,thats all expenses,including driver,and myself.My fuel alone is about 60 cpm.
 
ATeam

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
csands007 said:
So many drivers do not take into account what it takes to get the job done. Talked to many ask about what it takes them per mile to run their van, to my surprised most have no idea.
Click to expand...

Very true. Without exception, every owner-operator that has talked to me about getting out of the business is unable to tell me what the cost per mile is to run his or her truck.

It was also interesting to see in the Overdrive magazine article about debt-free owner-operators that a common characteristic among debt-free owner-operators is they know their cost per mile.
 
dhalltoyo

dhalltoyo

Veteran Expediter
Good information.

Getting a true picture of all costs is very important.

You got me to thinking so I pulled out an Excel Worksheet that I had downloaded a year ago and plugged in the new numbers.

Wow! In just one year's time it went from .83 per mile to a shade over 1.00 per mile including driver's fee and expenses.

Fuel was the bulk of that increase.

I was shocked to see that at the very worst case scenario to date (15 mpg) it was now costing me .25 cpm @ $3.75/gal.
 
davekc

davekc

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Fleet Owner
They have a updated version of CPM calculations on the latest issue of OOIDA's Landline mag.
Here is the link.
http://www.landlinemag.com/Archives/2008/May08/News/cost_per_mile.htm

If one looks carefully in the diagrammed fixed costs example, it lists Return on Investment.
I read somewhere in a post that it doesn't exist. The folks at OOIDA's business department clearly says that it does and list it as such. Apparently they understood the basic formula.
 
greg334

greg334

Veteran Expediter
Oh great, you just had to say those words, the ROI pixies will be returning and many of us will not get any sleep. :rolleyes:

I want to thank Steve for the $1.53 a mile number, it now gives me an idea what a TT costs. :)
 
ATeam

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
davekc said:
They have a updated version of CPM calculations on the latest issue of OOIDA's Landline mag.
Here is the link.
http://www.landlinemag.com/Archives/2008/May08/News/cost_per_mile.htm

If one looks carefully in the diagrammed fixed costs example, it lists Return on Investment.
I read somewhere in a post that it doesn't exist. The folks at OOIDA's business department clearly says that it does and list it as such. Apparently they understood the basic formula.
Click to expand...

Well, since you (not me) resurrected this debate, I'll rise to say that I pointed out that ROI entry on that spreadsheet weeks ago in a previous post. I said the spreadsheet lists ROI as a fixed cost, and then said that the Wikipedia web site you referred readers to says ROI is a ratio. I then asked you to explain the conflict and you did not. We remain in the same place we were. We do not know if ROI is a fixed cost or a ratio, and while you seem stuck on the importance of the ROI concept, you cannot tell readers how to calculate it, can you?

Perhaps you stumbled upon a resource that can help you; namely the business department at OOIDA (though I never heard of the business department until now). Maybe you can contact them and ask them how to calculate ROI and share their answer here.
 
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davekc

davekc

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Fleet Owner
I wrote to OOIDA and told them to remove it as it isn't suppose to exist. They laughed and wondered where I had heard anything that rediculous.
I promised I wouldn't elaborate to keep the peace.
It could start another 100 threads

And for what it is worth Phil. You are the one that claims it doesn't exist. I believe they can explain it to you much better. Other members had no problem figuring it out.
Lord knows many tried to explain it to you.
 
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ATeam

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
davekc said:
I wrote to OOIDA and told them to remove it as it isn't suppose to exist. They laughed and wondered where I had heard anything that rediculous.
I promised I wouldn't elaborate to keep the peace.
It could start another 100 threads

And for what it is worth Phil. You are the one that claims it doesn't exist. I believe they can explain it to you much better. Other members had no problem figuring it out.
Lord knows many tried.
Click to expand...

You might want to go back and reread the discussion. You are putting incorrect words in my mouth. I did not claim ROI does not exist. Once again, it is a simple question that for reasons unknown you refuse to answer. How do you calculate ROI?

Also, it is not true that other members had no problem figuring it out. No one has yet risen here in the Open Forum to provide the simple answer to the question. By that I mean the actual forumla an expediter would use to calcuate the ROI on his or her truck. I do not mean links to other web sites that are not on point. And I do not mean vague claims that other members have no problem figuring it out.
 
nightcreacher

nightcreacher

Veteran Expediter
As we all know,there is fixed expense,variable expense,It doesnt matter what names you call them,infact i have a friend that feels,every dime spent on the truck is his investment,so therefore his profit would be called the ROI.I feel my actual investment would have been the down payment on my 1st truck,liscense plates,and insurance.That is the only money i originally started my business with,from that point on,as i increased my fleet at the time,was all done from the profit from the 1st truck.Now that i'm down to 1 truck,my original investment has been payed back years ago.
 
davekc

davekc

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Fleet Owner
Hey.....at least now you say it exists. Thats progress.
Again, I would contact OOIDA for further assistance.
 
dcalien

dcalien

Seasoned Expediter
Can ROI be expressed as a negative number?

We have secretly replaced dcaliens income with expenses....let's see if he notices.
 
CharlesD

CharlesD

Expert Expediter
I don't understand how someone would go into business and not know what it costs to do business. I use my cpm religiously when figuring out what I can bid on a load. I figure when all expenses are taken into account, my profit margin should be more than what a company driver would get for the same load. I see bids on loads that are way below a price that can be profitable and I wonder who is doing those loads unless it's someone just trying to get home. I'm sitting in Vegas at the moment and I'm seeing things that are barely paying fuel, let alone any kind of profit. I'm getting ready to pick up a local run, only 15 miles, that's giving me quite a bit if you figure it on a per mile basis, but I still need to get out of town. A weekend in Vegas if you're not into gambling is a bit much.
 
jaminjim

jaminjim

Veteran Expediter
From The Dayton Daily News

By Ryan Justin Fox
Staff Writer
Sunday, May 11, 2008

DAYTON — The prospects of a higher return on an investment continue to make precious metals and certain car parts the booty of choice for thieves, area police said.

I just had to say that.
 
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