Is straight truck expediting worth the time?

nightcreacher

Veteran Expediter
greg if a h/w team cant make 40 k a year doing expedite,they are not willing to work,but if he is talking 40k each,then they would be better to stay where they are,yes you can make a lot,but you can also go the other way too.my teams that worked for me in a tractor trailer,years past,most made over 100000,but then i paid them to much, cause they were just a tax write off to me
 

nightthrasher

Seasoned Expediter
We want to thank all for your wisdom and insites. We have decided that we ARE gonna do this. We're goin through Expedite Soulutions to get started and learn how to make the business work before goin out on our own. We look forward to eventually gettin our own truck, but for now, it's just not possible. We will keep readin through the forums to stay informed. I'm glad we found this site. It has been very helpful in makin our decision. Maybe we'll see ya's on the road!!!!:7
 

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
Best to you, Nightthrasher. I hope you keep us posted about your journey. Expedite Solutions is one of several ways to get into expediting. I know little about Expedite Solutions. It would be very interesting to hear from you what your experiences and observations are as you proceed.
 

jaminjim

Veteran Expediter
Have you done a search on this site about the company you have chosen to start with? It could be very informative.
 

TeamCaffee

Administrator
Staff member
Owner/Operator
nightthrasher

Don't think that after you get into the truck you wont need EO anymore! Once you get out on the road you won't believe all the new questions you will come up with. That is just the beginning making the decision then the fun really begins.
 

poison

Seasoned Expediter
Unorthodoxneon you said

<I think it is reasonable to make 40K as a team

I can't disagree more 40k a year for a team is nothing. that is pocket
change my friend. that is an average pay for a single driver in the
conventional trucking world.If the wife and I don't make any more then
40k a year running team then I will start practicing my lines for McDonald's "do you want fries with that" and the other one I think it
say's "can I super size that for you" once you split it down the middle is 20k a year per person. now if you can live with that then maybe
another career path is what needs to be looked at. especially if your not a married couple.although you might live together you can't really say it's all going into the same household think about it this way .God forbid but if you two parted ways tomorrow you are happy with making 20k a year doing this job.I'm sorry my EO friend but 40k a year for a team is not reasonable.
 

arkjarhead

Veteran Expediter
all I know is I got tired of sitting around all the time and went back back to t/t pulling flatbeds were I could run my 2,500 to 2,800 mies a week then go hmoe for the weekend. It's not for everyone. Just like can't everyone work in a factory.
 

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
If a team in a fleet owner's truck grosses $150,000 to $200,000 a year, and the fleet owner pays for fuel and all truck expenses, and then pays the team 40% of the gross, the team is paid $60,000 to $80,000 per year.

The amount the team nets after expenses and taxes will vary with the team's circumstances, lifestyle choices and business skills.
 

unorthodoxneon

Expert Expediter
That is true in a perfect world. Everyone knows that this world isnt perfect and hasnt worked out for us. I agree with ARK. Come spring i'll be out of trucking and into a normal job. Trucking isnt for everyone, expediting isnt for all truckers!!! Especially when you've been on the phone for an hour waiting for someone at dispatch to pick up!!!!
 

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
What you say, Randy, is true. It is also true that there are numerous team success stories out there where they began with fleet owners and then either went on to become successful owner-operators, or chose to continue as team drivers and are getting from expediting what they want. There are others that returned to driving fleet-owner trucks after finding out owner-operator was not for them, and they continue happily along in the business.

Lots of variables among human beings.
 

arkjarhead

Veteran Expediter
Im not saying expediting completely sucked. I worked for a great fleet owner. He was going to let me use his his truck to train my wife bc she wanted to go out on the road. She spent the summer with me and decided about half way through she didn't like it. Plus my dad had some health problems so I decided I would go back to flatbed where I could run semi regional and be closer to home. Plus flatbed freight is seasonal like everything else. You have that time of the year were the construction projects are going and your runing hard making good money. Set some money back for the slow time(winter) and relax, maybe go hunting. That time of year maybe run about 3-4 days a week. Unless something big comes up like going to california. So there were alot of things I liked about expedite and some things I didn't. It's like the saying goes different strokes for different folks.
 

unorthodoxneon

Expert Expediter
The different strokes is true. We just was not lucky enough to be able to make it in expedite since expedite is 10% skill and 89% luck. Another down fall for us was our age, being 22 i leared that i would rather go have fun then be tied down to a job 24/7/355.
 

arkjarhead

Veteran Expediter
Well when you decide you want to get married or live like you are married(which I am not condeming) you have to make certain sacrifices. It's not like when you were a kid playing house, now it is for real. If there is no work where you currently live you may need to move. I know plenty of people who would rather just scrape by their whole life and live close to family than to move and make a good living. There is plenty of money to be made in wyoming if you have a cdl and hazmat and the living expenses aren't that high. Save your money and fly home to see the family a few times a year.
 

easyrider2697

Expert Expediter
>He asked if 40K is possible with a team. Especially working
>for a fleet owner. You dont make much with a fleet owner.


I honestly think you were working for the wrong fleet owner then...something went wrong somewhere or something, dont just add up
 

unorthodoxneon

Expert Expediter
I think the problem with us was alot of deadheading and alot of down time for repairs and such. We only seemed to average about 2-3K miles a week even when running good. The whole year+ we ran we only seen a 5000 mile week once... Ever... That was hauling general freight.
 

sweetbillebob

Seasoned Expediter
A lot reference to the 40K mark, mostly in regards to making more. How much more?? The wife and I are going to start with a fleet owner who has a contract with Fedex Custom Critical. The owners expectations are to have the wheels turning 3 weeks out of the month. We can either do a 40/60 split or a 60/40 split with us paying for fuel. I am being told 7K to 8K per month if we take the 40/60 split. Is this realistic??
 

Tennesseahawk

Veteran Expediter
No, that's not realistic. Especially now. An average truck grosses around 10k a month, maybe 12k for teams. If I'm way off, someone let me know. Those numbers also include fsc. I'm guessing around 5k a month in your pocket at 40%.

-A bore is a person who opens his mouth and puts his feats in it. - Henry Ford
 

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
I wish more carriers did what FedEx Custom Critical does in publishing its annual revenue averages. It would help answer a lot of questions.

I don't have a current revenue sheet handy. The 2004-2005 sheet shows the average non-White Glove team grosses $145,791 per year in a D-unit. That works out to a little bit more than $12,000 a month. I presume the current numbers will be higher. Revenue sheets are available free from FedEx Custom Critical recruiters. Call (800) 944-8690 to request a copy.

The above is an average number. Some do better. Some do worse.
 
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