What kind of 2008 did you have? What kind of 2009 do you expect?
I took a look at our run count and found this:
01/01/07 - 12/16/07: 126 runs
01/01/08 - 12/16/08: 125 runs
11/01/07 - 12/16/07: 11 runs
11/01/08 - 12/16/08: 14 runs
Note that last year we went home on November 30 and took the entire month of December off. This year, we took about the same amount of time off but did it in shorter segments with more trips home.
While these numbers would suggest a busy 2008, it hardly feels like it. There is a significant difference. We have had fewer long runs this year; that is coast-to-coast runs that keep the truck busy for three days at a time on a single run.
Where we might have been rolling on a long run, we are now sitting for a day or two waiting for a short run that pays less and can be completed in less time.
As we do our 2008 numbers, 2008 is shaping up to be a profitable year, but not as profitable as 2007. While pay per loaded miles is higher, the number of loaded miles is down and our personal deadhead is significantly higher because of increased personal trips home.
Gross revenue will be down 15%-18% depending on how we finish this month. Offsetting that, many expenses will be down too because of less miles driven.
A huge plus for us this year has been the big sleeper some people criticized as too expensive when we bought it. Food costs are reduced. Except for the occasional RV park fee, lodging expenses are reduced to zero. The comfort the sleeper provides makes waiting for freight easier to do in any kind of weather. Deadhead miles are reduced after deliveries because we don't have to run off to a truck stop every time. I cannot make the financial case that a big sleeper will get you more freight. Clearly it will not. But we are darn glad to have it, especially when freight is slow.
The other huge plus this year was the end of truck payments. Being in a paid for truck makes slow freight easier to bear. 2007 was a fantastic year and -- following the advice given in the Open Forum to prepare for slow times -- we used some of that money to pay off the truck early.
Our plan for a prosperous 2009 is based not on the economy -- which we expect will continue to contract for at least the first half of the year if not the entire year -- but on the regrettable expectation that a number of expediters will be forced to leave the business in 2009, thereby improving the ratio of available freight to available trucks and putting upward pressure on rates. It will take some time for that to happen and we would not be surprised to see some money-losing months along the way.
That's our story.
What kind of 2008 did you have? What kind of 2009 do you expect?
I took a look at our run count and found this:
01/01/07 - 12/16/07: 126 runs
01/01/08 - 12/16/08: 125 runs
11/01/07 - 12/16/07: 11 runs
11/01/08 - 12/16/08: 14 runs
Note that last year we went home on November 30 and took the entire month of December off. This year, we took about the same amount of time off but did it in shorter segments with more trips home.
While these numbers would suggest a busy 2008, it hardly feels like it. There is a significant difference. We have had fewer long runs this year; that is coast-to-coast runs that keep the truck busy for three days at a time on a single run.
Where we might have been rolling on a long run, we are now sitting for a day or two waiting for a short run that pays less and can be completed in less time.
As we do our 2008 numbers, 2008 is shaping up to be a profitable year, but not as profitable as 2007. While pay per loaded miles is higher, the number of loaded miles is down and our personal deadhead is significantly higher because of increased personal trips home.
Gross revenue will be down 15%-18% depending on how we finish this month. Offsetting that, many expenses will be down too because of less miles driven.
A huge plus for us this year has been the big sleeper some people criticized as too expensive when we bought it. Food costs are reduced. Except for the occasional RV park fee, lodging expenses are reduced to zero. The comfort the sleeper provides makes waiting for freight easier to do in any kind of weather. Deadhead miles are reduced after deliveries because we don't have to run off to a truck stop every time. I cannot make the financial case that a big sleeper will get you more freight. Clearly it will not. But we are darn glad to have it, especially when freight is slow.
The other huge plus this year was the end of truck payments. Being in a paid for truck makes slow freight easier to bear. 2007 was a fantastic year and -- following the advice given in the Open Forum to prepare for slow times -- we used some of that money to pay off the truck early.
Our plan for a prosperous 2009 is based not on the economy -- which we expect will continue to contract for at least the first half of the year if not the entire year -- but on the regrettable expectation that a number of expediters will be forced to leave the business in 2009, thereby improving the ratio of available freight to available trucks and putting upward pressure on rates. It will take some time for that to happen and we would not be surprised to see some money-losing months along the way.
That's our story.
What kind of 2008 did you have? What kind of 2009 do you expect?
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