Pigeon Post
Active Expediter
I'm gonna translate this as "smarter people have done dumber things with their money." I've had good Saturdays that started with worse news than that, so thanks.
Sylectus
- Thread starter Pigeon Post
- Start date
I am wondering your high cost per mile on that sprinter?....you flat rate your driver...like pay him straight by the mile ?....Like the Blair outfit does?.....I mean the .72 include the drivers wages?...
Pigeon Post
Active Expediter
I don't want to break it down too much, but yes, the $.72 includes payroll cost.
That's fine...explains the high CPM....and your need for the $1.00 target...your bidding against guys like me with less then a .25 cpm ( wage not included )....that could also explain a lot for ya...
Pigeon Post
Active Expediter
You're on Sylectus as an O/O? So their policy about only working with "companies that have 10+ power units" is just outright garbage, and I was not quite given the "special exception" that they claimed? Why am I not surprised.
pretty much....sucks doesn't it?
Maybe Murray can chime in about that 10 thingee...I am an O/O under his banner....
Pigeon Post
Active Expediter
The van's operating cost includes fuel, maintenance, depreciation, insurance, and incidentals. So I'm up closer to $.35 p/mile.
Pigeon Post
Active Expediter
This is really a penny/nickle game out here with us CV's....cut throat the whole 5 yards....been doing this about 16 yrs first a CV and then an 05 Sprinter....I've seen alot of small carriers and O/O's go bust....some with big intentions at first and then reality hits....
.35 is a reasonable rate for someone with a note on van and payment plans....and replacement costs....which I have none of that....this van is it...the end!
Murraycroexp
Veteran Expediter
Haven't seen the current requirements but last I heard it was a 10 truck minimum. They charge a flat fee plus a per-unit charge.
There are still plenty of carriers on Sylectus with fewer than 10 units but they qualified back when the minimum was either 5 or 1, depending on how many years they've been on.
not really, Sylectus lets in new foreigners with only 1 vehicle now...you see them all over....at truckstops, at shippers, at receivers, all over....and many are just within the last year or 2...
when it comes down to it, Sylectus doing this with all these foreign drivers...is a far more serious problem than that of the "rogue insurance problem carriers" because eventually those guys get caught, but the 1 or 2 vehicle foreign carriers keep on in business as long as they are part of Sylectus...just saying in my very humble opinion...
Murraycroexp
Veteran Expediter
I don't doubt it. My limited knowledge of Sylectus requirements was right at the end of Stu's reign.
I'm sure just about everything at Sylectus has changed.
Yes, I read EVERY email notifying members of new carriers brought on board. I won't elaborate. But I read them all.
I don't go to Safersys and pull them up but I read them.
I don't doubt it. My limited knowledge of Sylectus requirements was right at the end of Stu's reign.
I'm sure just about everything at Sylectus has changed.
Yes, I read EVERY email notifying members of new carriers brought on board. I won't elaborate. But I read them all.
I don't go to Safersys and pull them up but I read them.
I can interpret....garbage.
Murraycroexp
Veteran Expediter
Pigeon Post
Active Expediter
In defense of my judgment, I would like to say that I did at least have the presence of mind to ask the salesman how I could be expected to feel as though I was subscribing to an exclusive club based on strict parameters if my 5-truck fleet was being allowed in to the club. I didn't have the presence of mind to not believe him. But that's just because I wanted so much to believe it. It was an ego-boost to think that he took a measure of me, and decided I was worth the "risk". In retrospect, of course, doi.
In any case, I slept on it, and my apologies to everyone on here, but I'm going to spend a few months getting the lay of the land putting my Transit out there, low-ball bidding to keep the wheels rolling and being a part of the problem. Once I'm not so green at running this, if it seems worth it, I'll lease to a carrier and get a couple of straight trucks if it seems like a business I want to be in. In the meantime, I'll be able to show the bank some added revenue, I'll test my cargo van driver's mettle, and hopefully I'll learn more about the dynamics of this business.
I hope it works out, if only to be a part of this little community here. It's pretty unique.
In any case, I slept on it, and my apologies to everyone on here, but I'm going to spend a few months getting the lay of the land putting my Transit out there, low-ball bidding to keep the wheels rolling and being a part of the problem. Once I'm not so green at running this, if it seems worth it, I'll lease to a carrier and get a couple of straight trucks if it seems like a business I want to be in. In the meantime, I'll be able to show the bank some added revenue, I'll test my cargo van driver's mettle, and hopefully I'll learn more about the dynamics of this business.
I hope it works out, if only to be a part of this little community here. It's pretty unique.
I'm sorry to tell you that most of the FedEx loads are going for rock bottom prices. It's like pulling teeth to even get a dollar a mile on their cargo van loads. You're not going to make much more than a dollar a mile for cargo van loads on Sylectus, or even more than 1.80 per mile on straight trucks loads I work with a well established company with a few teams in straight tucks, and we even have trouble keeping them busy at times. There are Penske box trucks bidding on dock high straight truck loads because they have special ramps to get the pallets off the docks. Some of the carriers will say sprinters ok, and non-dock high ok on 3000 pound straight truck loads. That means it's going to go cheap. These box trucks will bid on team loads and run them overweight because they are not regulated and do not have to run log books. You can have all of the partner carriers you want, it isn't going to drive the prices any higher. Also, most of the loads you are bidding on off of the Sylectus board aren't legit. The company posting the load doesn't even have the load yet. They're bidding on the load from a customer that you can't see, or do not have access too, and they're using your bid as a quote for their customer. That is why you see three and four brokers posting the same load on Sylectus at the same time. Also, there are a lot of carriers on Sylectus that you just can't see. They don't just turn on the new carriers that sign up, and unless you've done business with them in the past, or know who they are, you will never see their loads. You are missing a lot of load opportunities right off the bat.
Do you see these companies:
S2-International
Bounce Logistics
Ace Logistics
Express Family of Companies
Load - One
C&M Transport
UPS
Landstar Express America
Par Logistics
Straight Shot Express
Averitt Express
There are many more that you're probably not seeing right now.
I wouldn't even think about getting a straight truck for at least another year or two. Good Luck!
Do you see these companies:
S2-International
Bounce Logistics
Ace Logistics
Express Family of Companies
Load - One
C&M Transport
UPS
Landstar Express America
Par Logistics
Straight Shot Express
Averitt Express
There are many more that you're probably not seeing right now.
I wouldn't even think about getting a straight truck for at least another year or two. Good Luck!
Pigeon Post
Active Expediter
Yeah, I've caught on to that in the last 6 months. I do see posted loads from some of those companies. The ones I haven't seen are
Bounce
C&M
UPS
Landstar Express (although I am Landstar approved)
Straight Shot
Averitt
I still have some reaching out to do to make connections with a bunch of the carriers and brokers. Hopefully I can develop a rapport and maybe get a load here and there. I've been in the delivery business for 20 years, and I've got a pretty good handle on how to run a business. I appreciate the advice, but there's no way I'm going to go 2 years operating at razor thin margins with one Sprinter. If a business has thin margins, the only way to make any money is with volume. I'll know within a few months if it makes sense for me to move forward. There are other directions to grow if I want to. I'm just interested in this business.
Bounce
C&M
UPS
Landstar Express (although I am Landstar approved)
Straight Shot
Averitt
I still have some reaching out to do to make connections with a bunch of the carriers and brokers. Hopefully I can develop a rapport and maybe get a load here and there. I've been in the delivery business for 20 years, and I've got a pretty good handle on how to run a business. I appreciate the advice, but there's no way I'm going to go 2 years operating at razor thin margins with one Sprinter. If a business has thin margins, the only way to make any money is with volume. I'll know within a few months if it makes sense for me to move forward. There are other directions to grow if I want to. I'm just interested in this business.
Don't forget these companies:
Express-1
Panther - they have their own load board
NLM - National Logistics
Penske Logistics
CH Robinson
Active Aero - they have a load board
Echo Global Logistics - they send out emails
Lets Go Logistics - they also send out emails
Radiant Global Logistics
Lynnco Supply Chain Solutions
Langham
Agent Capacity Gateway - another load board where the Landstar agents in Agusta GA post their available loads!
Good luck!
Express-1
Panther - they have their own load board
NLM - National Logistics
Penske Logistics
CH Robinson
Active Aero - they have a load board
Echo Global Logistics - they send out emails
Lets Go Logistics - they also send out emails
Radiant Global Logistics
Lynnco Supply Chain Solutions
Langham
Agent Capacity Gateway - another load board where the Landstar agents in Agusta GA post their available loads!
Good luck!
They let me on Sylectus without being in business for six months three years back. They break their rules all of the time. All they are interested in is the money. They try and sell that Sylectus pro version to smaller carriers claiming that your phone will ring off the hook with new load offers once you go pro and it just isn't true. It is a great system for doing payroll and other stuff, but they tried to sell it to me as more load opportunities. I don't think it is worth 11k. I can do the same thing with Macropoint and Internet Truckstop. That system also emails the customer's when loads are picked up, delivered etc. It only costs 35 dollars a month to boot!There ya go. And Stu is a year out.