van drivers....have you tried air freight?

DRIVERDUDE · May 3, 2007

Have any of you starving van drivers tried hauling air freight? I am an independent expediter (not leased to any one). Times got very slow here in ATL so I had to explore other opportunities. I hooked up with a courier company that does nothing but air freight. I am home most every night and I average between $1000 & $1200 per week gross. My fuel expenses run between $150 & $200 per week because most of the runs are local. Fuel costs this week are up to $350 because I have been to Raleigh, NC, Louisville,KY, & Montgomery AL so far this week. I still have my regular accounts but this company keeps me busy enough.
I get to charge my regular customers more, but they are still slow. Best move I have made in this business in a long time.

geo · May 3, 2007

if you get your own auth, and go egl and other like companies you could be come a agent for them, you have to fill out some paper work, for them, some of paper work that's need is how much ins coverage you have etc. and they will call you and ask can you do this, we have in norfolk va area when all our trucks are busy they call one of back company's and they keep things moving

also if you on your own also would think of finding someone to put a paid ad on your van, to , make sure after the ad has run out comes off easy

kangar0085 · May 3, 2007

That's pretty good man...don't be tellin everyone now.

raceman · May 4, 2007

DRIVERDUDE, That is fantastic. That is very close to what I have done with my straight truck. I do not run air freight, well I have done a few loads of the last year because the company I do most of my work for does that and now and then needs weekend help.

As someone else pointed out, I got my own authority as well. As he said you then can become and agent. I agree with you it was my best move as well. I tried to share this with someone and I don't think he thought I was telling the truth.

I was explaining it to a Panther driver the other day and finally showed him my income and he then began to listen. I too am home every night. If I do something outside of my normal runs maybe I am out over night but that is rare. I am into my third year of this.

Congrats on the find and continued good luck

Raceman
Dedicated O/O
OOIDA 741748

DRIVERDUDE · May 4, 2007

yeh raceman, with a cargo van you dont need your own authority but i do run for a company that has authority. i dont know how much air freight there is out there but in ATL there are a ton of companies that specialize in it. there are a lot of straight trucks that pick it up but i dont know if they are just sweeping the airport or taking it to the consignees. i know it beats the hell out of hanging out in truck stops. when its slow we hang out and watch the planes land and take off. there is a website that has job openings available in all the states if anyone is interested, reply back and i will give it out. the only trick to doing it is you have to hook up with a company that is approved by the FAA & TSA.

grog111 · May 5, 2007

Well Driverdude, you've peaked my curiosity. What is this web site of which you speak?

DRIVERDUDE · May 6, 2007

The site is www.mynica.com It has some job openings and companies that are members that my have openings that aren't posted. You may want to join yourself, they have some great benefits.

rbolinger · May 6, 2007

I saw your message and was wondering what the website is that shows the jobs available in all cities. I live in the Cincy area and have a Sprinter, but am interested in finding something to do at the airport so I can keep more local. I have been running the last year with one of the major expedite companies...but way too much deadhead and sitting. Any help or ideas you can give would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
rbolinger

DRIVERDUDE · May 7, 2007

Well rbolinger, the website is www.mynica.com , look under relocate with nica, but I dont think that they have any members in Ohio. The way I found my job was to Google air freight companies in my city and start calling. Around here they won't hire you without a cargo van so the should jump all over a sprinter.

sunshine to all · May 7, 2007

sunshine to you driverdude, I have a 1ton cargo diesal van and just a company that was driving in the ground. l'm in the Detroit area. Sure could use info on how to hook up as there are three airports near me but I thought DHL and Fedex had them locked up. Thanks :*

Jefferson3000 · May 7, 2007

Just to let you know, Fedex, UPS, and DHL do NOT have the air freight market sown up. In fact, all of them are pretty recent at entering into the heavyweight freight forwarding market. UPS bought out the old Emery/Menlo to get in, and DHL bought out Danzas and Exel to get into it.

Here are a few names you might Google for your respective cities:

EGL.
Bax Global,
Pilot Air Freight,
Target Logistic Services,
Freight Force,
DHL Global Forwarding,
Adcom Worldwide, and
Airgroup

....among others. Also, you will find smaller forwarders and trucking companies in your area by searching the phone book as well as Google. Here are a few terms to search for:

Forwarding,
Cartage,
Expedite,
Courier,
air cargo,
air freight,

along with your city name and/or airport code. Also, this is not a market limited to vans. Box trucks are used as well, and not just for routes.

Drive Safe!

Jeff

Driver for 15 years
O/O for 13 years
OOIDA #829119

rbolinger · May 7, 2007

Thanks for the info guys. Here is my question..I am talking to an air freight company today and wants to know my rate per mile that I will charge. I didn't know what the going or average rate per mile plus fuel surcharge is. I told him it would be an average of what other expediters charge but I couldn't tell him what that would be yet til I did some more checking. Anyone have any valid rate per mile charges. Also how do I find the fuel surcharge being charge for a particular week? I know it changes all the time.

Jefferson3000 · May 7, 2007

I PMed you with some info that might help your decision.

Drive Safe!

Jeff

Driver for 15 years
O/O for 13 years
OOIDA #829119

rbolinger · May 7, 2007

Jefferson..what is PMed?

Jefferson3000 · May 7, 2007

Private Messaged (Look in your profile inbox.)

Drive Safe!

Jeff

Driver for 15 years
O/O for 13 years
OOIDA #829119

DRIVERDUDE · May 8, 2007

Sterling Courier out of Herndon, VA and Quick International are huge air freight companies that contract smaller companies in different cities to pick up and deliver their freght. Google them for phone numbers,etc. I know Quick has offices all over the country. By the way, for those who want rates the company I work for charges $1.50 per mile and pays the driver about 55-60% plus FS for cargo vans. Don't know rates for straight trucks.

tv121591 · May 8, 2007

jefferson3000 I saw your reply about rates charged for vans hauling air freight.I have been doing this for a couple years now and would like to make sure my rates arent to low.Could you forward that info to me? Thanks [email protected]

Jefferson3000 · May 8, 2007

TV, I replied on your EO mailbox. For everyone else, I basically just told these guys that you must know what you can and can't charge due to what the market can bear. If I choose to give out actual numbers I have used at some point, I will probably keep that off the board.

It has been my experience in a van that forwardrs pay out more than cartage companies, becuase the cartage company is getting paid what you would be paid. Air freight cartage companies with out-of-town customers generaly charge higher than those who only handle local offices.

In my experieence, a forwarder generally has about $1,65 to 2.00 per mile plus fuel that he can charge his customer for a van hotshot. (Box trucks will be considerably more.) So he is not going to want to pay out all of it to you. That is not a solid rule though. Let's say a forwarding office in Seattle has a customer in Tacoma that needs a skid moved, not in Washington, but from Tampa to Jacksonville, Florida that same day. He might be willing to pay that $2 plus fuel to his Tampa agent (cartage company) who will dispatch your van to do it for $1.40 plus fuel. Remember, you are not OTR, so you will probably be returning empty back to the cargo zone. Sometimes however, you will get an extra stop, or a pickup to bring in.

In the past, I have worked with some companies that I agreed to a percentage within their normal delivery area. Outside of that, it was always by quote. Another company I had an appointed per mile rate for distance work.

Lastly, I have generally had more success with smaller offices than with big offices. Franchises and small companies seem to always treat you better. Then again, I am all about the relationship building and not just being truck "X" they pull from their rolodex when truck "W" can't do it.

Also, box trucks can do extemely well in local/regional airfreight.

Drive Safe!

Jeff

Driver for 15 years
O/O for 13 years
OOIDA #829119

Jefferson3000 · May 8, 2007

This may seem off topic, but when I started working on my own, I found that I really needed to have my ducks in a row. You won't be able to market yourself off an old company's reputation. You have to build one yourself. That takes time. I moved from Tampa to Orlando over the new year. In Tampa, I knew everyone in the freight sector. (I am exaggerating, but I did know a LOT of people.) In Orlando, nobody knows me. it's a bigger freight narket, where everyone and his brother has a truck. I have not been willing to "Low-ball" my price, so it takes time for the need to arise whereby a company uses you. Then, you must prove to them that you are worth every penny you are asking. Some companies have a greater threshold from which they can pay than others. You just have to flow with that. Make yourself stand out: professional look, rate sheet, billing and phone skills.

By the way, sometimes the best companies to work with don't necessarily have the greatest public persona. You may not know them by their 50 trucks with huge decals on the side. Sometimes that little hole-in-the-wall business may need you more than the big guys.

Drive Safe!

Jeff

Driver for 15 years
O/O for 13 years
OOIDA #829119