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What You Need to Know Before Getting into Expedite Trucking

Imagine you could ask for advice from some of the most successful expediters in the business -- all in one setting. That's precisely what attendees at Expedite Expo 2016 at the Lexington Center in Lexington, Ky., got to do during the "kick-off" workshop on July 15.

The session titled "What You Need to Know Before Getting into Expedite Trucking" featured moderator John Mueller, president with trucking carrier Premium Transportation Logistics, and panelists A.C. Allen, a fleet owner with Allen Expedited Transport, and husband and wife team and fleet owners Tom and Tina Evans.

Here are four key takeaways from that session.

1. Freight is slow right now, especially for cargo van operators.
"It's a little tougher with the vans right now," said AC Allen, a fleet owner with 15 vehicles in his fleet, including one cargo van.

This is largely because cargo vans are the easiest (and least expensive) vehicle for owner-operators to get into, which can create overcapacity of van operators when overall demand for freight softens. However, there are "some opportunities [in expediting] available out there that can be lucrative," said Allen, who invited anyone interested in learning more to speak with him after the session.

(Read: The State of Expedited Freight.)

2. When it comes to selecting a carrier, do your homework.
Allen declined to offer recommendations to specific trucking carriers because there is no one-size-fits-all answer. "I won't say, 'Go to this carrier or that carrier.' It's really a matter of you doing your research and finding the right fit for you. Some carriers will run you a little harder on the miles, but the rate might be a little lower. You just have to take a whole bunch of things in consideration."

Tom and Tina Evans shared a story of how, a few years ago, they were hit with an unpleasant surprise with a carrier that forced them to put their initial plans to become fleet owners on hold.

"We were six years into our career and had been with the same carrier for that long, and were just about to sign our name for two brand new trucks," Tina recalled. "And, out of the blue, on a Saturday morning, we got a call from a recruiter. Our carrier got out of the business, sold us and we went to unemployed without a lease overnight. And we had to start researching carriers we wanted to switch to. So that shook us a little, and we had to drop back and regroup and wait till you find that perfect place you're comfortable with. And where you feel like they're not going to close up overnight."

Tom added: "And you're comfortable that you can earn what you need to earn there."

"And make sure they are going to be consistent with their freight levels that you can sustain before you can make that commitment again," said Tina. "It did take us a long time to find one we were comfortable with and decide to get back into it."

(Read: The Owner-Operator's Guide to Selecting a Carrier.)

3. Your revenue depends on the truck.
How much can you expect to gross as a team with a straight truck and dry box?

"You're going to gross anywhere -- again it depends on how much you want to stay out and how often you're going to go home -- between $150,000 to $200,000 per year. That's what I have seen," said Allen. "With a reefer [a straight truck with refrigerated box], I have seen those numbers go upwards to $300,000."

But, as Tina Evans pointed out, "You better be prepared to get out your checkbook for that [reefer] truck." That's because although the revenue potential is higher for truck with a refrigerated body, so is the cost.

And the cost of the truck is an important consideration for determining whether or not you can operate profitably with solo or team drivers. "It's difficult to make a profit as a fleet owner with a solo driver in a straight truck that costs over $60,000," said Tom Evans.

(Read: Why I Chose a Straight Truck for Expediting.)

4. Your success is good for the expedite industry as a whole.
Tom Evans was asked by an attendee, "Why are you here? Are you getting paid to speak? What do you get out of this?"

Evans' answer drew loud applause from the nearly 100 people in the room.

He said that no, he and Tina were not being paid to speak at the Expo. Their purpose: "We're here because we'd like to see more quality, more prepared people get into this business," says Evans. "Because the more we saturate the market with people who just want to make a quick buck, they'll take any load at any rate and that drives the market down for everybody. It's to everybody's benefit to educate you as much as we can to prepare you to come into the business, where you understand your expenses and realize what it costs you to run down the road, so when you're signed on to your carrier, it helps boost the rates and the market back up for everybody."

(Read: Seven Success Strategies for Expedite Owner-Operators.)

Save the Date: July 14-15, 2017
With Expedite Expo 2016 in the books, mark your calendar to attend next year's show set for July 14th and 15th, 2017, at Lexington Center in Lexington, Ky.