Haulin Assets

#144. Finding Loads: The Systems I Use

Finding loads for truckers is one of the most critical tasks for any trucking company. If you have been following this podcast, you know that up to this point we have used a third party dispatching service to help us find loads. About three months ago we started the process of bringing load finding in house. We are taking about 5-6 months to complete the transition. I am up to dispatching 6 of our 11 trucks and will take on 2 more trucks in about a week and the last 3 in the month or two that follow. The last 3 months have been super educational and I plan on sharing a lot of what I have learned with you. I am going to do at least 3, probably many more, episodes around the topic of finding loads. The first one is going to be technical, Craig and I are going to cover all the systems I use to do the job effectively.

What To Expect From Episode 144

Finding loads and dispatching trucks is a very fast paced, intense job, whether you are managing 1 truck or 10. It requires lots of different skills, you have to be able to multitask, pay attention to detail, build relationships and stay organized. Having good systems and processes in place is critical to being successful, that is why I am dedicating the first episode on this series to the systems I am using to stay on top of everything that is going on. Here are the different systems I am using, we cover each one in more detail throughout the podcast. I hope this episode is helpful.

1. 1. Computer
      1. Two monitors, scroll down to see what my computer setup looks like.
      2. Email, kind of goes without saying
      3. You want any system you use to ideally be able to operate on your phone so you don't have to be by your computer all the time. However, the apps are never as good and there are typically things that are harder to do from your phone.
   2. Phone system
      1. A VOIP based phone system, something that records calls and can text. I use my cell to communicate with drivers and my VOIP phone to interact with brokers.
         1. Ring Central seems to be the most popular
         2. Nextiva
      2. A cell phone
   3. Loadboards
      1. DAT
         1. Seems to have more loads
         2. The app is not as good as the computer. You can't do multiple searches at the same time.
         3. Audible alarm
         4. Heat map that shows inbound and outbound volume of loads
      2. ITS, truckstop.com
         1. Cheaper
         2. They say they have brokers who either use them exclusively or post to their site before they post on other load boards
   4. TMS (Transportation Management System) or an Excel Spreadsheet
      1. One of my favorite things about spreadsheets is they are free or very cheap, Google Docs, Excel
      2. I think you can manage 5 trucks okay with a spreadsheet. Once you get over 5, I would definitely recommend using a TMS. You may even want to with 3.
   5. ELD
      1. Motive
   6. A program to digitally sign docs, lots of options
      1. For a Microsoft Windows based computer, Adobe Acrobate DC, it's free
         1. Comes installed on most computers
      2. For Macs, Previewer
         1. Comes with the computer
      3. Android, Adobe Fill and Sign Mobile App
      4. iPhone, you can sign with the native pdf viewer
   7. Credit Checks
      1. DAT
         1. I take this with a grain of salt
      2. Factoring companies
         1. Their systems seem to be the most reliable
   8. Weather
      1. National Weather Service, look at the loop and select weather.
      2. State Road Conditions, every state has something
         1. Look at the cameras
         2. WY, I-80
         3. OR
         4. WA
         5. NE
   9. Cloud based share point for document storage
      1. Accessible from your phone
   10. Evernote
       1. Knowledge is everything. The more you know the better you are going to be. I don't remember everything well, so I take notes and review my notes regularly
       2. Free and paid versions

#143. November 2023 Financials

Earlier this week I had one of the crazier days I have had in a long time. Two trucks broke down within a matter of minutes of each other and we had a truck involved in a minor accident. Needless to say, we have a few interesting things to talk about. 

What To Expect From Episode 143

Another month in the black, but I still feel like we are running on a treadmill getting nowhere. I am beyond ready for a change in the freight market. I was expecting a little better 4th quarter than we are seeing. At least it isn't as bad as this summer was. Here are the numbers:

• Total miles ran– 123,557 (11,232 average per truck. I am happy with that)
• Deadhead miles– 7,455 (6%, backdown to a respectable number)
• Total revenue- $246,357.69 (Second best ever)
• All-in rate-per-mile- $1.99 (I really want to see this number above $2.25)

Haulin Assets realized another small profit of $9,471.77. I was hoping for better, but it does feel good that we are not bleeding as badly as we have been.

The P&L was pretty bland so there was NSTR. (Army acronym, can you guess was it means?)

#142. Cost Per Mile

A breakdown, a tow, a rental truck, another breakdown, getting ignored by a broker and rushing to make appointments, all in a week's work for one of our drivers and the team that supports him. I have said this before, nothing is easy in trucking and the best company owners are people who can solve problems. We had a lot of problems we had to solve throughout that trip. I start off this episode talking about a truck we had breakdown and the excitement that ensued. It all ended as well as can be expected, the load got delivered, only a day late, and our driver made it home in time for Thanksgiving. 

What To Expect From Episode 142

Your CPM (cost per mile) is one of the most important things you should know and understand well about your trucking company. This is the second time we have dedicated an entire episode to this subject. The first time was over 4 years ago and a lot has changed so we're overdue to dive into it again. We cover a lot in this episode and it is definitely a must listen. The excel spreadsheet with our CPM data is below. It is best to look at it while you are listening to or watching the episode. 

Here are some of the things I feel like you need to consider when it comes to your cost per mile, we discuss each in detail.

• How often you should figure out your cost per mile
• Is it better to calculate your CPM based off one month of data or the average of 6 months worth of data
• When should you re-evaluate your CPM

My Process For Calculating Haulin Asset's CPM

I dive into the mechanics of how I do it. Here is an overview:

1. I pull a Profit and Loss Statement for the most recent month and one for the previous 6 months and export them into Excel.
2. I delete the revenue info. I like a clean workspace without unnecessary data and the revenue info is not needed.
3. I categorize all my expenses as either fixed or variable and group them together. 
   1. Fixed costs-costs that are based on time rather than the quantity miles driven. (I give some examples in the podcast.) 
   2. Variable costs-costs that change as the number of miles driven changes. (I give some examples in the podcast.) 
4. To simplify things, I lump the smaller less significant fixed costs into one group I call G & A (General and Administrative). I do the same thing for smaller variable costs and put them in a group called miscellaneous. 
5. I like a hybrid CPM calculation where some of the expenses are based off the most current month and some of them I use a 6 month average. I explain this better in the podcast. 
6. I take the mileage from the most recent month and divide each expense by the mileage to get the CPM. Using a spreadsheet makes this step pretty easy. 

How Do I Use This Info

In the podcast I cover a bunch of different ways I use the CPM to help me make better business decisions. With that being said, just because I know my CPM doesn't mean I won't take a load that I essentially lose money on. I use some examples of recent loads to explain this better. 

If you haven't actually started your company yet and you want to estimate your cost per mile, Motor Carrier HQ has a great online CPM tool. You can use it to get an idea of what you think it will cost you to operate and that will help you know if you can be profitable based on the rate per mile you think you can get from loads you will be hauling. You can access the calculator by clicking on here. 

To close out, Craig and I talk about how using my CPM as a comparison to yours could be a great tool to give you better insight into your operations.

#141. October 2023 Financials

We finally broke the losing streak, but not by as much as I would have liked. October saw the establishment of several new records, predominantly positive ones. However, the bottom line was not where I would have liked to see it. There is definitely more work to be done, but I feel like we are moving in the right direction.

What To Expect From Episode 141

There have not been many months where I felt like all the trucks and drivers were running on all cylinders, but they certainly were in October. On average, the trucks ran almost 12,000 miles, all of them over 10,000. I don’t think that has happened since we have had more than two trucks. Check out the numbers for the month:

• Total miles ran– 128,771 (Almost 20k more miles than we have ever run)
• Deadhead miles– 11,398 (8.9%, The highest we have had in a while, there were some really long deadheads)
• Total revenue– $274,59
• All-in rate-per-mile– $2.13 (Highest in 4 months, only 2 months this year that were higher)

Haulin Assets realized a small profit of $8,781.56. I was hoping for better, I would have like to have seen closer to $30k. Many mickle make a muckle, we have more mickles to make. One of the positives of a hard market/economy is it forces you to be better as a company. We have made a lot of changes that I think are good changes. It’s clear that there are additional adjustments we need to make. Those adjustments will help us get through these tough times and will make us that much more profitable when the market takes a positive turns.

HERE ARE THE P&L ITEMS WE DIVE A LITTLE DEEPER INTO:

• Payroll was higher because of the extra miles
• Last work comp extra payment from our audit – $2,900
• IFTA

o    Oregon $2,000

o    NM $500

o    KY $200

o    UT $500

• Repairs

o    $8,000 Truck 02 – It’s these kind of repair bills that add proof that older trucks can be a money pit.

o    $4,000 Truck 07 – Worn wiring harness from rubbing, not under warranty, but hoping to get some back. $3,500 of it was towing. Barely over 1 year, a wiring harness shouldn’t rub. I hope freightliner will do the right thing.

Over the past 6 months, our outbound loads have shown significant improvement, particularly the last 3 months. The rates we are getting are respectable. We are getting sent to the same areas more regularly. This consistency will enhance our understanding of those lanes and enables us to build relationships that contribute to more profitable outcomes when operating in those regions.

Here are a some things we are going to be working on next:

• Better understand what routes will get us home more profitably and quickly
• Since our most profitable loads are the ones leaving Utah, we need to get back to Utah quickly
• We need to start making more contacts with shippers in those areas we are traveling to on a more frequent basis so we can work our way back with direct shipper loads

October brought a mixed bag of achievements and challenges for Haulin Assets. While we managed to break the losing streak and witnessed positive records in various aspects, there’s an undeniable sense of room for improvement, particularly in the financial realm. The month’s financials didn’t quite reach the desired mark, but the positive strides in operational efficiency and increased average mileage per truck indicate that we’re on the right track.

#140. September 2023 Financials

I have some good news and some bad news.... October is going to break some records, in a good way. Before we can get to October, we have to get through September, which broke a record in a bad way.

What To Expect From Episode 140

September is our 4th month in a row with a loss, but I am pretty confident that streak is going to end with October. The freight market continues to struggle and so does our bottom line. Here are the numbers for September.

• Total miles ran– 103,808 (We essentially had one truck sitting in September)
• Deadhead miles– 7,021 (6.8%)
• Total revenue- $198,099.60
• All-in rate-per-mile- $1.91 (really bad, again)

Haulin Assets realized a loss of $49,554.61. We did finally sell Truck 01 and $23,001 of that hit the P&L as other income, so the true loss was slightly more palatable at $26,558.11.

There is a lot to digest in this P&L. Here are some of the things we discuss in more detail.

• Damages
• An extra payroll
• Hiring costs
• Work comp audit
• Maintenance and repairs

#139. Dispatching

Normally this episode would be a financials episode, but I have had a crazy couple of weeks and am up against a flight and won't have time to finish the books for September before it's time to record. Last episode I mentioned that we have a bit of a change in the works and that's what we are going to talk about. Haulin Assets is going to bring dispatching in house.

What To Expect From Episode 139

Your 20 Dispatch has been with us since day 1 and has been a huge part of our business. I wouldn't know how to slide tandems if it wasn't for Jake. It just makes business sense for us at this point in our business to bring dispatching in house. We have known for a while this day would come and have been communicating about it for a while.

To make the transition easier on both of our businesses, we are going to do it over a long time. The plan is to transition 2 trucks per month for the next 5-6 months. That will allow us time to build good processes and it will prevent a big shock in Jake's business as well. If you are interested in using Your 20 Dispatch, give Jake a call or shoot him an email, his contact info is (208) 717-1681 or jake@your20dispatch.com.

Here are a few of the topics we touch on:

• Minimizing driver impact
• Sharing workload
• Learning process
• Future podcast episodes
• Handling direct shippers

This is a bitter sweet change. In the long run, I think it will be good for our business and great for the podcast. 

#138. Many a Mickle Makes a Muckle

"Many a Mickle Makes a Muckle" is an old Scottish phrase. It was popularized in the United States by George Washington, but he actually got the phrase wrong. I'm not going to explain how here, to learn about his mistake, listen to the episode. The phrase basically means many little things make a big thing, or many little changes will have a big impact. If you want to hear the phase being said with a Scottish accent, click here.

What To Expect From Episode 138

I think this is a great episode with some really good wisdom. I hope you like it as much as I do. Many a mickle makes a muckle is probably more true in the trucking industry than any other. Money is made from pennies on the mile. Lots of pennies and lots of miles add up to something big.

If you have been following the financial episodes, you know that the last several months have been a real financial struggle for Haulin Assets. There is no silver bullet to solve this problem. Fixing it is going to take a lot of little tweaks and changes that together will have a big impact on our bottom line.

Over the last couple of months we have been working on making those tweaks. Here are some of the little changes we have been or will be making to realize the big impact we so desperately want to have.

Changes we are already making:

• Regular visits to customers
• Shaving costs off our fuel expense
• Management driving more often
• Revisiting how and where we get tires
• Getting our vendors on 30-day terms to improve cash flow
• Being more deliberate about all our expenses
• Load analysis
• Following up on warranty claims
• Staying on top of our A/R

Changes we are are in the process of implementing:

• Reducing the down days of our trucks (I hope this will be on the larger side of an impact)
• Getting some direct shipper backhauls
• Being more efficient in the office, maybe use a TMS (Transportation Management System)
• Doing minor repairs and maintenance ourselves
• Constantly reevaluate all we do
• Consistently find time to work on the business, instead of just in the business

We have a bigger change that is likely to happen in the not too distant future, but there are some pieces that need to fall into place before we are ready to make an announcement. Stay tuned!

Making lots of little changes is hard. It requires patience, dedication and a willingness to be deliberate in all you do. That is not easy, but people who are willing to do that are usually the people who are successful. Jump on the wagon with us, let’s go down this path together and work diligently on solving this problem.

Impact Tip

Go find many mickles. Lots of little changes can have a big impact on your business. Go find a bunch of little things you can do to improve; that together, will have a big impact.

#137. August 2023 Financials

I start off this episode talking about an overside load crash here in Utah that could have been catastrophic. It was a totally preventable crash and resulted because of what I would call extreme negligence. It's an interesting story and one of those situations where we should all learn from someone else's mistakes. It is easier that way.

What To Expect From Episode 137

It was another tough month, but I am seeing more and more signs that we are turning the corner. I have my fingers crossed that we are almost to greener pastures.

• Total miles ran– 100,053 (Less miles, two trucks sat the entire month)
• Deadhead miles– 7,421 (7.4%, about the same as last month)
• Total revenue- $199,337.87
• All-in rate-per-mile- $1.99 (bad, but $0.13 better than last month)

Haulin Assets realized a loss of $25,755.42.

Here are the things we dive a little deeper into on the P&L:

• Fuel, it's getting bad again
• Work comp, we are playing catchup from an audit
• Maintenance, lots of tires
• Oregon use tax
• Repairs, highest number I remember seeing

#136. A Tribute to Truck Drivers

National Truck Driver's Appreciation Week is almost upon us, so we thought it would be a good time to do an episode that is a tribute to the truck drivers of America. Before we hit the main topic I talk about my most recent trip on the road taking a load to Phoenix. Let's just say it wasn't the most smooth run I have ever done. You'll have to listen to the episode to hear all the juicy details.

What To Expect From Episode 136

Trucking is one of the most demanding and important jobs in the United States. This is one of the best times of the year to show our appreciation for what drivers do because this Sunday, September 10^th, is the beginning of  National Truck Driver’s Appreciation Week. The American Trucking Association’s theme this year is, “Miles of Gratitude”. What do you think that means? We have some ideas that we share during the episode.

The trucking industry is one of the most critical industries in our country. Without us the economy would grind to a halt within a matter of days.  Here are some cool statistics that came from the American Trucking Association:

• $940.8 billion in gross freight revenue from trucking, that is 80.7% of the nations freight bill in 2022.
• 46 billion tons of freight hauled, that is 72.6% of the total domestic tonnage shipped.
• $29.12 billion paid by commercial trucks in federal and state fuel taxes in 2021.
• 48 billion miles traveled by single-unit and combination commercial trucks in 2021. That’s 3,521 trips to the sun.
• 62 billion miles by combination trucks, tractor and trailer.
• 750,000 active motor carriers.
  • 8% operate 10 or fewer trucks.
  • 7% operate 100 or fewer trucks.
• 54 million truck drivers

Craig and I also talk about some of the things I really like about driving and what we appreciate about truck drivers. If you ever have any doubt about how important trucking is, just look at what happened to trucking verses many other industries during the COVID pandemic. We share some pretty cool comparisons that should make any truck driver proud.

To Larry, Trudy, Tyler, Shelly, Jeanie, Thomas, Paula, Charles and Joel, the current Haulin Assets team of drivers and to the rest of you 3.54 million drivers out there my family and I would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all you do to help this amazing country be what it is. Thank you!

#135. Health and Fitness on the Road

One of the most challenging things for me to do when I was on the road was to maintain good health and fitness. Especially during the winter. My recent trip was a good reminder of that and I want to share some of the things I do while I am on the road.

What To Expect From Episode 135

Health and fitness can mean a lot of different things, during this episode Craig and I are going to focus on 3 different aspects nutrition, mental health and fitness. The biggest keys to be successful in any one of these areas, is to first prioritize your time on the road and second to think ahead and plan.

As we discuss on the podcast, my priorities while on the road are:

1. Delivering my load safely and on time.
2. A) Administrative business tasks 2B) Fitness
3. Sleep
4. Time preparing meals

There are things, like my family and my mental health that are important to me that aren’t on the priority list. That is because they are things I can do while driving, so I don’t feel like they compete as much for my time.

Nutrition

The hardest part of eating on the road...

 

Head here for the full show notes.