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27 Feb
by Vitaliy
Tags: 2017 Profits, ELD, quarterlies, Trucking
How was your second half of 2017? How was your fourth quarter? I hope it was good. It was pretty great for some of the largest carriers in America. It was really great for us. I remember reading in a report the other day that the average spot market rate went up by 35%. That is huge! Ours was more like 50% more money which was fantastic since expenses stayed the same.
25 Feb
by Vitaliy
Tags: ELD, Freight Rates, Trendlines, Trucking, Van Rates
National Van Rates Break Records in January 2018. To be more precise, the average van rate for January 2018 was just a tad over $2.25/mile. That is not bad at all for an "average" rate. Imagine if you were working with a dispatch company who consistently booked you at an "above-average" rate per mile.
Compared to December 2017, just a month prior, when prices were already beginning to increase once the ELD mandate hit the books, prices were up an average of
23 Feb
by Vitaliy
Tags: 2018 taxes, deductions, depreciation, expenses, taxes, Trucking
So earlier I was reading an interesting article on Overdrive about the new tax plan. More importantly how it will affect the trucking industry and all the independent owner operators.
In this post I simply wanted to quickly look at these changes. I am not a tax professional by any means and always recommend using one for your personal and business finance management.
Here's what I learned about
7 Oct
by Vitaliy
Tags: Diesel, Freight Transportation, Fuel Costs, Regulation, Truck Costs, Trucking
Long-haul trucking or freight transportation is the lifeblood of America. In Russia, it's all about the rail system, but in the U.S., it's all about the highway system.
Over the years with all the ups and downs of the freight transportation market, I often wondered what is it that drives the cost of freight transportation? When diesel prices decline, brokers are quick to point this out as the driver of the much lower linehaul price. Diesel prices go down, this affects diesel surcharge rates, and so clients pay brokers less money with which brokers need to make a profit.
I guess that makes sense. But I wasn't satisfied and so I dug a bit deeper. What are these elusive freight transportation cost drivers?
6 Oct
by Vitaliy
Tags: Diesel, Fuel, Fuel Cards, Fuel Cost, Trucking
Is it SAVING or COSTING You Money?
Today I want to talk about Fuel Cards, which one to go for, what’s the best way to fund it, and what to watch out for. In our attempts to save money on fuel, we went through several different fuel cards and companies and settled on one. By the way, I don't care what they tell you, you can only have one.
The company we decided to go with is England Carrier Services (ECS). The card is through Fleet One and is free and has no limitations. There are no transaction fees either. There is however a monthly fee of $6 so make sure you fill up at least 300 gallons per month to make it worthwhile.
5 Oct
by Vitaliy
Tags: Diesel, Freight Rates, Fuel, Fuel Cost, Trucking
Today I’d like to show you some of the top concerns voiced by owner-operators like you and I. Back in March of 2012, Overdrive Magazine asked owner operators about their biggest trucking concerns. While things have changed since 2012, I find many of the top concerns remained just like before.
The top concern in 2012 was “rising cost of fuel” and while this was definitely a hot topic in 2012 with diesel prices hitting $3.968 as a U.S. average, luckily it has steadily come down.
