Trucking: OO Pursuing Independent Contract, trucking tools, regional deliveries

Question
Hi Jim,

We are new to the trucking industry, and decided to enter with a Straight truck (24ft straight, dock-height, $1M liability, $100K Cargo, DOT#, but no MC) instead of a Semi. We have contacted local companies concerning signing on as an independent contractor. The companies all seem to have about the same requirements. I have three questions, I hope you can help me with: (1) what are some of the ques I should ask; (2) what gotcha's should I look for in a carrier agreement (regional deliveries); and (3) all seem to pay on a per mile basis, what kind of pay rates can we expect?


Thanks,
Harv

Answer
Harv, from a contract perspective familiarize yourself with the ATA NITL model Truckload contract.  It will have some variance from what the shippers will offer you but there is a good commentary and will at least give you an idea what to look for.
http://www.nitl.org/ModelMotorCarrierShipperwithGeneralInstructions.pdf
Next be sure you understand your operating costs.  Here is a link to a good discussion on that topic:
http://www.ooida.com/trucking_tools/CPM/cost_per_mile.htm
It's hard to say what rates you can expect since taht will be a function of your particular market and how much capacity is available.  Beware however that in local operations you are likely to have a high percentage of empty miles getting from job to the next or back to origin.  In the ideal the shipper would pay for round trip miles including a fuel surcharge.  The reality is they are likely to want to pay only for the loaded miles required to make their delivery.  That being said you need to be sure the mileage pay is high enough to cover your empty miles including fuel.
Hope this helps a little.
Best of luck.
Jim.