QuestionBob,
I'm looking at getting back into the trucking industry, perishables (mainly produce). I had a single truck operation about 8 years ago that did pretty well but it wore me out being away from home all the time.
This time, I am planning to purchase 5 complete units to start and put drivers in all of them. I can get the loads out of CA and AZ without problem, but am having a hard time figuring out how to get the trucks loaded back to CA and AZ from points like Dallas, Houston & Chicago without a lot of deadhead expense.
It is imperative that I keep the efficiencies up so I can actually realize a decent return (income). Do you have any resources where I might be able to get some average rates back to CA that I can plug into my plan and check the final numbers?
AnswerHi John,
Nothing like buying five rigs! Congratulations! You should be able to reload back to CA and AZ pretty easy (with little deadhead). I go to www.getloaded.com and get loads off of there. I found some loads for you out of Chicago back to the LA area. In my case, once I got to know the shippers and receivers, I would call them directly and bypass the brokers. At the very least, you will get to know the brokers and bypass www.getloaded.com. You may also look into www.123loadboard.com and www.freightfinder.com (I prefer getloaded.com, though). Once you pay their fee, which is small, you can start call companies and getting prices.
You may consider sending a guy to Florida. Between Tropicana in Bradenton, Zephyrhills water, frozen shrimp and tomatoes, there are a number of loads back to So Cal. Again, take a look at the load board.
Good luck!
Bob Stephens
