First Figures

I am now past my first quarter (13 weeks) with Hill Bros as a lease-purchase operator and will be posting various numbers below and in subsequent posts. Before I do, though, I'd like to make a few points.

First, YMMW: Your Mileage May Vary. My numbers, miles, time off, breakdowns, MPG, etc. will almost certainly vary from what you will achieve should you decide on a similar route. I'm not in competition with anyone but myself, and you shouldn't rely on any one (or two or three) sets of similar figures to calculate "how much money I could make." Toss a large grain of salt over your shoulder and just use this as a sample.

Second, these numbers start a bit differently than most people who do a lease-purchase. I instructed HQ to take all money that would have been due me in the beginning to fully pay off all of my escrow accounts except my truck maintenance fund (which grows over time at five cents per mile up to $5,000 in its separate escrow). I also passed on their offer to defer the first two truck payments, opting to make those payments from the beginning. Thus, you will see the first month or so doesn't show much net income (and that which is shown was actually a payroll mistake; they forgot to take care of some of the escrows one week).

Third, my total weekly "nut", assuming you were to take all escrows and divide those yearly contributions by 52 instead of the irregular schedule that is used, is just under $800.

Fourth, what I show as "net pay" is money deposited into my checking account after all truck-related expenses. It does not include taxes taken out, the cost of health care, or my addiction to DQ Blizzards. So there.

Fifth, I round off all dollar figures to exclude any change.

My economic objectives for the first full quarter as a lease-purchase operator were as follows:

1) Completely pay up all escrow accounts except for the maintenance, as noted above. This has the effect of temporarily reducing my net pay.

2) Maintain an Adjusted Fuel Expense Per Mile rate of less than 15 cents. This is calculated by taking all the money I spend on fuel, subtracting that which I get back via FSC and dividing my total miles run by the result.

3) Achieve a weekly net pay rate to myself, after all truck expenses, of at least 1,000 dollars.

NOTES: My quarter started on June 6, 2008 and ended September 5, 2008. All numbers below, unless otherwise noted, are in whole dollars.

QUARTERLY STATS

Total paid miles run: 33,898
Approximate* truck miles run: 37,000
Approximate* Out-Of-Route miles: 3,102 (approx 9.2% of total)

* This is approximate since I didn't note my exact mileage at the end of September 5, 2008. It is close, however.

Total Fuel Expense: 22,533 (avg 1,733 per week)
Total FSC Paid to me: 18,587 (avg 1,430 per week)
Adjusted Fuel Expense: 3,946 (avg 304 per week)

In the average week, I purchase $1,733 in fuel, get paid $1,430 in FSC for the miles run using that fuel, leaving a total of $304 per week out-of-pocket fuel expense.

Average paid miles per week: 2,608

This includes all time off I have taken.

Total Revenue Paid To Truck: 50,585
Revenue Per Mile: 1.4923

Since I haul cargo for one of several fixed mileage amounts (depending on length of haul), my revenue per mile is mostly affected by the price of fuel and the resulting FSC. Smaller contributors include ancillary pay for multiple drops, layover, detention and trailer shagging.

Average Revenue To Truck Per Week: 3,891
Average Net Pay To Me Per Week: 1,110

Note again that my election to make truck payments starting the first day and fully fund all escrow accounts effectively decreases my net pay during this period. As of September 5, this amounts to almost $5,000 paid up in this fashion. It also does not reflect less than a hundred dollars in ancillary pay I believe I'm owed for loads covered during this period and detention pay that should be forthcoming for some of those loads as well.

Net Pay By Week

1: 0
2: 80
3: 0
4: 1,071
5: 0
6: 874
7: 1,309
8: 88
9: 3,096
10: 1,175
11: 3,938
12: 1,268
13: 1,534

Again, note that the slow start is due directly to my choice to start fixed payments from the beginning and to direct all net pay to my escrows until they were fully funded. Also, the spike in week #11 was due to two trips that were run previously being accounted for later.

ANALYSIS

My first goal, to fund all my escrow accounts, was taken care of in about a month, though there was a paycheck issued in weeks two and four by mistake instead of applying those monies to the escrows.

My second goal, to complete the quarter at less than 15 cents per mile fuel expense was accomplished with the mind-boggling 10.66 cents per mile for all miles including Out-Of-Route (3,946 in adjusted fuel expense divided by 37,000 approximate miles run). Considering that I spent several weeks in the middle of summer with my APU offline and having to idle constantly, I'm damn proud of that number.

My third goal, to end up with at least 1,000 dollars per week paid to me after all truck expenses, was accomplished with an actual weekly net pay rate of 1,110. The actual amount was 14,433 dollars over 13 weeks.

GOALS FOR MY SECOND QUARTER

I was recently informed that I owe something on the order of 4,000 dollars for the super single tires and rims I ordered my truck equipped with. Since this is close to what I paid in the first quarter towards my escrows, my first goal is to pay off this additional amount during the second quarter.

My second goal is to attempt to achieve a sub-10 cent adjusted fuel expense over the quarter. I will try to accomplish this with a vigorous concentration on keeping Out-Of-Route miles to a minimum, using my APU whenever possible to avoid idling and maintaining a top speed of 60 MPH.

My third goal is to raise my pay after all truck expenses to 1,200 dollars per week even after including the thousands extra I will be spending for my first goal.

My second quarter ends in the first week of December, 2008.