Trucking News

The constant rise in diesel fuel prices is pushing the small independent trucking companies out of business.   With the independents dropping out like flies¹, what else could they possibly have to endure?

Well, with the help of a new regulation proposed by Department of Transportation (DoT) officials it looks like the independent trucker is about to get reamed yet again.

Big Rigs may be getting their speedometers clipped.  The DoT bureaucrats are proposing to mandate devices on commercial trucks that limit a truckers top speed to 68 mph.  This idea has support by many of the corporate trucking giants, but is strongly opposed by many independent truckers.

Todd Spencer, Executive Vice President of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) said “Most truckers are paid by the mile, so the financial pain of slower limits would be felt mostly by the drivers while the benefits would be reaped by corporations represented by the ATA (American Trucking Associations).”

OOIDA believes the legislation to be completely misguided and outrageous when you examine the safety data.

“There is nothing desirable about turning trucks into rolling roadblocks and obstacles for other drivers,” Spencer said.  “Slower isn’t safer. Every year, NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) accident data shows that cars are far more likely to run into the backs of trucks than the other way around.   Real highway safety experts have always known that highways are safest when all vehicles travel at the same speed.” says Spencer.

The largest trucking conglomerates favor the 68 mph speed limit, since it will force even more of the smaller, independent carriers out of business.  The collusion between transportation authorities and corporate trucking lobbyists is stomping the life out of the entrepreneurial trucker. 

The speed control campaign is led by Road Safe America, an Atlanta advocacy group that was started by a couple whose son was in an accident with a tractor trailer in 2002.  When moms get involved in road safety it’s only a matter of time before the proverbial hammer gets dropped.

Road Safe America has a history of pushing legislation for emotional reasons while ignoring the facts. The facts are split speed limits decrease road safety².

Forget common sense. Big business and big government are about to kill independent truckers with irrational legislation.  So grab your ankles my fellow independent truckers, it’s going to be a tough one to take.

References:
¹ Landline Magazine
² Safety Testimony

This is a common question among small business owners. From the independent owner operator to the 50 truck fleet, industry specific software helps you maintain a healthier business and increases the chances your overall success.

Most business owners have one or two main strengths. Yours might be sales and customer relations, or it might be logistical management and getting the job done. Whichever your strengths are, you also have some weaknesses. Industry specific software can accommodate for those weaknesses without having to hire the expertise yourself.

Most small business owners I know are not good at the details – paperwork, invoicing, record keeping, and accounting. Hiring employees to handle these tasks can get expensive. If you decide to take care of these yourself, without special software these tasks are quite time consuming. Spending too much time on detail tasks means taking time away from more productive areas of your business. Masslogics software greatly reduces the time spent on job management, customer and driver records, equipment maintenance records, and more. Most owner operators’ weekly workflow can be managed in less than one hour. A small fleet of 5-10 trucks can be managed easily by a single person. Larger fleets can increase workload without hiring more staff.

In times when keeping costs down is critical, Masslogics Software is the ideal system that helps cut existing costs and frees up time to work on your business instead of for your business.

I know what you’re thinking, “I have to get home” or “If I’m parked I’m not making money.”  You’re right, and we are all guilty of using those reasons to take loads that we shouldn’t take.  But there are other things to consider, the main one being the cost to operate.  As an owner/operator or a small trucking company, you must run your business as a business, which starts at turning a profit.

Let me ask a simple question, what does it cost you to run?  You should have the answer to that question on the top of your mind each and every day.  You should be able to answer that question cold, without thinking, exactly how much it takes to operate.  And when I say exactly how much, I don’t mean just for fuel and labor.  I mean for insurance, taxes, licensing, maintenance, labor and fuel all bundled together.  As a long distance truck, the number might be by the mile.  As a more local truck, it might be by the day.  Either way, you should know those figures and be able to determine in about 10 seconds if that next load is worth taking.  When you see a load posted to a load board, you should be able to do the math and determine the profitability.  Profitability = Total Revenue – Total Cost, where Total Revenue is the load pay plus any fees and the fuel surcharge.

So, how much does it take to be profitable?  To some degree, that is up to each of us as individuals.  However, I would recommend a minimum of 10%, but 15% is a more comfortable zone.  Here’s a typical example:  If you determine your cost to operate as $1.42/mile (which should include your driver pay, even if that is you in the seat), then to maintain 10% profitability you need $1.58/mile for every mile, loaded or empty (divide 1.42 by .90).  You can make adjustments to the math to compensate for empty and loaded miles.  If you know that over the course of the year you drive on average 87% loaded and 13% empty, then increase your loaded price by 13% to cover the miles you won’t get paid for.

We all know the phrase “Say no to cheap freight.”  But how many of us actually live by it every day?  It starts with each of us as individuals.  We must operate our businesses in a successful manner in order to survive in this highly competitive industry.  Find your cost number, add your profitability, and commit it to memory.  And remember, if the load you are looking at doesn’t meet your profitability minimum, then help yourself and the rest of us – don’t take it!

Its something that every business struggles with and it can plague a small business into extinction. In rare circumstances monetary misappropriation is the result of creative internal and external fraud. More commonly a company will spring a cash leak and inevitably hemorrhage away profits until the company bleeds to death in spite of a managers best attempts to save it. Without proper money management even the largest conglomerate corporations can spiral into oblivion.

This disaster is magnified in the hands of an inexperienced management team often associated with startups and small enterprises. Mainly due to smaller budgets many small companies cant attract the services of experienced accountants. Many software packages can manage a simple budget and small payroll but more complex companies need more. Any manager finding their company in dire straits due to an unintentional mismanagement of funds must consider accounting software for small trucking business.

With its specialized architecture accounting software for small trucking business has the ability to do more than simply track invoices and a small payroll budget. While tracking and maintaining positive cash flow is essential to every business no matter its size many require a more well rounded feature base. The new software packages featuring accounting software for small trucking business allow for greater flexibility including creating, editing, and sending invoices through a multitude of media. They can also track and record shipping and receiving documents, track partial payments, credit limits, advances, charges, and at the end of the day export to the majority of popular accounting software.

If you own and/or operate a trucking business you know how daunting it can be to bounce back from a busy season or to transition into a growth increase. It serves its self as a major undertaking even for the most seasoned professionals to make these troubling times run smoothly, even with the addition of extra support staff there are inevitable costs to recruit and train those individuals. What is a responsible manager to do in situations like this? We at MassLogics have the answer you are looking for. We are proud to present our customers with our trucking business software.

What benefits do trucking business software from MassLogics offer? Why I’m glad you asked! Trucking business software is a one stop shop for all things your prospering enterprise needs. This software package allows you to manage customers keeping a centralized database of information on rates and customer specific fuel surcharges.
MassLogics trucking business software also allows your company to manage drivers more effectively. With the click of a button one can file or update driver contact information, pay, and Department of Transportation statistics.

It is also possible with this software to manage shipments with easy data entry screens, have full access to the dispatch boards with one-click updates, even sort your data to find specific jobs in the system.

Reports are a simple click away. Trucking business software offers simplicity in sorting and maintaining all types of reports.

Accounting has never been easier than with MassLogics trucking business software. Quickly create, edit, and send electronic invoices. Keep track of all customer data including credit limits, payments, and partial payments. Easily log other expenses such as insurance. Lastly our accounting software allows you the flexibility to push any or all of this data into Quickbooks.

You can manage vendors by creating a company Rolodex of centralized information for repair shops and then using that tool to sort the shops by service, location, and ratings.
Last but certainly not least our trucking business software allows for maintaining a central hub of maintenance information and costs for the life of your equipment.

As you can see we at MassLogics offer our trucking business software package to consumers because, as responsible trucking professionals, we have the knowledge and experience to understand our customers needs. Our software concepts have been tested time an again by the best focus group available, our own trucking business. At MassLogics we pride ourselves when we say our software was developed by truckers, for truckers.