Search

An interview with Steven Hausman, president of financial institution Triumph Business Capital, is presented. Topics covered include his thoughts on the state of the U.S. economy in 2014 for small to micro-trucking firms, the complicated challenges for small and micro-trucking businesses in 2014, and the best business approach for small truck owners for 2015.

The article discusses strategies for having good-paying tonnage aboard when bringing the truck back to the yard, as a means to achieve driver retention and maintain revenue flow for the company. The author suggests the development of specific freight lanes, combinations of loads running in geographical succession, for every truck and driver. According to the author, a freight lane aims to generate the required revenue goal by the end of each month for every truck and trailer.

The article presents information on how to protect the truck driver and the vehicle from terrorism attacks. It differentiates the homegrown terrorist threat from lone wolf. It mentions that a trucker can avoid becoming a crime statistic by becoming aware of the surroundings. It adds that trucking company owners are responsible for the security of its personnel as well as its trucking operations.

The article discusses how trucking companies can cope with difficult economic circumstances. Managers are advised to not significantly raise the number of loads without the trucks and drivers to handle them as this may cripple the business. During a crisis, it is advised that plans for dramatically increasing the number of new shippers will have to be postponed, which may add to complex challenges. Lastly, managers are told to implement cost-control measures.

The article discusses the need for a truck to be sent out with a return plan, having a paying load on it when it returns so as not to risk profit or cash flow, and that it is also important to get the truck back within a reasonable distance of the office.

The article presents insights with regards to freight hauling for truckers. Capacity is described to by an area-by-area, freight-lane-by-freight-lane issue where some areas will have more loads while others will have fewer loads. Rates are suggested to be based on the information on one's established lane and the truck-to-load ratio for both the loading area and the delivery area.

The article focuses on per-mile rate, which may work for a truck travelling 3,000 miles (mi) a week. It says that the rate can increase 20-30 cents if a truck travels 2,200-mi. a week. It mentions that the $1.27/mi. is responsible for operational costs including driver's pay for fuel and repairs and tires. It adds that carriers are responsible for knowing what they need to profit and their costs.

The article focuses on the steps needed to see whether expansion is right for a carrier. It says that the first step is to look at the expansion need in regards to the condition of a shipper base in adding trucks. It mentions that a trucking operator needs to research the sustainability of the freight hauling opportunity by considering customer expectations and the frequency of the loads. It adds that an operator must have a hauling contract which creates a profit on every trip his trucks made.