Over the Road March 2024

1189694

Publisher Peter Charboneau peter@otrgroup.ca

Director of Operations & Editor-in-Chief Cathryn Charboneau cathryn@otrgroup.ca

Account Executive

Luke Zentil luke@otrgroup.ca

Account Executive Earle Madden earle@otrgroup.ca

Graphic Design & Advertising lennykuiper.com

lennykuiper@gmail.com

Controller Estela Navarrete estela@otrgroup.ca

Office Manager

Mary Charboneau mary@otrgroup.ca

TRANSX EASTERN TRUCK LOAD

> Montreal Corridor (Canada Only)

> East Coast (NY/NJ)

> Open Board (1-2 days out)

> Long Haul (California/Midwest Triangle)

TRANSX OFFERS:

> Excellent fuel subsidy program

> Paid

>

> Other

MAKING YOUR MILES COUNT

Robert D. Scheper

Know Your Business

Being an Independent Operator is more than driving your own truck. It’s about understanding the business model, focusing on what is successful and keeping away from what is not. There are two very different business models in owning your own truck: Lease Operators and Owner Operators.

The term Lease Operators has NOTHING to do with how a truck is financed… it is referring to how a truck is PAID. Lease Operators get paid cents per mile, loaded or empty; the contracts are as varied as the number of carriers providing the opportunity. Serving this industry for 25+ years I’ve read hundreds of carrier contracts. 25 years ago, carriers didn’t even have a fuel subsidy category, never mind a rate. The industry took nearly 10 years to have a standard entry in their contracts. Even then, the calculations and consistency were anything but stable. As the industry changed, so did contracts, but today we almost take fuel subsidies for granted.

Owner Operators are those who get paid a percentage of the freight invoice. This

WHEN THEY ARE NOT MOVING”.

business model is VERY different from Lease Operators. Where Lease Operators focus on “miles, miles, miles”, Owner Operators consider net rate per mile over time (usually in days). The net rate per mile considers empty miles in the calculations. An Owner Operator will often wait around for a day or two to be able to pick up a much better paying load, while a Lease Operator “LOOSES MONEY

The two business models are light years apart.

Similar to their focus being different, the information they view as their KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) are also very different. An Owner Operator needs to know their gross fuel costs per mile from their income statements provided by their calculations or accountant. The fuel surcharge added onto their freight invoice is irrelevant to the KPI’s they focus on. It is all calculated as revenue. Even separating it from their income statement is useless. Since they have no control over it, they should not track it. Additionally, less than 100% of freight separate fuel surcharge and freight rates, so tracking any portion

produces numbers that are useless to managing your truck… even if you got 100% of all freight invoices displaying fuel surcharges, separating it all would produce no usable information. You would be comparing your fuel costs with something only the carrier negotiates with... a rate that you have no control over. Why track that? So separating freight revenue and fuel surcharge revenue at best is a waste of time… at worst confusing.

However, as a Lease Operator, putting a fuel subsidy as a negative fuel cost alongside your gross fuel cost will produce your NET FUEL COSTS, which may be valuable to you. It is useful in monitoring and comparing carrier contracts. You can track net fuel costs from month to month, showing the ups and downs of costs and subsidies. Does the carrier increase rates appropriately to provide you with a stable net fuel cost? Some do; others don’t. I’ve seen contracts where Lease Operators would have to get 14 miles per gallon in order to keep the net fuel costs stable (sucky contract).

Comparing contracts using accurate income statement data is just one feature required for success. Probably one of the biggest is Non-Taxable Benefits that will save you about $12,000 per year in taxes. It may require you to rethink how you do things, but

the net benefit is one of the seven wonders of the Canadian Trucking Industry.

There are several issues important to Independent Operator success. My team and I will have a booth at the Truck World 2024 event in Toronto April 18-20th. Come on down and let’s talk for a while. Contact our office and we can get you into the show with a free pass.

If you can’t make it, contact my office. I’d love to talk to you about creating after tax wealth in your life and career.

About the Author:

Robert D. Scheper is a leading Accountant and Consultant exclusively serving the Lease/Owner operator industry in Canada. His first book in the Making Your Miles Count series “taxes, taxes, taxes” was released in 2007. His second book “Choosing a Trucking company” is the most in-depth analysis of the independent operator industry today. He has a Master degree (MBA) in financial management and has been serving the industry since he and his wife came off the road in 1993. His dedication, commitment and strong opinions can be read and heard in many articles and seminars. You can find him at www.makingyourmilescount.com or 1-877-987-9787.

CHECK OUT THE PODCASTS AT “YOUTUBE.COM/@MAKING YOUR MILES COUNT”

WOMEN IN TRUCKING

Ellen Voie

Passion is the Secret to Success

The Women In Trucking Association was formed in 2007 and will celebrate 17 years of growth and achievement this month (March 2024). What started as an idea has turned into an international organization with over 8,000 current members in ten countries.

Every founder of a nonprofit group saw an opportunity for their services or support. Whether it’s a membership-based association or a charitable organization, the founder(s) recognized a need and felt a desire to fill that demand.

People often ask how to start a nonprofit organization, and instead of focusing on the legal paperwork, I’ll tell you the secret to success. It’s passion. To promote a mission and gain support from the industry for your goal to increase gender diversity in the trucking industry you must motivate others to support your passion.

There are 1.8 million nonprofit organizations in the United States, the majority (1.3 million) are charitable groups. However, all of them started with a small group of individuals who

believed they could meet a need in their community.

Most charities are funded by less than $100,000 annually, which means they rely heavily on volunteers to advance their cause. The Women In Trucking Association is one of the five percent with annual revenues in the millions of dollars. The staff has expanded from one person to over a dozen who work to advance the mission.

In 2007, there were a few people who helped launch Women In Trucking. First, Char Pingel, the first employee who was hired with just a promise of a paycheck. She stayed on for sixteen years despite early financial struggles resulting in delayed payments. Without someone to organize the member lists, director duties, and administrative tasks, there would be no organization. Char was part of the passion.

There are many legal hurdles to address, and Attorney Robert Rothstein was immediately supportive and has spent countless pro bono hours filing

paperwork, reviewing contracts, and keeping Women In Trucking Association legal and in compliance. Without Bob’s support and legal expertise, the group would not exist. Bob was part of the passion.

Running an association with such dramatic growth is no simple task, and Joel McGinley of TranStrategy Partners (now with Hubtek) stepped in and offered executive coaching for over a decade. Again, he did this to support the group and initially didn’t even charge for his countless hours and leadership advice. Joel also gave me consulting opportunities, so I had some income while growing Women In Trucking as a startup. Joel was part of the passion.

Every nonprofit needs a board of directors to give advice and guidance as well as support to the to the group while helping to influence the industry. The initial board of twelve very powerful and prominent women was no exception. They helped write the mission statement and created the brand as well as defined who and what the Women In Trucking Association would be moving forward. This initial board was focused on creating a more gender diverse transportation environment because they believed in the mission. This group of women whom I still call friends, were all part of the passion.

One definition of passion is, “a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept.” John Maxwell once said, “A great leader’s courage to fulfill his (her) vision comes from passion, not position.”

If you want to lead a nonprofit organization, you must have passion. Your followers will see through you if your motivation is fame, power, or money. Your members will lose interest if you can’t share your enthusiasm and desire to create change in your industry or community.

The secret to success in building and leading is in sharing your passion.

Ellen Voie President/CEO/Founder of Women In Trucking, Inc. ellen@womenintrucking.org www.womenintrucking.org

Mission: Women In Trucking was established to encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry, promote their accomplishments and minimize obstacles faced by women working in the trucking industry.