U.s Xpress owner operators?!

http://www.usxjobs.com/uploads/pdf/usxpress-contract-summary.pdf

Found this on their web-page. List of the pay scale for o/o's.

 

That is exactly what I have found as well. Figuring the cost of running the truck to be $1.25 per mile with NO LOAN PAYMENT I don't see how anyone can make a profit leasing on as an O-O to a trucking company. Some do it though so it makes me wonder if my spreadsheet is completely bogus. Any opinions from leased O-Os?

 

where do you get that you NEED $1.25 just to operate?

fuel should be about 65-70cpm

on a 3000mile week, and at $1,000/month for insurance, that works out to be about 8cpm

figure $1,000/month in repairs, another 8cpm

so basically for 86cpm you can run the truck (real general numbers)

that leaves about 50cpm that leaves the driver about $1,500/week if you are making $1.36cpm

not the best, but you wont go broke

if you can bring your average to about $1.50cpm, you can do better

 

I was looking over that USX compensation chart. The carrier I am with the mileage rate is flexible like USX on length of haul, but doesn't decrease as fast. Like USX is at .93 for, say, 500 miles, but mine is still at $1. The lowest rate I would ever get is $.96. And their fuel surcharge rate is roughly 10 cents a mile less than mine across the board. They pay $55 for an extra stop. I get $75 for the first extra stop and $100 for each one after that. They charge $17.50 a week for the qualcomm. I get charged $10 a week. (that is the only charge levied on me at the carrier) USX has an escrow requirement which my carrier does not have. And I get 100% of detention, whereas USX takes 15% of detention as if it cost them for a truck they do not own to sit there. I get substantial discounts on fuel also... sometimes over 40 cents a gallon off the pump cash price. USX chart didn't say their amount, but I get my physical damage and bobtail thru my carrier for $2.36 a month per $1000 value of the truck and Bobtail for $6.93 a month, total cost. Great West is the insurance. Plates are mine with full reimbursement of cost by carrier. My average cost for fuel per dispatched mile this year to date is .54 a mile.

I smell ripoff in the wind with USX across the entire compensation spectrum.

And there are some carriers that might beat what I get. So USX has a mighty long ways to go before they even catch up. Oh, figure I better state who I am with since I did this comparison so anyone can check up on me and see that my facts are true..... Fremont Contract Carriers, Fremont, NE. 000733 for those that want to look up CSA stuff.

But thanks for the link to the USX compensation page. It is good to see what others are doing sometimes.

 

is there a place where we can get actual fuel surcharges?

i was told it was based upon 6mpg and fuel at $1.20/gal all over that base is FSC (ie, at $1.20/gal is $0.00 FSC)

hence, when fuel is $4.00/gal, FSC is based upon $4 - $1.20 = $2.80/6mpg= $0.46cpm

 

Each carrier is going to have it's own method of calculation. the method you state is pretty common.

 

Here is the deal straight from a Usxpress owner operator. Recruiters will tell you that the average is 91 cpm plus fsc. I found it to be closer to 89. Can you actually make money here? Yes. But there is a catch. Like most other large companies Usx has alot of different things going on within itself. Its kind of like there are a bunch of little companies inside this really big one and each has its own good and bad points. They aren't really little companies btw I'm just using that to help you understand. There are regional, otr and dedicated boards galore here and the secret is finding what works best for you. Every company has it's good and bad points and usx is no different. I cannot tell you what your payment will be like on a lease truck cause they differ depending on truck brand. There are a couple options on that depending on if its a lease or a lease purchase and again truck brand. I lease purchased a truck, paid it off and now have a truck I bought from a dealer so yes you can pay one off. As far a leasing goes you really wont make anymore money than you would gross as a company driver but leasing brings some good tax breaks into play which makes it a little better than being a company driver but as with any owner op situation if you dont understand business and realize it is exactly that then you will fail. Halfway through my lease i was hospitalized and was out for six weeks. When I called dispatch from the er to let them know what was happening the first thing they asked was where was the truck and where was the keys. My response was the keys are in my pocket and that is where they will stay. Being out that long the only way to keep the truck is to send in your payments which is what I did. If you arent prepared to do that then stay a company driver. It's no different with the truck I have now. If i get sick and cant make the payments somebody will come take it so be prepared. Like any other company there are good times and bad. Be prepared for those. Winter sucks everywhere and its no different here. Now here is some good news. We have an awesome fuel discount program. When I bought fuel this morning the pump price was $3.83. My cost was $3.32. Good discounts on tires too. Back in January I bought a new set of virgin Michelin drives using the discount. Regular price was 4200 installed I got them for just over 3 grand. If I had went with caps I could have gotten the set for around 2100. Also the breakdown crew really has our backs. They fought for me and helped me get some issues covered under warranty that Peterbilt didn't want to warranty. This was on my new truck and not the one I leased. They didnt have a dog in that fight but they jumped in and put that usx buying power and muscle to use anyway. So what I'm saying is there is good and bad everywhere. If you are leasing a truck with a company driver mentallity you will fail. If you like to hang out at the terminal and bs with the other hotshot steering wheel holders you will fail. If you have money problems now.....leasing will not help. If you have a hard time rolling with the punches and freak out over the small stuff you will fail. If you think a company should operate at a lose just so you can make a profit then stay home. Now if you understand that they are in it to make as much money as they can, and you control your cost everywhere you can then you will do just fine not only here but anywhere you go. This applies whether you lease a truck or purchase it elswhere. Usx is a fine company but like everywhere it will take a little time to sort things out and find the spot in the system that suits you best. I hope this was helpful and good luck.

 

my cost are no where near 1.25 a mile. obviously cost vary day to day due to fluctuating fuel cost and fuel mileage for different loads and routes, tolls, etc but even on the worst days my cost don't hit 75 cents. keeping costs low is how you make money in this business.