Each load that is accepted and awarded will be entered into a spreadsheet.   There is space to keep track of miles loaded, empty, and unauthorized, pickup and delivery city and state, weight hauled, load pay, and cash advances.
 
With this spreadsheet I quickly know that in 2013:
 
Loads Hauled = 94
 
Average length of load = 1241
 
Weight hauled for the year = 151,507
 
Our Average weight per load = 1612
 
Cash Advances = $42,601
 
Fuel Costs = $43,036
 
The above numbers help in decisions when purchasing our next truck.   We take cash advances that are loaded onto our T-Chek card to purchase our fuel at a discount.
 
Fuel costs and mile per gallon is also tracked.   In this spreadsheet the name of the fuel stop is entered, the cash cost per gallon, discount applied, MPG gallon is figured, state where purchased, and IFTA amount paid is entered.   Each of the amounts represents figures for the year of 2013.
 
Fueled the truck = 156
 
Discount from cash price = $2703.38
 
Average MPG = 11.47
 
Average cost of fuel per gallon = $3.66
 
Average amount of fuel purchased each fuel stop = 81.774 gallons
 
Miles traveled = 130,081
 
This spreadsheet is used to track fuel mileage, discounts, and fuel costs.  Numbers thrown around on the radio and in print say it can cost us a 1/2-gallon each time we stop.    Planning fuel stops around eating, showering, getting out to stretch legs, and the mandatory 1/2-hour break will save us money.
 
Another spreadsheet is one that reflects our activities with the company we are leased to.   In this spreadsheet I keep track of how much time we are available for   a load, how many loads we accept from those that are offered and our total income.
 
Our on-time pickup and delivery = 100% and this is a good number as we have a 15 minute window.
 
Our loaded mileage is 77% and our in-service available for a load is 75%.  We accepted 73.68% of loads that were offered to the truck.   This number is considered a high acceptance rate due to the way loads are offered out to trucks.   A computer picks trucks based on a lot of criteria and one of the criteria is can the truck make the pickup in time with no consideration to dead head and pay.  
 
 
In our operation spreadsheets are one of the tools we use to make decisions.   There are many factors behind statistics and those factors have to be considered when making decisions.   When looking at the numbers above looking only at the stats it appears we need smaller fuel tanks and we need a smaller truck...    When using our brains and other knowledge not reflected on the spreadsheet we know that often a customer asks for a truck our size and that keeps us moving, we also know that often we fuel when we change drivers which accounts for the lower average fills.    When we know there is a good price or when possible we can extend our fill-ups to maximize our buying power.

Comments (7)

Linda Caffee

Bob and Linda started their driver careers after their children left home for college in 2000. Bob started as a driver for a large motor carrier with Linda as a rider. They decided to enter the Expedite industry as team drivers in 2005 and purchased their first Freightliner. Both, Bob and Linda have had their Class A licenses since the early 80's starting out driving in the oil field and hauling grain as fill in drivers where Bob worked as a diesel mechanic. Linda worked at the local country courthouse in data processing.

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All of the best O/O track their numbers to keep up with P&L reports. This is also a good habit for company drivers as well. As a company driver you should track what you are making per day, week, or month. You can track your wait time or miles ran by areas ran. Is it more profitable to run east or west? Want to keep notes on all of your runs, stops, or shippers, then Evernote is one of the best for that. Information is like education, the only time you miss it is when you need it.

January 09, 2014 12:36:52 PM

Adding up numbers is a great pastime! Nothing more thrilling when everything balances out... Fun Stuff

January 08, 2014 6:09:33 AM

When we had our store - back in the day before computers we had a ledger. Funny, how spreadsheets have been around since we had pencils and put numbers into little squares and the added them up on our adding machines.

January 08, 2014 5:25:56 AM

Henry I really enjoy the spreadsheets and the numbers are very helpful common sense will make the final decisions.

January 07, 2014 13:04:15 PM

Thanks for the question Andrew. We used 382.784 gallons of fuel for our generator for a total cost of $1510.05

January 07, 2014 13:02:38 PM

Since our APU fuel use factors into our fuel consumption, and yours is drawing from it's own dedicated tank, what do generator fuel costs for the year come in at?

January 07, 2014 8:25:15 AM

It looks like you use a very well balanced method of decision making based on raw numbers from spread sheets and gut instincts.

January 07, 2014 6:30:59 AM