Smart owner-operators make every single week as profitable as possible.
One trip is not enough time to be considered profitable or unprofitable, and an entire month could be too much time to manage. One week is the right amount of time to deal with efficiently.
Look at the advantages and disadvantages of every day of the week.
- Match trip length to the optimum day of the week.
- Plan to deliver on the day you have the best opportunity of getting a load.
- Plan to drive under a load on days when it typically is harder to get a load.
Your personal weekly plan will vary depending on the weekly delivery/flow cycle of your region, typical length of haul, personal requirements and other factors.
The needs of customers and dispatch have to be considered, and often will determine how your time is used. What’s important is to have a specific weekly plan that helps you be successful. Here are some general guidelines:
SUNDAY: It’s like getting in an extra day if you can pick up or deliver on Sunday, since this typically isn’t a day for either task. Being able to make the most of Sunday gives you a good head start on the week.
MONDAY: Profitable owner-operators deliver on Monday. Why? Delivering the first load of the week on Monday lets you start your week with miles already generated and leaves time to be profitable during the rest of the week. On Monday you’ll find more load opportunities than on Tuesday, too.
TUESDAY: Unless it’s a 2,000-mile trip, delivering the first load of the week on Tuesday means the week usually won’t be profitable. Tuesday is the day to take a hard look at how many miles you have driven and how many more you need to have a profitable week.
WEDNESDAY: It’s hump day. By now, about half of your gross revenue for the week already should be in hand.
THURSDAY: This can be the make-or-break day of the week. A load picked up on Thursday should either be short enough (less than 600 miles) to deliver on Friday, or provide enough miles (at least 1,600) to carry you through the weekend. Try to average 550-600 miles per day for the trip, though on Thursday it’s almost always better to take a 350-mile trip and deliver it on Friday. Turning down a short run just because it would mean laying over until Friday may turn out to be an expensive mistake.
FRIDAY: This usually is the best day of the week for freight. Being under a load with the longest possible miles over the weekend will make the best use of your time.
SATURDAY: The week is over, and your work and planning should have resulted in a profitable operation. But like Sunday, Saturday is an extra day if you can pick up or deliver a load.
Many an independent owner-operator has realized high freight rates by being the 911 service on the weekend for a trusted broker. If you’re using load boards on the spot market and can make yourself available on Saturday or Sunday by posting your truck, you might be surprised by the good results.
[Related: Rates hack: The spot market 3 o'clock hustle]
Weekly patterns in rate changes
Independents with carrier authority should be mindful that negotiation strength varies as the week progresses. Typically, the highest rates across major segments -- dry van, reefer, flatbed -- are paid for loads negotiated on Sundays, and the highest volume of loads for all segments is seen on Mondays, also the weekday that tends to be best for flatbed negotiations, yielding the best rates.
Owner-operators tend to have less negotiation strength on Tuesday, which shows the lowest weekday spread between brokers’ offered rates and actual paid rates.
Broker offers tend to rise by Wednesday, as the end of the week is in sight. This day also seems optimal for the “3 o’clock hustle,” so-called for its reliance on time of day to improve negotiation strength. If freight is especially plentiful in the area where you’re going to be empty, wait for 3 o’clock local time, rather than do a lot of legwork to schedule a load. Brokers sitting on a load start getting nervous, allowing you to essentially name your price.
On a typical Thursday, brokers often enough also get nervous about moving their freight before the week ends. This day is where drivers can begin to see a spread between posted rates and negotiated rates.
Friday, however, is an independent carrier’s best negotiating day. Depending on conditions in the wider economy, you might be able to name your price, ideal as you set up your next week with this load.
If it's near the end of a month and you've long since hit the revenue needed that month to pay all fixed costs, even better. At that point, all you’re paying on that extra load is variable costs, meaning the load’s profitability is considerably higher.
Adding just one extra load a month is like working an extra month for the whole year, diluting the impacts of rising costs. If it’s possible to combine that with a reduction in speed, or other methods to increase your fuel mileage, income gains only increase.
Read next: Know the value of your time: Notes on paying yourself and business profits
