Profile For Paul D.

Do not take our comments as negative "git outta here" vibes but as information from those whose hands are trucking dirty and want you to go into this investment with open eyes.

Thank you all so much! I truly appreciate all of your wisdom and advice. And not for a second did I find any of your comments negative, but only honest and constructive. I am a numbers guy with long-term stock investments and I also trade in the short-term for income. The logical place for me to diversify is real estate, that's where my family does a lot of business. Stock investing is nice, but it doesn't add a lot of value to society (it's not a business), and so one of the reasons I've been looking to diversify is to have some hard assets that would do well during drawdowns (I've also checked out laundry mats and self-storage units). I didn't know about trucking or the industry and had to find out if it were a viable business; it's a lot more complex than I would've guessed, but I'm glad to know that now. You never wanna jump into the deep end if you don't know how to swim. Again, thank you to everyone who contributed, I truly appreciate your time, and I hope everyone continues to do well in their current and future endeavors.

I took 10 minutes out of my life to do some research.

A blog called Rate4me in June said,

According to a study compiled by New York University Stern’s School of Business, the average American transportation business has a net income profit margin percentage of 3.88%.

If you buy some long term US government bonds (considered a low risk investment), over the long term you'll get back an average 5-6% interest per year.

Long term, buying bonds in US companies (loaning them money), you'll get back 4% historically.

What's your best return on your investment? You decide.

Thanks for this data! I don't want to be asking too much of you Errol, but what you say one truck brings in for revenue on the west coast (I'm in Southern California)? I have been investing in stocks for about 8 years, but want to diversify my income streams so I have been analyzing trucking (among other businesses like real estate). I have crunched just a few numbers, so a decent used truck seems to sell for about 45-60K. I have a great credit score but would put down ~20% (so on a 50k truck I would put down 10k). I looked it up, and if one truck brings in 200k in revenue and the net income profit margin is 4% then you would bank 8k. So then I take that 10k down payment and add the other start-up costs like DOT number, registration, insurance, fees/permits, etc. So let's say the initial startup cost would be around 17k. By my calculations that is roughly a 45% return on investment(8k/17k=45%). I'm sure my math is off, but if someone could let me know if/how far off I am I would much appreciate that. My thinking is that even though margins are low, as long as my cost to start is also low then a small fleet could be highly profitable. I would really appreciate any input on my analysis or simply someone to help me obtain the correct numbers. Thank you!

Hello, I found this group in a random google search and I’m glad I did. I’m interested in running a small trucking business as just an owner (not operator). My goal would be to accumulate a few trucks (maybe trailers too). I have a new friend who became an owner operator about a year ago (used to drive at swift) and has been kind enough to answer some of my questions. He says he can do about $5,000 a week in revenue(on average). I’m not sure how accurate that number is but it sure sounds good. I do know that maintenance/other expenses eat into that revenue quite a lot. But how much? I’m very eager and excited about learning more and would truly appreciate any help/guidance. I have more specific questions about operating a business, acquiring competitive bids, fees/costs, etc. but I will save y’all the details for now until I become more acquainted with whoever’s interested in helping a newbie like myself.

Much appreciated, Paul deBruynKops