How to Keep the Cost of Owning Freight Trucks Affordable
Many large companies own freight trucks. However, maintaining those trucks eats into the profits of those companies. This is because of several factors (such as the cost of empty miles traveled once the truck makes a delivery and is returning to the company parking-yard). This article discusses three measures that you can take so that the cost of owning freight transport trucks remains affordable.
Improve Cube Utilisation
Improving cube utilization involves finding ways to put more cargo inside a freight truck so that fewer trips are needed to ship inbound or outbound cargo. For instance, some items may be bulky (such as luxury boats). Such bulky items may not weigh anywhere close to the weight limit of the truck transporting them. However, their large size is likely to occupy most of the space available in the truck. You can be creative and find ways to ship more items in such a truck. For instance, you can pack smaller items inside the boats so that you save the truck from having to make an extra trip to pick up the smaller items (such as tyres) destined for a distribution center along the same route as the destination of the boats.
Reduce Empty Miles
Empty miles refer to the distance travelled when a truck is not carrying any payload. These empty miles normally cover the return journey after a truck has delivered a consignment. They can also accumulate as trucks go to pick up cargo. Empty miles consume fuel. They are clocked as hours that the driver has taken behind the wheel. They also contribute to wear and tear on the truck. It is not sustainable to keep incurring costs when you are not getting any value from the trucks. Cooperate with other freight transporters so that your trucks can carry their goods during those empty miles. They can also reciprocate when their trucks have empty miles after making a trip. This mutually beneficial arrangement will lower the cost of maintaining your fleet of trucks.
Increase the Hours of Operation
Many trucks are operated for an eight-hour shift each day. This leaves the trucks idle for more than half of the day. You can put that time to better use by creating more work shifts so that the trucks are constantly earning their keep by being on the road. This 24/7 operation will make your company more efficient. This is because goods will reach customers quickly since there will be no weekend or overnight waits. The added income will more than offset the additional cost of hiring extra staff to work on those extra freight transport shifts.
Use the suggestions above and you will notice that the profitability of your freight transport trucks will improve almost immediately.
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