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Is your equipment allowing you to make the most profit hauling sand, gravel or dirt? You're probably hauling all that DOT will allow. Your trailer might be partially or completely paid off. So, it seems like there is not much that can be changed. Here are a few things to consider before accepting things as is.
First, if there are trailers available that are lighter, you could haul more. But, that requires cash for a capital purchase, right? Let's look at a common scenario:
For example, your steel trailer weighs 12,500 lbs. It's in fair shape and would easily sell for $25,000. There’s a new trailer that only weighs 10,000 lbs, and costs $75,000. Monthly cost for upgrading would be about $830. But, now you can haul 2,500 lbs more material. Conservative data tells us you make about $6.00/year for every pound you haul. The 2,500 lbs will add about $15,000 in revenue, or, $1,250/month. It's a cash gain right out of the gate.
And, your maintenance costs will drop with new equipment.
Next, be sure your equipment is sized efficiently for your operation. All too often, aggregate haulers use equipment with far more capacity than they need. That adds to lost payload (remember $6.00/lb/year) and excessive initial cost. You need to allow for some “crowning”, so we estimate usable capacity of 72%. See the chart below to “right size” your trailer.
Consider a new, more efficient trailer in your fleet. There are extra revenues that you may be letting slip away.
