Weight – it’s a significant issue facing trucking companies and owner/operators today. You need to ensure that you’re neither overloaded, nor underloaded, as both end up costing you money. We discussed some of these issues in a previous blog post, particularly overloading, but what about underloading?
Underloading, or leaving without maxing payload, is not a new issue. The Sacramento Union newspaper detailed this challenge all the way back in the 1920s. Drivers and owner/operators still face this challenge today.
Leaving Profit Behind
One of the most obvious reasons underloading costs you money is that it can cause you to leave money behind on the dock. If you’re not loading to your maximum capacity, then you’re cutting your profit potential.
Make Up Loads
Underloading also costs you money through the need to make up loads. Let’s say you ran 10 loads, and they were all 10% underloaded. By the time you finished that last run, you’d be a full load short on profit, meaning you’d need to find another load to make it all up. That costs time, plus maintenance, fuel costs, and more.
Running More Loads
Regular underloading can be a serious problem for trucking operations simply due to the need to run more loads. This creates the sense that your company is busy, but busyness does not always translate to profitability. Running extra loads will add to your fuel costs and increase vehicle maintenance, resulting in a costly and inefficient cycle.
At Air-Weigh, we believe in load weight accuracy – it’s vital to profitability and running a successful company. Our groundbreaking scale design ensures you always know your weight anytime, anyplace. I invite you to learn more.
Austin Wiren
Fleet Specialist
(o) 541.349.8562