A year ago during the Overdrive-ATBS Partners in Business co-presentation at the Mid-America Trucking Show, presenters Gary Buchs and Mike Hosted preached the utility of, and estimated the value in, taking an extra load each month and slowing down or taking other measures to improve fuel mileage.

This year, at the March 22, 2024, Partners in Business MATS session marking the release of the brand-new 140-page Partners in Business owner-operator business handbook -- https://register.overdriveonline.com/... -- data presented by ATBS Vice President Hosted showed that the most successful owner-operators in 2023 took that advice to heart.

The concept of taking the “extra load” illustrates the value add of an extra-profitable haul each month after having already met your fixed costs for that month. As such, the only costs for hauling that load are variable -- fuel, tires, maintenance, etc.

Working from ATBS client averages to make the calculation, if an owner-operator takes an additional 500-mile load each month at $2 a mile, and their variable costs are 80 cents a mile, the operator can net an extra $600 a month, or $7,200 a year.

There's a whole lot more where that came from. In the video, run through the full session, including a variety of valuable operating data to benchmark your own operation against. Likewise, at the top of the presentation, a recognition of Overdrive's Trucker of the Year, Jay Hosty, with special gifts for Hosty from both Overdrive and 2024 Trucker of the Year program sponsor Bostrom Seating: https://www.overdriveonline.com/truck...

Attendant to the session, Gary Buchs and Overdrive also released this custom spreadsheet tool with which you can estimate the cost to haul any load in relation not just to miles, but time, too, for a more accurate rate: https://www.overdriveonline.com/partn...

Download the 50-plus slides from the 2024 PIB presentation here for a look at various data points showing how owner-operators performed in 2023, and potentially to help follow along with the presentation: https://www.overdriveonline.com/partn...

Overdrive's Partners in Business is sponsored for 2024 by Rush Truck Centers. Rush is the premier solutions provider to the commercial vehicle industry with 150-plus full-service dealership locations in the United States and Canada. They represent industry-leading truck brands and offer parts, service, collision repair, and a range of aftermarket solutions: https://rushtrkctr.com/4bLxbR4

Download the new Partners in Business guide to owner-operator business, start to finish, via this link: https://register.overdriveonline.com/...