How to Start a Trucking Company in #7 Steps

The trucking industry in the USA invested over $800 billion in 2019, to start a trucking company nowadays can be extremely a wonderful step that is going to change your life.

Don’t imitate large trucking companies with the big number of drivers and trucks.

About 90 percent of trucking companies are small fleets starting from one truck to six.

Here is all that you need to know about how to start a trucking company.

How Start a Trucking Business?

Here are seven steps to starting a trucking company, follow me, and continue reading.

STEP 1: Get a CDL license

The first step you’ll have to do is getting your commercial driver’s license (CDL), the experience can be an advantage for you

STEP 2: Have a plan

Prepare your plan that should show your expectations to all aspects including expenses, cost, and profits.

Remember that your salary should you include in the total expenses, it’s one of the important steps to starting a trucking company.

STEP 3: Decide which company do you prefer?

There are varieties of choices that you can pick up your favorite one among, here are the most common types of trucking companies.

• Sole proprietorship.
• Limited liability corporation (LLC).
• Partnership.
• Corporation (C-corp, S-corp, etc.).

STEP 4: Start-up costs

Buying a truck company is going to cost much money, registration costs and licensing requirements can also add more.

Try to secure yourself, save up as much as you can to cover at least the first six months of operating.

STEP 5: Business operations

One of the most important steps to starting a trucking company is to decide how you will deal with the parking and maintenance agencies.

Where you will find loads, who’s going to manage to invoice, IFTA, accounting, payroll, and other related work.

STEP 6: Compliance

Your company must initially comply with all trucking safety rules including:

USDOT Number: For collecting and monitoring information regarding your company’s safety, crash investigations, inspections, etc.

Operating Authority: you can obtain from the DOT so as to haul freight through the state lines.

Heavy Vehicle Use Tax : for all trucks weighing more than 55,000 pounds.

STEP 7: Insurance

Insurance is included as the following:

Primary Liability: at least about $750,000  is demanded in primary liability coverage, it covers injuries and damages resulted from faults.

$1 million is often required in primary liability coverage.

Cargo: about $100,000 is the commonly amount required for cargo coverage.

What Are The Requirements For Starting Your Own Trucking Company?

Perhaps the first question raises when you take the decision to start your business in the trucking industry,  you may ask “what are the requirements that I should meet to start my own trucking company?

My answer will include the following points, read carefully before you start your first step.

Here are the most important ten requirements for starting your own trucking company.

1. Get enough driving experience

2. Develop a business plan for starting your trucking company.

3. Determine which business you will focus on.

4. Save up enough money to cover your start-up expenses.

5. Make a plan for your business operations.

6. You have to meet the compliance of state and federal regulations.

7. Get the necessary insurance.

8. Plan to buy or lease at least a truck or a trailer.

9. Build your business relations.

10 . Find out variables for probable problems.

What is The Cost of Starting a Trucking Company

Taking the decision to be an owner-operator, it is time to start now, but before you start, you should have all the information needed about the cost of starting a trucking company.

How much does it cost to start a trucking business? This is what I will tell you about in the following lines.

At first, what you need for starting your trucking company is about $6,000 to $15,000, bearing in mind that your equipment is not included in the cost, it can be explained as the following.

• Registration and formation documentation: $900 to $1,500.
• IRP plates: $500 to $3,000 per truck.
• Heavy Vehicle Use Tax and permit: $100 to $600 per truck.
• Additional state-specific tax: $500 per truck.

Take in mind that less is more, so as you start your own trucking business, you can start with a single truck.

So the capital you need is trimmed to a level that can be easily manageable.

Other expenses may be added for marketing and attracting customers devices such as adverts, building a website, and prompting in the social media, this may cost about $5,000 more.

Buying a compliant and feature-rich ELD solution may be necessary to minimize variable costs, such as improving driver safety, reducing fuel wastage, and reducing potential liabilities.

Do I Need a CDL to Start a Trucking Company?

As I mentioned before The first step you’ll have to do is getting your commercial driver’s license (CDL), it can be obtained all over the USA, go to the nearest training trucking school and enroll for it.

What Are The Best States to Start a Trucking Company?

Now here is the best States for Trucking Companies, they can be listed as the following.

Oklahoma state

Oklahoma state is the first choice for trucking operators, more advantages can be seen such as low gas prices, wide-open spaces and fewer regulations regarding the trucking industry.

It has also smooth traffic, which means drivers drive farther using less gas, it also means saving a lot of fuel expenses.

Tennessee

Most truckers admire working in Tennessee, it’s no wonder because its major cities don’t suffer from heavy traffic, all the way along, you don’t need to worry about stopping and starting.

There are a lot of highways that make traffic wonderful, so Tennessee considered one of the states with the lowest diesel fuel prices in the USA.

Texas

Texas is one of the nearest states to Oklahoma, it has tons of businesses, so they need transportation services to help carry their products.

Cheap fuel as well as little red tape are also among the state’s advantages.

What Are The Worst States to Start a Trucking Company?

California

California comes at the top and causes a lot of headache for trucking company owners, it suffers from traffic and urban congestion, which becomes a nightmare.

The state has a population than can be more than the entire country of Canada, Truckers waste thousands of fuel tons during their journey passing California.

Ohio

Ohio may be the second congested state, and the trucking industry suffers a lot inside it.

Its roads to cities such as Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus are always busy.

Ohio’s hills and roadways cause much trouble for drivers,  in addition, fuel prices aren’t affordable there.

Starting a Trucking Company With One Truck

As I told you before about 90 percent of trucking companies are small fleets starting from one truck, it’s a good chance to get more experience and to recognize more about the new industry.

Then you can make up your mind-expanding your business.

Things to Consider Before Buying a Trucking Company

Here are the most important things to take in consider carefully before buying a trucking company, anyone who wants to open a new business, knows that there are important things to consider.

Regarding the trucking industry, think of the following points.

• How much capital are you ready with for purchasing and starting operations?
• Which area are you looking forward to operating your new business?
• Is your plan for local, regional, statewide, or for national coverage?
• Do you prefer to share drivers, owner-operators or work individually?
• What type of freight do you prefer to transport?

Once you have made your mind regarding these points mentioned above, buying a trucking company will become an easy decision to take,

If the company you are offered is owned by a big conglomeration of businesses, it will be good to know actually who you are going to deal with.

So you can prepare yourself before negotiating about buying a trucking company.

Buying directly from the owner is a good choice to take because if you buy directly from the owner, you have the chance to contact, negotiate and speak face to face, it can shorten the procedures.

If you prefer buying through a real estate agency, -they will actually do a lot of legal work for you, they not only assist you to find the trucking company, but they also negotiate and may find out important things you are not aware of such as the legal historic background of the trucking company.

The only bad thing that is demanded is their commission, but if you think about troubles that may happen after-sale.

You may prefer such agencies more than buying individually.

Now you can make your mind starting your own business in the trucking industry.

You got all the information needed about how to start a trucking company, don’t hesitate and make a decision, your life is going to change.