When you are making the transition from company driver to owner, the first question that may have come to your mind is, “how much does it cost to start a trucking business?” You may also have estimated (if you have great years of experience in this business) However, many of them are still wondering how much investment this tucking business requires to start.
So, if you are looking to invest in the trucking business, you can’t just buy a few trucks and start it without giving a second thought.
You need to consider plenty of factors, such as your trucking types, requirements for a particular trucking business, where to invest, how to invest, and so on and so forth.
And, most importantly, before starting, investing or estimating for truck business, it is essential to ask yourself :—
Should You Start a Dump Truck Business
Yes, if you have been connected to truck companies as drivers, managers, staff, or others. And “yes” even for those who want to shift to this business from a different field.
You need to focus on plenty of factors and prepare questionnaires to ask yourself and prepare accordingly.
For example;
- You must inquire if you have all the equipment paid off
- Whether you have determined your potential customers
- If you have a business plan ready to jumpstart your business
- How much you have to invest in to make it a profitable business
- How much you will reap out of your truck business
Once you are done with these processes, you are all set to start your business, even though the learning process will continue as you grow into this business.
So, the next things you need to dig out in this business is:—
Turck Business Market and Forecast
Even though new orders for trucks worldwide have declined in 2019 and 2020, the trucking market size is expected to reach $5.5 trillion by 2027 from an estimated US$4.2 trillion in 2020.
The global market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4% over the next 7 years, while China will grow at a 7.2% CAGR.
The U.S. freight market is estimated to grow at $1.1 trillion in 2020, while China is projected to achieve $1.2 trillion.
In a nutshell:
- Global truck market size —US$4.2 trillion
- Expected market size by 2027 —$5.5 trillion
- CAGR by 2027 —US$4.2 trillion
- S. market size by 2020 —$1.1 trillion
- China market size by 2020 —$1.2 trillion
The data and infographics given above are more than enough to understand the trucking business’s future scope. As far as investing in the trucking business is concerned, it depends on the various factors, such as the type of transportation service you provide, the area you cover, the number of trucks you want to have, and so much more.
So, let’s comes to the key points and discuss:—
Types of Trucking Business
Even though you can simultaneously operate all services, you can find plenty of trucking businesses to start.
Here are the top trucking services you can consider to start with;
Grocery transportation
It’s a small business but significantly easy to start and earn profits. Importantly, it will be easy for you to connect with vegetable sellers, grocery wholesalers, and others who stock grocery products in a large quantity.
All you need to ensure that you choose an excellent location with plenty of grocery markets, buy a single or a couple of trucks, and build connections. And you are all set to start your business.
Ensure you have a CDL license, permits, and insurance to run your trucking business.
Specialty transportation
You can also choose to provide specific transportation services, such as airplane parts, helicopter transportation, transportation for refrigerated perishables, modular houses, and more as you discover. Specialty transportation services need dedication and a little bit of hard work to build a network. Usually, you may have fewer clients in this business, but you can charge a hefty charge for the services.
Again, you need to ensure that you have completed regulatory requirements and have all necessary documents, permission, license, and insurance to run your business.
Dump truck service
The dump truck business can be highly profitable, though it requires a large fleet, management, and planning. We wish to recommend this business for a couple of reasons.
First, it is a 24/7/365 days business —even if the full transportation services are closed, dump truck services will continue in demand. The recent lockdown that the governments from all countries implemented to contain the virus (COVID-19), the lives and livelihoods were shut, but dumping services remained functional.
Second, construction, mining, manufacturing, etc., can be the potential sectors you can choose. These sectors continue to bloom and will never be empty handed, though you need to build strong connections and maintain client relationships.
More than that, like all business, you need to plan this as well and ensure you have gone through enough research, planning, and preparation to understand every nitty-gritty detail. In short, you must come out with robust planning that details how to start a dump truck business and make it profitable.
Livestock transportation services
Livestock transportation services can be operated at the local and national level. The business is profitable, though you need to keep certain things in mind.
If you are operating on a national level and have commercial-size vehicles, you need to comply with regulations. Here are some of the basic things you should know about;
You may need any license to transport personal cattle to customers, though if it is large in numbers and size, you will need the permit, including equine and bovine experience.
Knowledge about livestock transport regulation is essential to cross state lines, apart from keeping the cattle safe and protected throughout the way. Even though cattle owners will manage to get their animals ready for transport, you may still need to know if there’s any specific requirement, such as certain infectious tests, vaccinations, or others to transport the cattle in individual states.
Similarly, there may be some additional legal, technical, or other requirements you need to comply with. If you are considering investing in this business and providing livestock services, you need to follow the same —buy a truck, grab permits, license and insurance, and you are all set to start. By the way, planning and preparation are other significant things which you need to focus on.
Medical transport
Medical transport comes under essential service and is a necessary business if you wish to start small. No doubt, you can expand as you grow, but initially, you can start small (serve locally) for a better experience. This is the business that you can start with low upfront costs. From the investment front, you need a regular vehicle, license, and expertise to begin with. You can partner with the medical inventory system and assist management in transporting medical equipment, medicines, and other materials.
Besides, you can also consider transporting seniors to medical appointments in the nearby areas or the specialists’ appointments to long distances. Similarly, there could be various medical inventory services that hospitals and healthcare would be looking for to give contracts. You can grab those as well.
These are some of the trucking business types you can consider investing in, though some other factors are still left to know.
So let’s move to our next key point to consider before:—
Investing in New Truck vs. Used Truck
Buying a truck is the most significant investment that you must take with a serious note. You must ask yourself whether you should buy a brand new truck or a used one.
For us, buying a new truck is beneficial, though it requires a considerable upfront investment, while if you go with a used one, the initial costs may be significantly down.
More than that, if you are first time buyers and new to this business, then going with a used truck will save you initial costs. However, it may have some mechanical issues and need heavy maintenance. Whereas, if you buy a new one, you will get paid maintenance service for at least five years. So, the choice is yours.
While you make your choice, let consider another significant point:—
Truck Business Website and App Development
Finally, if you have better planning and foresee a better future in it, then developing a website and mobile for your trucking business will add a feather to your business.
Websites will help you enhance your reliability, and an app will help you grab more customers for your business. With a website, marketing your business will be absolutely easy while it will also bridge the gap between customers/clients and your business.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to the trucking business, investment is paramount. You cannot escape it. However, you can control the expenses by considering the suggestion given here. Investing in the truck business should be justified so that it may not bang on your bank and keep afloat.
Author Bio:
Chris is Journalist whose heart goes with startups and entrepreneurs. He loves technology, but more than that he loves to explore how it enhances the life and livelihood of humanity. He works with an aim to share his incisive knowledge about innovations, like IoT, AR, VR and Smart Technologies to Business, eCommerce, Startup and Enterprise . To describe him in one word, he is a writer focused on Tomorrow’s World.