If you are like me, you have had no choice but to listen to the recent discussions regarding the balanced budget and the debt ceiling. Every news flash or top headline seems to include information about their discussions, the adverse effects of no agreement, or the bickering back and forth between the parties.   It is easy to understand that the US government, like many people, has a little problem with managing money.   

Last year, the IRS collected over $850,000,000 from 2290s for the Heavy Vehicle Use Tax on semi-trucks. This is a tax for the use of vehicles over 56,000 pounds on public roads put back into the road programs to help keep them in decent driving shape.  For a truck licensed to operate at 80,000 pounds, this tax equates to $550.00 due on August 31^st each year.  But here is the surprise, the Heavy Vehicle Use Tax is set to expire on 9/30! 

Now with all excitement about money, you would expect that the program would be re-instated right away so they can keep that money rolling in, right?   RIGHT???  Nope, Congress has instead delayed the due date for the program until November 30^th.  In fact, they don't even want the return filed until at least November 1^st, so people don't "accidentally file twice".  Rather than cut costs or increase revenues short term, which seems would make sense with recent budget discussions, revenues have been decreased.  I don't have a financial degree, but this doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.

Long term however, this may mean something very much different to the truck driver.  Without an immediate re-certification of the program, one could deduce that changes are in the works.   Most likely would be an increase in this tax, a painful blow to the independent trucker who already has found it difficult to survive in past years due to skyrocketing fuel prices. 

It also seems rather reminiscent of the Single State Program from years ago.  That program was discontinued at the state level to allow the federal government to streamline the process.  The result was two years without a program at all.  And once instituted, the program reduced the cost to the company by about 75%, and has been since increased several times since then, a clear indication that after two years, there still wasn't a good understanding of what the ultimate goal was. 

With these thoughts in mind, although a person might believe this delay is a good thing for the trucker, I think it is clear that it will not be a benefit the trucker, the taxpayer, or the government in the long run. 

Do you check your log books or your driver's log books on a monthly basis? 

Do you check them for form and manner violations?

Do you do check them manually?

If you answered no to any of the above questions, Diamond Centuries wants to help you out! 

For February we are offering to review your log books (no limit on the number of drivers!) for just $11 per truck.  This will include computer analysis of your log books (to help avoid human math errors) for hour and form and manner violations.  You don't have to mail us the forms, you can email or fax them to us.  Just give us a call at 515-210-0245 to find out how to get us your log books and to let you know how to bill you.  No..there is no long term commitment. 

This is an especially great deal if you are a brand new carrier just not sure on whether you are doing them correctly or not!

A change made in NV that some carriers need to be aware of is a new requirement for non-IFTA qualified vehicles is that they now need a fuel trip permit.   The state fee for this permit is $30 and lasts for 24 hours.  Non IFTA qualified vehicles would include 2 axles, less than 26000 pounds. 

Depending on how often you are in Nevada, this might be motivation to go ahead and get an IFTA account.  But keep in mind doing so will require you to comply with IFTA reporting standards.  If you are not doing this already, this can be a daunting task, especially if you have more than one truck.   However, if more states follow suit, it may eventually force everyone to join IFTA. 

If you would like to explore the option of setting up an IFTA account for your company, please call us at 515-210-0245.

It looks like after 3 years, the government is getting into the swing of the UCR.  Within the last month, carriers have been getting notified that after renewing the UCR this past summer for 2010, the 2011 renewal will be due by February 1^st and will be enforced on that day.  The fees for the 2011 is $76 for 0-2 units and would include brokers, freight forwarders, and carriers.  For more vehicles, or for us to file your UCR renewal electronically, please feel free to give us a call.

Renewals for the 2010 UCR have been arriving in the mail in the last week, and are due July 15th.  If you have an active USDOT #, you need to file your UCR. 

Unfortuntely, the fees have nearly doubled since last year for the single truck owner.  They report that there was a budget shortfall of $30 million dollars for the 2007-2009 years, and that is the justification for the increase.  There is some good news however, if you own more than one truck.  Trailers are no longer counted in the program, which means some of you may fall down a category which could save you a little bit of money.  But unfortunately, most people may be paying nearly double what you paid last year....just when you thought those rebounding freight rates where gonna start pushing you ahead.

Lucky for you, we are keeping our charges low for this filing, just $15.  If you would like Diamond Centuries to file your UCR for you, please send us payment to be received by 7/1 and include your Company name, DOT #, and number of power units you have.  We will take care of the rest for you!  Here is the pricing schedule for 2010.

0-2 units   $76
3-5 units  $227
6-20 units  $452
21-100 units  $1576
101-1000  units  $7511
1001 or more units  $73,346

Brokers, freight forwarders, and leasing companies, you will once again file at the lowest rate. 

If you would like Diamond Centuries to file your 2010 UCR, please mail the information and payment to:

Diamond Centuries Fuel Tax & Licensing Services
P.O. Box 35814
Des Moines, IA  50315

or for questions, call us at 515-210-0245

Hey everybody!!  Just wanted to take a few moments and remind you all of a couple of pesky little reports that get overlooked quite often.  I am talking about the Arkansas and Kansas property tax reports.  That's right, besides just charging the IFTA and IRP fees, these states have decided that they should have additional revenue by taxing your vehicles/equipment that drive through the state.  The Arkansas form luckily isn't too difficult, but the Kansas is quite a pain to complete.  If you need Diamond Centuries to obtain or complete these forms for you, please feel free to contact us at 515-210-0245. 

Arkansas Due date:  3/31/2010

Kansas Due Date:  5/15/2010

We hear this question a lot and thought it might be beneficial to have the discussion in this forum. 

When we do hear this question, the first thing we ask people is:  What is your goal?  Do you want to have smaller fuel costs now or do you want to have a smaller tax bill at the end of the quarter?   

You see, you are going to pay taxes now or later.  Fuel may be 20 cents less in Missouri than in Illinois, but if you are traveling a bulk of your miles in Illinois, you will owe taxes on those miles later at the higher rate because you have bought your fuel at a lower tax rate. 

Beyond that, it would require a lot more work, but is totally manageable.  If you have a fuel card and an internet connection in your truck, contact your fuel card provider and ask if they have a program giving live updates on fuel prices.  This will allow you to know what the fuel prices are at upcoming fuel stops.  Once you know that, you can adjust for the tax paid, and at that point, you would have a true idea of which fuel is truly “cheaper”

Hope this session has been helpful for you.  If you have any questions, as always feel free to contact us at 515-210-0245.  Saving money is a big truckin deal!! 

With all the discussion in the news lately about budget shortfalls, and how the government is under-budgeted, we would think getting money into the coffers would be of the utmost priority, but apparently it is not.  Which is to your benefit!

As of this time, the 2010 UCR program is not up and running.  So for those of you who may be panicking, remembering that you haven’t completed that, relax….your congressman/woman apparently is focusing on other issues. 

Continue to watch our site and we will let you know when the 2010 UCR system is ready!

The 2010 Renewal season is on the way!  We thought now would be a great time to cover some  ideas on how to save yourself money on the upcoming renewal season. 

One thing we often see is carriers who license themselves for all 48 states, even when they haven’t travelled some of the states in several years.  We recommend you get rid of states that you haven’t travelled to in the last year.  When the states figure your fees for your plates, your full fee is based and calculated on the states you have travelled in during the last reporting period.  The additional states that have not been travelled in (in which you have to provide estimated miles for) are billed in addition to the fees due!  Plus, if it has been more than 1 year that you are using estimated mileage, you get billed more for that to.  I don’t know about you, but I am not particularly interested in giving my money to states that I don’t ever enter. 

Remember, you can always add states at a later time too!  Plus the fees are prorated, so if you add CA in October, you will only pay 25% of the yearly fees.  And for those of you who have fleets, it may pay to only get a single trip permit if you are not planning on going back again soon!

Once you have established what states you have traveled to, along with their mileage information, be sure to share this information with your insurance agent.  Their premiums for you are based on your travel patterns, so if you are decreasing your mileage, or your mileages are less in those expensive states like California, New York, or Illinois, it just makes sense to try and get an adjustment now rather than wait until your next renewal season.

We also discussed a few weeks ago figuring your per mile costs for each state.  Be sure to update this information and keep your rates up to date.  
 

Also, don’t forget to renew your IFTA, New Mexico Weight Distance Tax, New York Highway Use Tax, Kentucky Weight Distance Tax (KYU), Oregon PUC.  Also, be on the watch for the 2010 UCR renewal.  It’s not ready yet, but it looks as if you can expect a significant increase in fees for that for 2010.  If you need help with any or all of this, please feel free to call Diamond Centuries at 515-210-0245. 

Right?  You've seen your rates go back up!  You've seen more than ample loads out there to keep you running constantly!  Right?  Right??

One thing I have learned over the last 20 years is that the economy follows trucking...about 6 months later.  Granted, this weekend while I was out I noticed more people eating out.  I saw more people at the mall than I had seen for awhile.  But that was aided here in Iowa by a tax free weekend, and was only 1 day.

Unemployment remains over 9%.  Stocks have gotten back to where they were 7 months ago.  Where is this economy then?

For the past few months, carriers have been turning in their authority at a very fast clip at a rate of 5 to 1 versus carriers getting their authority.  As of Friday it was still almost 3 to 1.  So the number of carriers has dropped significantly over the last year (supply).  Christmas is surprisingly only 4 ½ months away, and the fact that retail stores have been focused on reducing their back stock for the last 9 months, shipping should start taking off again very soon (demand).

If you have been one of those carriers considering calling it quits, we recommend you be a little more patient.  Give it a month if you need to, but hold on.  We see good things coming again. 

In the mean time, use this time to sit down and figure out a true cost per mile (CPM).  Figure in every cost you can including state specific costs like fuel tax rates, weight distance taxes, even call your insurance agent and find out more about the rates for miles in Illinois, New York, and California. 

You've made it almost through this outlasting your competition.  Take the time to position yourself to outperform your competition by knowing your expenses so that you can check out that loadboard and know which of those loads is really the most profitable, not just which one produces the most revenue. 

Even though some believe the recession is "over", don't believe it should be business as usual.  If you need help figuring out your CPM, feel free to contact us and we can help you at 515-210-0245!

A new customer came to us last week, and as we were discussing his needs with him, we asked him about some of his other accounts.  Now, this driver had been using another service, but he was under the impression that he no longer needed a NY HUT account, "since they did away with it".  Well, imagine his surprise when we let him know the only thing they did away with was the requirement to have it with you!

In fact, after a long delay, New York has finally set the date for the renewal process for the HUT program.  So, if you find yourself needing to renew, or like our new customer, needing to re-establish your account, or for that matter, your NM Weight Distance Tax, KY Weight Distance Tax, or Oregon PUC, don't hesitate to contact us!   

Diamond Centuries Helps Build YOUR Business!!

There is no disputing how tough it is out there right now.  A quick look at the decisions posted on the FMCSA Register every day basically tells us that people are RUNNING out of the business and very few are getting into the business.  Long term for you, that is great.  That means fewer trucks are on the road every day increasing the demand for your services.  But that doesn't mean the storm is over for you yet.  But in the meantime, we created a little list of things you should be doing to help you be prepared for the business.

#1  Build relationships - Go out and knock on doors in your community looking for shippers you can deal with direct.  A lot of truckers still rely solely on brokers to find freight.  Brokers certainly fill a need, but they are still making 10-20% on every load.  Put that 10-20% in your pocket by finding your outbound loads.  The fact that you are based within 1-50 miles of a shipper provides them a certain amount of comfort in knowing you are going to be a carrier that is available more often than most, that they are helping their own local economy, and that you will certainly be more accountable than a carrier they never see again and is based 1800 miles away.  Sell that point and increase your profits.  And if you find yourself delivering to a certain point over and over, build a relationship there as well.  Sure, some shippers require you have X amount of trucks to get in the door, but not all of them, and those that don't have those requirements, will likely be more flexible in other areas as well.

#2  Don't rely on relationships - Seems counter to point #1, but sometimes we have a tendency to stay with the "comfortable".  Insurance companies are banking on this.  If you have been with the same insurance carrier for years, it is probably time to shop for insurance again.  Be sure to check prices for other services as well, maybe licensing services?? 

#3  Know your expenses-   We don't mean on a monthly basis, but on a state by state basis on a per mile basis.  Know what your expenses will be for a trip.  Take into consideration things like fuel taxes, licensing costs, tolls, insurance costs (Illinois is pretty high on all of these for example).  And be sure to include PROFIT into this breakdown.  These state by state breakdowns are going to be important to know as you are building those relationships!

#4  Check credit-  The last thing you need is bad debt.  It takes 10 loads with 10% profit to make up for 1 bad load.  That's a lot of catch-up to play, and right now with companies failing at a record rate, you don't want to play that game!!  But we see a HUGE mistake made on this a lot.  Do NOT rely on load boards!!  You have to remember that brokers pay to be on load boards, and for that reason, load boards are not likely to say anything bad about their customers.  IF they are reporting 100 and have been there for awhile, they are probably okay, but if it's anything less than that, start being cautious.  The load board is already telling you there are issues.  So, if a broker is paying to be on a site, and is trying to take care of those carriers using that site, what is the broker doing to carrier who CAN'T report on that site????

#5  Work you're A/R- Be aggressive on working your accounts receivables.  Just because the invoice isn't 40 days doesn't mean you can't start calling on it yet.  Remember, 30 day terms does not mean they get to mail it at day 30, it is to be in YOUR hand on day 30 (some contracts do specify otherwise, but you can negotiate that out).  And just because it's 60 doesn't mean it's time to give up.  It's time to get aggressive with bond filings or default filings.

Please feel free to give us a call or drop us an email if you would like help from Diamond Centuries.  Whether helping you figure your cost per mile, helping you learn how to collect that past due debt, we are here to help.  You can contact us at 515-210-0245 or email us through the website here!

Next time, we will discuss even more issues on how to help you help your business.  Until then, share this website with your friends.  We want to be the worst kept secret on the internet!!

We were talking to one of our customers a few weeks ago about some oversize permits she had ordered.  Well, she didn't know which truck stop she was going to be at later that night to receive the permits, and she had had some problems not getting all of her pages.  And on top of that, the fees she was paying were very high, anywhere from $2-5 per page!   So, today we are sharing the solution to her problem with you.

You likely already have a computer in your truck.  Pick up a printer and set up an email account that allows storage as well, for example, a yahoo account.  This will allow you to have these items emailed to you instead which will allow retrieval when it is convenient for you, less paper to lose in your cab, you can pick which pages to print out, and you don't have to worry about a 3^rd party!  That's all on top of the $2-5 per page that you pay for the truck stop to receive your fax! 

With that Yahoo account, you can also store copies of your IFTA card, insurance information, and many other items that you need all year long, and now you know where to go for that information the next time you can't find it.  Hey, this even works for those of you who might be fleet managers!  Just imagine sleeping through a night because your drivers know where to go now to get those items replaced.