The normal way of doing business in Ag hauling leaves profits behind with every load. The solution may be simpler than you think, and it's already being used by Ag haulers across the country.
Carriers that haul goods like grain, feed, livestock, logs, or oil are paid by how much product they deliver. Getting paid that way requires drivers to load trucks as close to legal weight limits as possible without getting overloaded to make the most profit.
These sites don't often have truck scales on-site that drivers can use while loading. This can result in two costly outcomes:
- The truck is underloaded and money is being left on the table.
- The truck is overloaded, and the driver and company are at risk of overweight violations and possibly a hit on their CSA score.
Why is scaling trucks accurately so difficult?
In agricultural hauling, getting the most from your loads without going over has always been a challenge. Three of the biggest reasons are as follows:
Cost
Knowing how much a truck is hauling is almost impossible without the use of some kind of truck scale. However, many in-ground truck scales can cost up to $80,000 and require lots of work to keep them accurate.
Moisture
Moisture content in goods like grain and feed shifts frequently, affecting their weight. This frequent shifting makes it hard to guess the weight correctly.
Distance from scales
Many pick-up sites lack on-site truck scales, forcing drivers to rely on scales that can be 30+ miles away. Going back to the shipper to fix the load isn't worth it.
How much money is being left behind from underloaded trucks?
When drivers have to eyeball their own loads or go with their gut to decide when they are fully loaded, the margin of error can be pretty big.
The chart below shows 30 loads where a driver estimated load weight. Some loads can be right on the mark. Most loads vary widely.
The total revenue left behind in this example is more than $4,000 and 5 of the loads are overweight. Play this scenario out across hundreds of loads or over the course of a year and the numbers are staggering.
Most carriers want drivers to lean towards being underloaded to reduce the risk of getting fined, so their CSA score isn't affected. With this approach, those trucks can leave an extra 5-8% of the load behind, which adds up quickly in lost revenue.
How can drivers stop leaving money behind without being overweight?
The use of on-board scaling technology in the trucking space can bring the 5-8% load margin of error to well below 1%. This greatly improves the efficiency of a trucking fleet when it comes to loading by weight.
The BIT Air Scale is able to tell drivers and carriers what they have on trucks as they get loaded so their fleet is leaving with the most cargo possible without being overloaded.
Compared to the first example, the margin of error goes down from 8% to less than 1%. Trucks are able to gain over $3,000 across the same 30 loads. These realized gains go directly to the company's bottom line.
Accurately scaling trucks is crucial for maximizing revenue and reducing the risk of fines. BIT Air Scale offers a solution to the financial losses caused by guessing load weights. By reducing load error to less than 1%, trucking companies can ensure that their fleets are optimally loaded and increase profitability.
