Steps to start a trucking LLC [You Asked]

Last updated : Sept 12, 2022

What are the steps to starting a trucking business?

1. Get driving experience.
2. Develop a business plan.
3. Determine how your business will be structured.
4. Save up money to cover start-up expenses.
5. Plan your business operations.
6. Comply with federal and state government regulations.
7. Obtain insurance.
8. Buy or lease a truck and trailer.

What documents do I need to start a trucking company?

• State Business Registration.
• Internal Revenue Service Tax Identification.
• Class A Driver's License.
• US DOT Number.
• Commercial Liability Insurance.
• Heavy Highway Use Tax Return, Form 2290.

How much money do you need to start a trucking company?

New trucking company owners can invest somewhere between $10,000 and $20,000 to start a small trucking company with one or two trucks.

What are the 7 steps to making a successful trucking company?

1. Support the right market niche.
2. Charge the right rate (per mile)
3. Determine your operating costs.
4. Use the right fuel-buying strategy.
5. Work directly with shippers.
6. Run an efficient back office.
7. Avoid cash flow problems.

How many trucks do you need to start a trucking company?

Don't be intimidated by the larger trucking companies with thousands of truck drivers and investors to provide capital. 90 percent of trucking companies are small fleets of six trucks or less so there's space in the industry for you to start a trucking company with one truck.

How much does a truck owner make?

The average Truck Owner Operator salary in the United States is $104,760 as of September 26, 2022, but the salary range typically falls between $92,683 and $119,219.

Can you get an SBA loan to start a trucking company?

Yes, new businesses can apply for an SBA microloan of up to $50,000 to help start your trucking company. As your business becomes more established, you may qualify for other SBA loans, such as the 7(a) or 504 program.

How do I start a trucking business with one truck?

1. Write up a business plan.
2. Decide what kind of entity you want to be.
3. Decide what carrier you want to drive for.
4. Get your own truck.
5. Hire a business services provider to help start your trucking business.

What is Dot checklist?

The DOT inspection checklist is what commercial drivers rely on to make sure their truck is suitable for driving and compliant with all safety regulations. The list is meant to protect the truck, driver, cargo, other drivers, and pedestrians.

Is a trucking company a good investment?

Yes, you can make money from trucking, if you get it right. The average net profit margin of a trucking company averages between 2.5% and 6%. That means it can be a profitable business and an industry that you can make a decent living from, provided you get into the trucking business with your eyes wide open.

Do owner-operators pay for their own fuel?

Owner-operators: An owner-operator, who is usually an independent contractor, traditionally pays for fuel out of his or her own wallet, making saving money at the diesel pump very important. For many owner-operators, fuel expenses become part of their daily overhead.

What is the best trucking company to start out with?

• Swift Trucking Company. Unlike some more established truck companies, Swift is happy to hire employees with no professional truck driving experience.
• US Xpress.
• CR England.
• Werner Enterprises.
• XPO Logistics.
• J.B.

How much does a trucking company make with one truck?

According to trucking company Cargo Transport Alliance, the average gross per truck is between $4,000 and $10,000 per week. An owner-operator who owns a company and manages operations can earn a take-home pay of $2,000 to $5,000 a week. An investor can earn a profit of $500 to $2,000 per truck per week.

Is buying an 18-wheeler a good investment?

Ultimately, if you have a solid plan and you're willing to put in a good amount of hours, buying an 18-wheeler can be a very good investment.

How do I start a trucking company with no experience?

1. Step 1: Prepare Your Business Plan.
2. Step 2: Understand the Requirements to Register a Trucking Company.
3. Step 3: Financing Your First Truck.
4. Step 4: Get Insurance.
5. Step 5: Hire CDL Drivers.
6. Step 6: Find Loads.
7. Step 7: Manage Your Fleet, Customers & Finances.

How do trucking companies find loads?

1. Use a Freight Broker. Among the most popular ways to connect your business with shippers is through an intermediary freight broker.
2. Become Government Authorized.
3. Build a Network.
4. Work Directly with a Dispatch Service.
5. Use a Load Board.

How do trucking companies get contracts?

To get contracts for individual loads as an owner operator you need to start by looking at load boards or working with dispatchers that can help you find loads that best fit you. Getting this process down and being able to repeat it will set you up to continue your business successfully in the trucking industry.

How do transport companies get clients?

Finding Clients Contact shippers. To grow your list of clients, get in touch with businesses that do a lot of shipping, and pitch your services. While cold calling is tough work at the best of times, if you put in the effort and can provide the service, you will get clients. Look for public sector contracts.

How do owner-operators pay themselves?

There are two main ways: a percentage of the load or mileage. Earning consistency is the biggest difference between the two. Percentage of load. Drivers take between 25-85% of the load revenue.

How do owner-operators get loads?

If you decide to operate under your own authority, you may use a freight broker to find loads to haul. Freight brokers can connect owner-operators to shippers. They also help determine load rates, times and locations. Using a broker saves owner-operators the work of tracking down their own freight.

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so you want to start a trucking company saying you want to do it is easy but actually getting started can be quite confusing you have to know what forms you need where to get them and the order you need to complete them in the good news is we help people start checking companies every day with the apex startup program and we can help you too before we get started you need to answer two important questions first do you plan to haul Freight across state lines if so you'll be hauling interstate Freight and you'll need to get motor carrier Authority which is often referred to as an MC number if not you'll be hauling interesting Freight which simply means within your state intrastate Freight typically involves fewer requirements however those requirements do vary by state second do you plan to drive a truck for your trucking company if so you'll need a commercial driver's license also call the CDL to get your CDO contact your state DMV to learn more trucking company owners aren't required to obtain a CDL but any drivers you hire are starting a trucking company means you'll go to many different websites to complete the required applications and registrations to make it easy we've put them together for you and an easy checklist along with other resources on our website for free just head over to our website at the end of this video the first thing to do is set up your trucking company's business structure there are four main entity types sole proprietor partnership limited liability company and corporation research each to decide which business entity is best for you and your trucking company at Apex we typically set up checking companies as LLC's it provides the protection of a corporation with the simplicity of a sole proprietorship or partnership when you set up your business entity you go to your state's Secretary of State or similar office the costs will vary after you set up your business entity you'll file for an employee identification number or an EIN for short the ein is an ID number that's assigned to your businesses for federal taxes and reporting purposes getting your ein is a fairly simple process and it's free the biggest part is starting a trucking company is registering for authority with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration also known as FMCSA this is where you'll get a Department of Transportation number and a motor carrier operating authority or a do TMC number the d-o-t number is required for all carrier vehicles weighing more than a certain amount transporting property or people and commerce and operating between state lines the MC number allows trucking companies to legally Hoff Freight across state lines the cost of applying for comment for higher motor carrier Authority is $300 applying for authority is just step one after plying you'll wait to get active Authority for your authority to become active you're going to need proof of insurance and your BOC three filing the BOC three filing designates process agents for your trucking company a process agent is a person who can receive legal documents for your trucking company in the event of a lawsuit you'll need a process agent for every state that you operate in there are a lot of BOC 3 filing companies out there so do your research make sure you find a reputable one the prices will vary we've seen costs start as low as $50 and go up from there next you'll need proof of liability insurance coverage within 90 days of filing for your authority and while it's not required for active Authority we recommend you also get cargo insurance since the vast majority of brokers and shippers will require it before you can haul for them getting insurance coverage will take research get a few quotes from different companies and choose the best option for your business insurance is one of the largest upfront costs to give you an idea the initial down payment for insurance can range from four thousand to six thousand dollars with the monthly insurance payment of one thousand to three thousand dollars per truck we're a little halfway through if you're feeling overwhelmed by all the steps let us help the apex startup program will help with registrations and filings so that you can focus on building a successful business call eight five five two one one zero nine to nine to get started today another interstate commerce filing you'll need is the unified carrier registration also called UCR the cost of getting your you CR will depend on your fleet size just remember the more trucks the higher the annual filing fee you'll also need to register your truck and get apportioned license plates the International registration plan IRP for short is an agreement between the continental United States and Canadian provinces that allows them to divide payments of registration fees based on distance travel than to dip in the different jurisdictions the cost for IRP will vary but you can use the fee estimator available on their website now it's time to register for quarterly fuel taxes through the international fuel tax agreement also called IFTA before filing quarterly fuel taxes you need to register with your state agency that handles fuel taxes and order if dicapta cows to put on your truck if your registration and cab decal costs will vary make sure to check for other state specific registrations your state might have additional requirements and you might also need intrastate Authority some states also require weight distance tax permit to haul through their state such as Kentucky New Mexico New York and Oregon there you have it those are all the steps to starting a trucking company thanks for watching if you want more information head over to our website thanks for watching give us a thumbs up if you liked the video hit the subscribe button if you haven't already and hit the bell so you'll get notified when we post our next video we'll see you on the next one

Thanks for your comment Shawnda Benson, have a nice day.
- Dottie Machon, Staff Member

are you looking to start a trucking business and are you looking to learn how to personally protect yourself in today's video i am going to talk to you about how to form a trucking llc in just five steps hi my name is andrew i'm the managing attorney here at molai law where we help entrepreneurs just like you start your businesses without having to deal with the complicated legal forms our done-for-you service is backed by over two thousand seven hundred plus five star google reviews and we can help you start your business too the purpose of these videos are to provide you with as much guidance and clarity in the beginning stages of starting a business so if you haven't already please make sure you hit the like subscribe as well as a bell notification so you don't miss out on any future videos now the information i am going to talk about now is intended to be general information and it's always important to speak with a professional now let's go ahead and talk about a little bit of background contacts about trucking llc's whether an entrepreneur decides to start a trucking business in order to enter into 1099 independent contractor agreements whether entrepreneurs start a trucking llc because they want to start their own trucking fleet or whether or not they want to start some sort of logistics whatever it may be trucking is on the rise different businesses such as walmart amazon etc are always looking for truck drivers now in order to provide yourself with as much personal liability as possible meaning in order to protect your personal assets such as your house car bank account etc the most popular way to create that personal liability protection is by registering an llc specifically a trucking llc and so with that context let's go ahead and talk about the five steps to forming a trucking llc the first step you're going to want to take is you're going to want to file the articles of organization with the secretary of state of course the state where you live the information that the articles of organization include will include information such as your company name some popular trucking company names you'll see logistics trucking etc in addition to providing your company name you're also going to have to choose a business address now choosing the correct business address is very important especially if privacy is important to you so make sure you speak with a professional and other information that the articles of organization are going to request is going to be registered agent as well as the registered agent address now once you file the articles of organization it's going to take some time before you receive company documents however as soon as you receive your company documents you are then going to want to go to step 2 which is going to be applying for the ein number also known as the employer's identification number the ein number also known as the business tax id number the best way i like to see it is it's a social security number for a business for an llc you're able to obtain the ein through the irs now you can apply for the ein number either online or you can apply for it via mail once you obtain the ein number you're going to want to go to step 3 which is drafting the operating agreement if you're not familiar with what an operating agreement is it's internal legal document that outlines your responsibilities and duties as owner of the company as well as it lists your ownership so if for example if you're the only owner it would list 100 ownership in the company now once you've drafted the operating agreement you're almost there the fourth step is you're then going to want to open a business bank account you can either open a business bank account with a physical branch or you can open one with an online branch whichever one prefers and once the business bank account is open the final step is to apply for the necessary business licenses now depending on the county where the business is going to take place it is county specific in other words the business license application is county specific so if you have questions about the business license make sure you reach out to the county where you plan to conduct business now if you happen to enjoy this video make sure you click the like subscribe as well as a bell notification so you don't miss out on any future videos it's time to invest in yourself it's time to rise if you would like to continue learning more about llc's businesses online businesses go ahead and watch one of these videos you

Thanks AllinioO your participation is very much appreciated
- Dottie Machon

About the author

Dottie Machon

I've studied poetics at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus and I am an expert in vlsi design. I usually feel chipper. My previous job was insulation installer I held this position for 7 years, I love talking about museum visiting and needle point. Huge fan of Gary Sinise I practice bocce ball and collect coca-cola.