Trucking costs

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kenny thomas

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Two loads have came up this week where cattle need to be moved long distances. 3 cows 2 calves 1000 miles and a bull 430 miles.
With current fuel costs the going rate seems to be $5 per loaded mile. Even with my own truck and trailer, which i wouldn't trust to make those trips the costs are very high.Neither me nor most anyone else can afford that with current cattle prices. What are we going to do if this doesn't get better?
 
With the price of cattle compared to the cost of equipment (trucks, trailers etc.) plus a driver, insurance, taxes, registration, fuel, wear and tear $5 a mile is not to much if you expect to make anything.
 
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If people don't have to means to haul cattle on their own they will simply have to buy cattle closer to where they live. People who market their cattle a long ways from major feeding areas are going to take a bigger hit when selling.
 
CowboyRam said:
What are these three cows gold plated. Anyone who would buy only three cows and want to ship them a 1000 miles is a damn fool.
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Well not bought yet but I would be the fool if it happens. They are something I have been wanting since they were calves.
The bull is very special, going to have his semen collected.
 
kenny thomas said:
Well not bought yet but I would be the fool if it happens. They are something I have been wanting since they were calves.
The bull is very special, going to have his semen collected.
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Well if that is the case, just hop in the truck and go get them and don't even think twice about the cost.
 
Sorry, it's not about the cows or bull, it's about trucking in general. Everything we buy at the grocery store, Walmart, wherever you shop has gone up because of the trucking. We can't just go up on calf or cow prices like they do on everything else.
We can try to get a much as possible but we can't tell the buyers or the feedlots that we are going up on our price because our costs have went up.
 
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kenny thomas said:
It's not about profit this time, it's about something I would like to have.
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I hear ya. It has put a damper on things.

I use to go to some sales with my son. The ranches would cover most my expenses and my son and I would make several day, trips out of it. That has pretty much stopped.

We both drive a lot of miles. It's definitely taking its tole on things.

I'm big on self sufficient things. Pay a little extra for things that don't require some one to keep it going non-stop or needs constant attention. I always chalked it up to allowing me to cover more ground, which it does. My main guy I work for finally fessed up it was money well spent with these fuel prices.
 
I have said this before. This is where fuel cost are going to hurt the average family, not in what fuel they actually buy. The cost of everything in the cattle business is killing us but fuel is sure at the front right now. Most tractors of any size cost at least $25 an hour to run at more than an idle.

Any chance these cattle are in Arkansas? If so I would like to have a bull from there myself. If you get them I would love to see them.
 
Kenny since you are wanting the cattle yourself, heck I would work something out. You can see prices going up. I had not been in a retail store in a couple of weeks and talk about sticker shock. A lot of it is just plain corporate gouging.
 
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I over heard two cattle buyers discussing this at the sale. One was saying how a station offered a 10 cent a gallon discount of cash. He said when it takes $1,000+ to fill up a truck, who carries that kind of cash?
 
CowboyRam said:
What are these three cows gold plated. Anyone who would buy only three cows and want to ship them a 1000 miles is a damn fool.
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I shipped 10 weaned heifers and a yearling bull from Montana to North Carolina last year and 10 bred heifers from Oklahoma to NC. They weren't gold plated but I was convinced they were what I needed and their type don't exist in my area. This was one time to start the seedstock herd that I think the future will need - more of an investment/gamble than a fool's errand in my opinion. It was worth it to me once.

Hauling commercial/commodity animals any distance sounds crazy to me but a big portion of them travel 1000+ miles to be finished. Low profit animals being hauled to food that was hauled to the same spot - that sounds a lot more foolish to me.
 
More to the point of the post, I can't see how doubling fuel prices would double the transport costs.

10mpg @ $3 diesel is $0.30/mile
What is maintenance, $0.50/mile at most?

If those costs doubled, we are talking an increase of $0.80/mile - if the quotes are loaded mile, maybe that turns into $1.60/mile. As a business person, I want a profit of some sort on that outlay of cash so 15% profit would be an increase of $1.88/loaded mile. This seems like a worst case scenario but it shows me what's possible if you don't find transport that fits your situation.

My bull going to be collected is worth the extra transport costs as long as a portion of the semen sells over the next few years. I am going to double down and get more straws to make the trip worth it though...
 

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