New Jersey (NJ) is a great place to start a commercial trucking business. Given all the industries that operate here, it’s easy to profit from a trucking business. However, before you enter this sector, you need to ensure a few things.
Getting auto insurance is one of the most important things to do whenever you enter the trucking business. However, it’s not the only important thing that you need to ensure.
In this article, we’ll discuss a few important things, along with the need for auto insurance, that you must ensure before starting a commercial trucking business in New Jersey.
Know Which Industries You Want to Provide Your Services to
When you’re starting out, you may have several industries in mind that you’d like to provide your services to. Make sure that when you begin your business, you’ve narrowed down your target audience.
It’s easier to start small and grow from there than it is to try and get everything right the first time. If you start with one industry and one target audience, it will be much easier for you to grow your business into something more substantial.
This will also help you figure out what kinds of trucks you’ll need and how many drivers you need to employ.
Get Your Trucks Insured by a Commercial Auto Insurance Company
Before starting your commercial trucking business in New Jersey, you’ll want to make sure that you’re properly insured. It’s always a good idea to get your trucks insured by a commercial auto insurance company. Commercial auto insurance companies can offer more coverage than regular personal auto insurance companies and can give you more options for the vehicles that need to be insured.
You can get commercial insurance from NJ service providers. There’s no need to go out of state to insure your fleet. Just make sure you get in touch with the right people who have a reputation around town. As long as you can ensure that, you can rest assured that the insurance procedure won’t be too troubling for you.
Buy Fuel-Efficient Trucks
To run a successful commercial trucking business in New Jersey, you need to make sure that your trucks are fuel efficient. These days, there are many options available for trucks that use less fuel than traditional models.
You can choose a hybrid or electric model, which will reduce your operating costs and help the environment at the same time. Another option is an aerodynamic design that reduces drag and improves fuel economy.
Before deciding on any type of truck, it’s important to consider the kind of cargo you’ll be carrying and how far it will travel. For example, if you’re hauling heavy loads over long distances then an aerodynamic design might not be as important as if you’re carrying lighter loads over shorter distances.
Overall though, buying new trucks with better fuel efficiency can help keep costs down while also helping everyone breathe cleaner air.
Trucks are always competing with one another when it comes to fuel efficiency. Take Volvo and Scania as examples.
HeavyQuip Journal reported that Scania won the award for the most fuel-efficient long haul truck in early 2022. This recognition put Scania trucks on the top of the list of the most fuel-efficient trucks. Soon after, Volvo was tempted to aim for a similar achievement.
Volvo then reported that its new trucks were able to cut CO2 emissions by 20 to 100 percent. This, too, was an amazing achievement, and it was made possible not just because of brilliant engineering but also because of the fierce competition between these two automobile rivals.
Keep Track of Your Fuel and Maintenance Costs
Before starting a commercial trucking business in New Jersey, you need to keep track of your fuel and maintenance costs.
The two main costs associated with commercial trucking are fuel and maintenance. Fuel can be used to power the trucks, but it’s also used for things like heating and cooling them.
The quarter-tank rule applies here. If you can’t fit your hand inside the tank, it’s time to fill up. If you’re really interested in tracking your fuel usage, consider using a fuel-tracking app or installing an onboard computer system that will help you monitor this information.
You’ll also need to keep an eye on how much money you’re spending on maintenance. Keeping track of this information will help you determine how much money each truck needs for repairs. You can use this information when negotiating lease rates with other businesses or find out which trucks need more frequent servicing than others.
Hire Trained and Experienced Truck Drivers
If you want to start a commercial trucking business in New Jersey, you need to hire drivers who are trained and experienced. This will help your company stay safe, keep your employees and customers happy, and be able to meet the state’s requirements for driving commercial vehicles.
The state requires that all drivers must have at least one year of experience before they can drive a commercial vehicle. They also require that drivers have a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). The license is usually good for life as long as the driver stays qualified by keeping up with all required training programs, passing regular drug tests, and maintaining good driving records.
As per Salary.com, truck drivers in the U.S. earn a median wage of just over $51,000 a year. You should expect to pay something similar to your drivers. However, this amount will vary depending on their working hours and the load they have to carry. At the same time, the type of terrain they drive on will also have an impact on their wages.
As you ensure all this and enter the commercial trucking business in NJ, you’ll have a much more comfortable time settling in and making profits from this business. Slowly, you’ll learn new things about this market, which will further help you grow your trucking empire.