General Motor Freight Trucking Business Plan

Timely Trucking, a startup truck company headquartered in Portland, Oregon, will provide trucking and logistics management solutions for business clients in the Northwestern states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Beginning with operations in Washington and Oregon, the business will haul freight from suppliers to manufacturers to distributors and retailers, operating in partnership with distribution centers, warehouses, and wholesalers.

Company Ownership

Timely Trucking was founded by Jim Kerrigan, a previous owner of a warehousing business which he successfully exited from after fifteen years of management. Timely Trucking has been established as a sole proprietorship during its pre-launch phase, but will be reclassified as a limited liability company to take on partners. Kerrigan will share ownership with outside investors, giving 20% of shares to investors.

Start-up Summary

The start-up expenses include some of the basic set-up costs for the Timely Trucking office – stationery (business cards and letterhead), rent for the office and a large adjacent parking lot for two month’s rent and one month’s security at $4,000 per month, and computer equipment. Marketing expenses include brochures and website development (see website plan for more details). Other expenses include legal consultation fees to ensure that all precautions are taken to limit the risk of the business and to establish templates for client and partner agreements, insurance premiums for the first year of operation to cover liability associated with the service, the office, and the trucks, and licenses and permits for the business. These include Fuel Tax Reporting, USDOT numbers, 2290’s, IRP tags, MC numbers, and IFTA decals.

Cash required will be used to fund the months of operation before cash flow break even is achieved and to allow for adequate cash reserves to reduce the risk of running low on cash if targets are not met. Other current assets include office supplies, software for accounting, scheduling, and resource management and light equipment. Long-term assets include three new 18-wheelers, estimated at $150,000 each (approximately $120,000 for the cab and $30,000 for the trailer). The business will purchase new in order to better ensure that deliveries are made on time and that the usual risks of aging equipment are avoided.  $75,000 is budgeted for three fork lifts estimated at $25,000 each, one per truck. An additional $25,000 is budgeted for long-term assets including repair equipment and tools which it is cost-effective to own in-house, satellite-tracking equipment for each truck, and office furniture.

While some trucking businesses hire owner-operators of trucks, Timely Trucking will maintain greater control over the service it offers by owning the trucks, ensuring that it always lives up to its name.