Hi Nairalanders,

It takes millions of laughter out of my mouth when I read a lot of thread in the forum concerning haulage business especially in Nigeria, a country that anything happens at the least expected time.  Some people just wake up one day to go into this kind of business that is heart-breaking, hypertensive and killing when you don't know the rudiments.  These rudiments are not what you read in an e-book or a forum like that and jump into the business.

Most especially if you want to be a haulage manager and you are promising an investor a large sum of monthly returns in order for him to commit his hard earning, it is that lease agreement signed by both parties that would send you behind the bar if you don't take care; and you investor that you are asking a haulage manager to sign a contract of N700,000 - N1 million on a truck, your money will go into the trench. BE WARNED!

You can go into haulage business if and only if you can tackle and solve the following problems:

[list]
[li]What type of vehicle is good enough[/li]
[li]What qualities do you look for in a vehicle[/li]
[li]How do employ driver[/li]
[li]How do you tackle the antics of driver and mechanic[/li]
[li]Where & How do you get job often[/li]
[li]How to know if a job pays or not[/li]
[/list]
and many others that I would be talking on as time goes on.

BE WARNED! HAULAGE IS NOT THEORY BUT PRACTICAL

See on the mountain top of Success

Hi Nairalanders'

I would have gone ahead on this thread, but for the emergency call I received on 21st June, that one of the company vehicle on the way to upcountry had an accident and since then it has been from one post to pillar trying to resolve the scenario.

The kind of vehicle that you must go for should be strong enough and relatively cheap to maintain, in this case I suggest an Iveco turbostar 190.38 tractor. My suggestion is not bound on you, but from my experience all this while especially with the vehicle, it travels fast, does not consume too much oil and parts are available including the mechanic. Another truck in this same shoe is DAF 95 most especially if the back is going to be container body.

See on the mountain top of Success

Hi,

My fellow haul masters, if you are to go for Mack truck, I will advise you to buy CH model, though costly but can go long distance, the R-model is not good for long distance and the only "but" of Mack is the high cost of the spare part and maintenance and it consume to much gas.

WHAT QUALITIES DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A TRUCK

Make sure any truck you want to buy is grade [/b]1 since it imported fairly used. Do not buy any Nigeria used truck if you don't want to give yourself hypertension.  As much as the [b]engine must be in good condition, you must be wary of the injector, this is the powerhouse of the engine. Likewise, the brake system cannot be left out. For a trailer the Horsepower HP should not be less than 320 and for single, not less than 250

You can contact me for any further information thru: primehaulage@gmail.com

See on the mountain top of Success

Hello Forumites,

The issue of driver is very pertinent because they contribute 70% to the success of this business, they are indispensable, even if you can drive truck how many will you drive and for how long. The drivers have wrong mentality that they are the ones doing the job and so they should first eat before the owner or the manager. Some of them are ready to steal the truck and run away. They can sell part(or all) of the goods they are to deliver. Another antic of the drivers is selling diesel or they plan with the mechanic that the truck is faulty and many more that I cannot mention here. Infact they can cause you heart attack if you are not strong enough.

Therefore, do not rush in hiring a driver. Firstly, make sure you know his immediate family, he has a sure guarantor that is not a driver like him and let the guarantor know the implication of what he is about to do even you must know the immediate family of the guarantor has well. Your truck must be in perfect condition so that the driver will have no opportunity for excuse. If you can use millions to buy the truck, do not hesitate to have tracker in it especially if it will be going to long distances.

For today I will stop here by saying if possible get conductor for the driver on your own so that they will not gang up.


See on the mountain top of Success

Hi,

This next topic to be treated is one of the most important in haulage business that is How to secure jobs. We are going to consider different aspect of haulage such as:

1.      Dump Truck (Tipper)

2.      Flatbed Truck

3.      Container Box Truck

4.      Tanker truck

and any other one that might interest you.

At this juncture anybody can ask question for more clarification.
 
You can contact me for any further information thru: primehaulage@gmail.com
See on the mountain top of Success

Hello class,

for you to secure job for your dump truck (Tipper) all you need is to get at least two supplier and you are sure of regular job, even if they disappoint you by then you would have been able to know more suppliers.

For your Flatbed truck, all you need is commissioned agent and you will never lack job.

In case of container box truck, if you are able to get major transporter in manufacturing company, you will registered company and you are sure of job day in day out

For A tanker truck : The  standard  procedure  for  attaching  trucks  to  most  major  marketers  differ  from  marketer  to  marketer.
Oando,Mobil,Total, Conoil,M.R.S (formerly Chevron Nig. plc) and A.P  are  Major  Marketers  and  not  Independent  Marketers as  contained  in  your  write-up.
The  Independent  Marketers  are individual  Nigerians  having  one  or  more  service  stations  e.g Rain  Oil, Beco, Eternal Oil,Energy, Nipco.  Some  of  these  Marketers  are  sometimes  regarded  as  Mini-Majors  because  of  the number  of  their  stations.
From  my  experience as  a former  employee  of  one  of  the  Majors,  each  transporter  is  expected  to  have  a minimum  of  ten  sound  trucks, hence  most  of  the  transporters  are  encouraged  to  merge  to  become  stronger  and  better  organised.  Most  marketers  have  minimum  benchmark/standards before  a  truck  can  be  accepted  into  their  system  hence formal  inspection  of  the  truck  would  be  carried  out  before  acceptance.
However,  trucks  are  graded  into  A and  B, but transporters  are  encouraged  to   have  grade  A  trucks  which  are  neater  and  more  corporate  with  the  brand  color  of  the  marketer  concerned  as  most  major  marketers  insist  that  the  truck  must  be  painted  in  their  color  for  advert  and  easy  identification.
You  have  to  really  analyse  the  pros  and  coins  of  a  contract  before  you  append  your  signature, however  I  dont  think  any  transporter  would  take  more  than  5%  for  attachment because  he  is  the  one  recognised  by  the  Marketer  and  cheques  will  be  issued  on  his  company's  name.
Transport  rates  differ  from  company  to  company  but  the  difference  is  not  much  as  these  rates  are  periodically  reviewed.
Well,  contract   breeches  do  happen  depending  on  your  agreement  with  the  transporter  and  also  how  far  you  can  monitor  him  especially  when  it  is  time  for  payment.
On  the  maintenance  of  the  truck  and  the driver,  It  depends  on  your  formal  agreement  with  the  transporter  because  the  parent  transporter  will be  held  responsible  for  any  negative  activities  done  with  the  trucks  under  his  company so  sometimes  the  transporter  might  insist  on  providing  the  driver  whom  he  feels  he  can  handle,  this  should  not  be  a  rigid  position.  It  is  negotiable  but  you  are    responsible  for  the  maintenance  of  your  truck  and  the  payment  of  the  salary  of  the  driver  and  any  other  issue  like  shortage  issues.

However,  most  independent  marketers  have  trucks  being  used  by  them  and  also  hired  out  to  third  parties.  You  can  walk  into any  of  their  offices  and  discuss  truck  attachment  with  them  and  the  rates  applicable.   

All  the  best  of  luck.

You can contact me for any further information thru: primehaulage@gmail.com

When are you coming to continue this interesting topic?
Thanks

In our current dispensation, the trucking industry is one of the biggest businesses in the world. As a matter of fact, in the United state alone, the trucking industry produces over 300 billion dollars of revenue a year. In Nigeria, haulage business and even logistics is a billion dollar business with an insatiable market. Learn about trucking/haulage business in Nigeria.

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