.

sincerely, i agree 90 percent with you. but i will tell you the truth of the whole story.
1. the hype about the profit is too much. infact i have lost many prospective clients that has called me home and abroad asking me what i can remit monthly into their account. once i tell them, they get cold and think i am trying to outsmart them. infact i always tell them not to go further in the bargain. the moment i give my numbers, i dont care whether they want to do business or not.a lot of these guys on nairaland give them outrageous numbers and that drives their passion. this will push them to over use the truck thinking if the make 5 trips to abuja monthly, they will make money.
2. Most of these guys are not professional in the business.
3. What type of trucks have you been using in the business. i saw in your post where you made mention of rotor and changing of tyres.meaning you dont really know the techniques of managing a driver.. forget these trucks that use rotor engine and filters. e.g freightliner and scania,etc. otherwise you go chop gbese.
Lastly, that you have a bad experience does not mean that all others will. maybe the person you gave it was not competent enough.
Richard Bryson came to nigeria and his fingers were burnt while companies like apm terminals, sifax, startimes,dstv,airtel,mtn and chinkos are making it big in this same country after paying several millions of dollars to the fed govt. so you see that another man's food might be another man's poison.but the truth is i second what you said you never met the right person. abi you want to generalise.

how much will the usa truck cost for you to remit 3000 dollars monthly?

When I read your post I just shook my head.
Well I agree with you partially but there are two major factor that determines the Success or Failure of Truck business.
1. The type of truck
2. The owner or manager of the truck

Factor 1: Now if you buy a popular and rugged truck that is easy to fix by most mechanics, manage and has its spares parts readily available with an experienced driver then then you're not likely to have headaches if you follow up with the second factor.

Factor 2: If the truck owner has is ready to dedicate good time to the truck biz then you wouldn't have to get worked up by drivers acts of short changing and the rest. If you are managing your truck yourself, its better to put it to work for a particular contract job so you know the exact route where the truck is working, know the terrain which the truck is working in (if your satisfied with it then carry go), Be the one to handle all financial aspect (which includes dealing with clients, fueling, repairs and the rest) just ensure you pay the driver well and dictate where or what he does with the truck.
When you are accepting a job, consider its effect on the truck and don't overload your truck.

If you can adhere to these procedures you'll not have stress with your truck and will enjoy your truck for years.
I've noticed that most truck owners that complain are those that just give out their trucks to drivers and charge high amounts to be delivered to them daily or weekly. by this the driver is saddled by the drive to meet up with the lease and if possible make double more for himself so will take up any job with out considering the negative effect on the truck.

If you are giving it to a manager, give it to him at a reasonable price, because by that the manager will be the one doing the monitoring and checks. By this he will ensure he is able to conveniently make your lease payment, pay the driver and make something for himself. He'll likely want to ensure the truck is running optimally at all times because any loss time is also a loss to him so issues of overload and usage in bad terrain will be avoided.

I have some trucks I'm managing and thank God the owners have never had reasons to complain. I must tell you that the greatest error you can make is allowing money pass through the hands of drivers, even if its money to fuel the truck.

If you closely observe I categorically spelt out 3 key determining factors that will most likely keep your freight business afloat in Nigeria if you meet them.1. Drive yourself. 2. defining one or two trucks as a successful start-up fleet is erroneous. 3.If u live in Nigeria. Unfortunately this may sound aggravating to your ears but the truth is 95% of businesses left in care of anybody in Nigeria turns out sour.partially or wholly. Disprove this theory or find my statement refutable by bringing in just 5 out of the at least 10,000 diasporans on NL. . I agree with you on the route, which I would say is best if u have local and regional runs. A run radiused around a 3 hr drive max. I owned Macks. stating the parts rotors, injectors, hub seals, tires, s cam shaft or light switch does give a literal and figurative intention of the purported message. They will be switched period! Verify with dangote transport, they are leveraging their success on quantity. I know u guys are honest boys but this is simply my take on this. Goodluck to prospective naija truck investors. Someone asking for the price of a road worthy truck in the U.S that will yield $3000. If u live here with decent credit u finance with perhaps 5-10k if u don't live here, then somewhere in the range of 20-35k, (abeg do not be a greedy business glutton) which is close to your expenditure of buying a junk that won't outlast 6months max, shipping, paying duty(clearing) replacing those snow tires, scouting around for a chasis then building the body as we call it at home or looking for dump trailer if into construction which I must admit is good in naija.

I stumbled on your statement in regards to my supposed naivity on truck managerial skills, uncle, no matter how impeccable your expertise on management is, if you loose the best cook in the village, then kiss your highly rated restaurant goodbye.With that said Someone who's owned, knows how to drive any equipment and managed on two different climes as opposed to another who solely manages. Who's got a better inclination to management experience? I'd leave u to answer that.

miredia: This is especially if you reside outside Nigeria. I'll promptly explain why i made that statement explicitly without being modest. You typically cannot make more than #500,000 monthly on trucking(pls learn to be practical and disregard all the income hypes)also that income stream can never be consecutive. There inevitably would be a default of some sort within 3 months if u are lucky enough.Stories would arise, authorities would frustrate you,the roads are bad(increased wear and tear),drivers would cleverly shortchange you, injectors, rotors, tires would be switched en-route an assigned trip.Forget about trying to be smart with the gps system, this even becomes worse if you run a small fleet of less than 3 trucks.The odds are strongly against you if do not or cannot drive your own truck in Nigeria which we would all agree is a nightmare (Talking out of firsthand experience).Unfortunately i know i have failed to assuage the appeal of certain would-be or already existing truckers. Sorry but that's the truth.Now here's the catch, you can own a truck here in the U.S, you will make that same amount of income with absolutely zero risk. Insurance here as you would know is inarguable top-notch. I have never seen a life threatening pothole on any intrastate or interstate highway as a result tires and mechanical wear is ideally minimal. The weather is friendly to the engine life of the truck. Legal agreements are binding and can not be breached as you would have back home except the folk just loves the county jail. See your trucks anytime and anywhere in the world without fear of a rip-off. All year round steady flow of income ($3000 monthly). No breach, no gimmicks, no faceless agents, no shylocks. Grow to own more than one truck within a short time span. Truck title would always be in owners custody,now that is straight forward business. If you live here we can meet up as i am presently engaged in this viable business. If you don't but interested in investing here, drop a message miredia7@gmail.com

Hello miredia,

I am very glad I came upon your post. I have been thinking of starting a trucking/haulage business in Nigeria but I have been scared because I live in the USA.
I am very interested in starting a trucking/haulage business in the USA. Can we talk? Thank you

Shoot me an email

Yes, anything Nigeria is anathema these days. Dishonesty and corruption has ruined businesses. Those who survive either do it themselves or have full time to monitor/followup the biz. Both drivers and haulage companies are guilty of dishonesty.

You will be successful if and only if you find honest drivers and haulage companies. But where can they be found?

Nice and interesting post. I have always been interested in this line of business but all the points you mentioned scared me too. Now the question is, how can someone in Nigeria (non-US based) invest through someone he/she has not seen nor had business meetings with in the past? You know what I mean, the issue of trust et al.

U can send me an email miredia@gmail.com

The context of my message is simply why would I go in pursuit of a piece of meat in the lions den when I can equally get that exact same piece amongst the kittens. Common now......at least this succintly conveys my jargons.

Ok, I will do you a mail.

Just sent you an e-mail, @miredia. How about if you're on ground yourself and you own like 5 to 10 trucks? Same stories?

It possibly could work out considering a couple factors. Avoid long distance trips. The nos u stated are pretty decent figures to start with.

Our company is into haulage and logistics truck management,we have contacts to companies that convey goods from Lagos to other parts of Nigeria,we are based in Apapa and would be glad to help you manage that box body truck or close body bus.
You can reach us via our email addy:haulagehandlers@gmail.com.

This is much easier if u reside here in the united states

Where did this chicken little come from. There is no business without challenge. If you can't take the heat, leave.

More than 90% of goods in Nigeria are hauled and you are talking your own. The business is as lucrative to an extent as said. So stop all these chicken little talk about the sky falling.

I beg help me tell the guy make he know. he don fail for naija. he just enter US, change him nairaland username,he come re-register with another one,he come they spoil people own to sell him own business, thinking that is the way business is done.
Non US citizen want to do trucking biz in US, you think say na naija u dey where u can do busines without regulations.
How many nigerians do you think have money to buy trucks. Dont you know that majority of nigerian guys in diaspora own these trucks. You should be able to know that if you were truly in the trucking business(body and soul).

I know how hurt u both are but the fact is there is nothing I hv said that isn't the truth. And I know I am a chicken little sir.What u supposedly make in naija is exactly wat u make here without hiccups so y choose to burn myself.

The guy i quote>>

tobiloba82: I beg help me tell the guy make he know. he don fail for naija. he just enter US, change him nairaland username,he come re-register with another one,he come they spoil people own to sell him own business, thinking that is the way business is done.
Non US citizen want to do trucking biz in US, you think say na naija u dey where u can do busines without regulations.
How many nigerians do you think have money to buy trucks. Dont you know that majority of nigerian guys in diaspora own these trucks. You should be able to know that if you were truly in the trucking business(body and soul).

The guy i quote>>He basically took these words out from my mouth. I too reside in US, Houston Texas to be precisely, talking of doing business like trucking in US without any headache like ridiculous govt strict regulation is pure dellusional, yes the roads here are heavenly, the insurance are solid as well, but some underline factors left behind were strict govt regulation when it comes to small business, oh, lets talk about heavey duty tax, IRS, STATE TOLLS,DOT NIGHTMARE which can actually put your trucking business out of its misery by heavey sanction, yes NAIJA IS rough and raw, there are some adverse factors that could hurt any business not just trucking business, but with strict carefull vesting process will put anyone over the edge to success, truthfully,they said all men are created equall but not all creat and work equall, i have already purchased 5 DAF Truck through my agent in belgium and ready to get dirty in my naija land trucking business and nothing or any failure experience will detour my ambition.

king9952: The guy i quote>>The guy i quote>>He basically took these words out from my mouth. I too reside in US, Houston Texas to be precisely, talking of doing business like trucking in US without any headache like ridiculous govt strict regulation is pure dellusional, yes the roads here are heavenly, the insurance are solid as well, but some underline factors left behind were strict govt regulation when it comes to small business, oh, lets talk about heavey duty tax, IRS, STATE TOLLS,DOT NIGHTMARE which can actually put your trucking business out of its misery by heavey sanction, yes NAIJA IS rough and raw, there are some adverse factors that could hurt any business not just trucking business, but with strict carefull vesting process will put anyone over the edge to success, truthfully,they said all men are created equall but not all creat and work equall, i have already purchased 5 DAF Truck through my agent in belgium and ready to get dirty in my naija land trucking business and nothing or any failure experience will detour my ambition.

@ King9952, please what are the years of manufacture of the DAF trucks you bought ? Can you tell me the particular models you bought and their tonnage ?
Thank you. I am also heading into Haulage and is determined to succeed. I am going to personally monitor my business and put greed far away from me.

Nigerians!!!

Moreda you are a very funny business man, so by condeming others you wants to forge ahead? That's not businesslike you are clearly afraid of competition, and that's apparently the first step to failure. Okay, I'll tell you this: show me a road that is broad, smooth and beautiful and I'll tell you it's a road that lead no where', but you show a road that is rough, narrow and untidy and I'll tell you it leads to
A gold mine. A good business man will always bear this fact with me "to make good And more Profit you'll invest into a problem by Finding one, proofer solution to it and you are into fortune, never by runing from problems", while you are complaining and condemning, a lot of People both foreigh and indigine are busy making their wealth from the fact that nigeria is having problems (Similar things have happen in russia before now) Firstly? human being are the best investment you can have, you just learn how to go about it, " I will prefer to earn 1% of 100 people's effort than to have 100% of my own effort alone" I will prefer to develop Nigeria to USA. while you believe in the correlation between the haulage business income in the two countreis, the advantage is, the investment in Nigeria is cheaper, (you might say with junk trucks) but I'll tell you cheap junk truck on junk road with more profit will be a better choice bro. Tell me, with that rate of income, ($3000) how long would it take to recover the money invested in the road worthy kind of truck in the USA? What about the tax and the regulatory bodies, foregh investors policies compare to Nigeria? My dear, some element of truth are lacking in your write-up... Just so you may know, a true, loyal and patriotic Nationalist will not condem his country totally, no matter how bad it seems, contrary to the way you just did (there are other nationals here on this forum, Haabar...!) oh! You think USA is a land of the saints? You are definitely far from being right bro, they are corrupt too, the level may be minimal but remember they started somewhwere before they get to this point and some people made the sacrifice, why don't you change your notion about this great country "Nigeria" and join the team that want to make her a greater nation, Shalom.

stpat1:
When I read your post I just shook my head.
Well I agree with you partially but there are two major factor that determines the Success or Failure of Truck business.
1. The type of truck
2. The owner or manager of the truck

Factor 1: Now if you buy a popular and rugged truck that is easy to fix by most mechanics, manage and has its spares parts readily available with an experienced driver then then you're not likely to have headaches if you follow up with the second factor.

Factor 2: If the truck owner has is ready to dedicate good time to the truck biz then you wouldn't have to get worked up by drivers acts of short changing and the rest. If you are managing your truck yourself, its better to put it to work for a particular contract job so you know the exact route where the truck is working, know the terrain which the truck is working in (if your satisfied with it then carry go), Be the one to handle all financial aspect (which includes dealing with clients, fueling, repairs and the rest) just ensure you pay the driver well and dictate where or what he does with the truck.
When you are accepting a job, consider its effect on the truck and don't overload your truck.

If you can adhere to these procedures you'll not have stress with your truck and will enjoy your truck for years.
I've noticed that most truck owners that complain are those that just give out their trucks to drivers and charge high amounts to be delivered to them daily or weekly. by this the driver is saddled by the drive to meet up with the lease and if possible make double more for himself so will take up any job with out considering the negative effect on the truck.

If you are giving it to a manager, give it to him at a reasonable price, because by that the manager will be the one doing the monitoring and checks. By this he will ensure he is able to conveniently make your lease payment, pay the driver and make something for himself. He'll likely want to ensure the truck is running optimally at all times because any loss time is also a loss to him so issues of overload and usage in bad terrain will be avoided.

I have some trucks I'm managing and thank God the owners have never had reasons to complain. I must tell you that the greatest error you can make is allowing money pass through the hands of drivers, even if its money to fuel the truck.

please,which six-tyre box-body truck(s) is/are best for haulage in Nigeria.
someone said rotor engine and filter trucks like scania and freightliner are not good for haulage work.how true is that?

I can tell you that we at A. A. Rano Transport feels different. Transport business inherits different sets of challenges depending on the environment. In Naija the key problem is our government.

Anyone got very good flatbed trucks to pick up MSC...charcoal from Ogbomoso suburb to Lag...call 08100491344...its weekly trip!

andynuru:
I can tell you that we at A. A. Rano Transport feels different. Transport business inherits different sets of challenges depending on the environment. In Naija the key problem is our government.

A.A Rano is no kid in the industry. He's a big player.

To those who had commented here years ago, some of the points raised here are very correct up till moment but we cannot say because someone die in his sleep then no one will sleep again.....There are many people who are making it big time in the trucking business. For those who are intending to go into the business, I will be glad if we can negotiate and see if we can do business together.

As a Shipping and Logistics Manager of a companies, here are the secret of my success in the industry.
1. I wont promise any owners what I cannot deliver
2. My drivers are educated fellow who belief in career building in the job
3. Giving my drivers the best remuneration such as salary, insurance, over time and out station allowance, medical, leave and carry their families along
4. Disconnect my mechanic from my drivers
5. Running a particular route (Lagos - Kaduna/Kano)
6. Place surveillance team on the route.
7. Work on contracts alone
8. GIT on all trucks under my fleet

These had been helping the business and

You can still get it right if you dont give up.......If you are interested, lets talk....08021004927

What kind or make should one use for this business. For cars, everybody will agree with toyota camry