The trucking industry has been a relatively growing business. Companies offer services depending on what the capacities of their trucks are and what are needed by the clients. Here are some guidelines on how to start a trucking company in Georgia. In this article, I give you the basic mechanics of how to set up an start a trucking company in Georgia (GA). I focus on semi trucks, but of course these basic principles can be applied to box trucks as well.
A trucking company business requires several licenses including IFTA license, state permits and business registration certificates. The bulk of the cost of starting a trucking company is in hiring or purchasing trucks. Depending on the nature of the loads you would like to freight, trailer specifications can vary from large haulers to small light container trucks. Interstate trucking requires more permits than trucking businesses that operate within the state. Details are available at the Georgia State Department of Transport for starters.
Before you spend any money on trucks, you have to know if you are going to start your own truck authority or lease on to another carrier. If you start your own truck authority, you are more in control of all aspects of your business, but you may pay more for insurance. If you lease on to a larger carrier, they usually provide you all necessary services, such as loads (dispatch), Safety department, Accounting, etc. There are pros and cons to both set ups.
Decide on your type of trucking business. Semi trucks only? Dump trucks? Car hauling ? Some companies only operate within the state while some do operations interstate. This would also help in determining things such as type of trucks, office and marketing later on. Interstate trucking companies will to pass more requirements compared to local ones, in terms of necessary permits and insurance. Your local insurance broker can guide you more on this.
Name your company. Set up your LLC (inc) and EIN so you can open up a bank account in your truck company name
Purchase the trucks. Choosing between purchasing new trucks or hiring owner operators is up to you.
Contact insurance companies. The most important tip on how to start a trucking company in Georgia is contacting insurance companies and shopping around. If you have a CDL you can get great insurance rates (bobtail physical asset) from OOIDA.com If you do not have a CDL, the you can look to find a friend or relative outside of Georgia, so you can get a break on your insurance. If you cannot do this, then obtain a commercial office space in south (rural) Georgia, far away from the city of Atlanta. This is the last resort to save on your biggest cost other than your truck, which is your insurance. Get estimates on the costs of fleet insurance. This will protect the company, the client and the commodities if any damage is done while operating. Because you are a new company, you may get stuck with Progressive which tends to be more expensive, but more flexible. Call round in your area for quotes and compare. Initially, you will only need bobtail insurance. Once you start moving loads, you will need cargo liability insurance of $100K for dry freight and $1M for car hauling.
Hire an employee. Hire drivers. The drivers should have Commercial Driving Licenses (CDL). Make sure that the driver employee has a Commercial Driving License and has an experience when it comes to driving trucks. The employee should also be passed in the screening on driving and criminal history. You may also refer to www.fmcsa.dot.gov for any other information, question or application forms that you may need. You can administer a driving test if you like, before , they also must undergo background checks on their driving history. Drivers with 1-3 years+ experience in driving heavy trucks over the road (OTR) is ideal for the semi truck business. You can hire drivers directly or through a temp agency in your state.
Set up the office from which correspondence, managerial and coordination duties will be based. The office will require furniture, stationery and a clerical resource person. You should only set up new office premises with the approval of state authorities. A less taxing option is to rent an established premise.
Promote and grow. If you are using semi trucks then you will set up accounts with various load boards and Brokers such as JB Hunt, Uber Freight, KeepTrucking, CH Martin, etc.
Guidelines on how to start a trucking company in Georgia is similar in starting any other business. The biggest difference is the Federal Government highly regulate the trucking industry. The basics are the registration process and the obtaining of needed documents for business registration. The difference lies on the qualifications and expertise of the employees depending on the nature of their business. These are the steps that you can follow on how to start a trucking company in Georgia.
