Cash Flow: Placing Priority on Getting Paid

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img src="/sites/default/files/images/articles/printeditiontag_new.gif" width=120 align=right>Trucking is a cash-intensive business. Before the first load is delivered, truckers must have enough cash to pay drivers and buy large quantities of fuel.

But after mailing an invoice to a customer, freight carriers typically wait 30 to 45 days to get paid.

With all that time and money tied up, one might think that trucking executives would place a high priority on invoice payment and collections. You’d be wrong, according to Steven L. Dutro, a financial management consultant and former chief financial officer for refrigerated truckload carrier KLLM Transport Services in Jackson, Miss.

“I view it as a missed opportunity for most carriers,” Dutro said. “Most fleets don’t focus on getting paid. If they did, they could generate at least a week’s worth of new revenue and turn it into cash.”

For the full story, see the April 8 edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.