Economics of Coal Delivery

Ross wrote:At what price would I be willing to buy coal for someone to drop it in my driveway instead? I think you have to get the price WAY down to make it worth my while. I'm guessing that shoveling two tons of coal even a few feet sucks. Unless I was having problem with quality or the price went way up I don't think it would be worth my while.

When you live outside of NEPA and some of the east coast states coal delivery trucks are unheard of. It is typically just a dump truck that has coal on it and is dumped at your doorstep. It is up to you to get it where you want it. I shovel mine into the basement bin through the back wall of my house. This summer I shoveled 8 tons in an day but that will probably last me 2 years. You do need some exercise once in a while.

When you get out beyond zone 4 you're going to have trouble finding anyone to bring less than an entire semi truck full. Once you get to that point all bets on price are off as a lot of the price depends on if they have a load going back to PA or if thet have to dead head (go back empty). It's almost impossible to find a local trucker to bring coal back as they have never done it & think it'll take 8 hours to clean the truck after coal has been in it. Every situation is different. All you can do is start making phone calls & get the best deal you can find.

Ashcat wrote:Very interesting. Thanks. Richard, I checked out your vehicles for sale--at ~10 mpg of diesel,.

I'm not sure what the exact fuel mileage on that was but it was exceptionally good. I had to put about 40 -55 gallons in it every two days if I was running all day. However if I was going to take a load that far I'd use the big truck which only gets about 6 -7 mpg. A small gasoline powered truck would be in the same neighborhood.

It's almost impossible to find a local trucker to bring coal back as they have never done it & think it'll take 8 hours to clean the truck after coal has been in it.

Ironically it will be the cleanest it ever was..... Al ot of these guys dn't want to drive their trucks into the breaker itself. That itself puts a beating on things, lots of dirt, dust and mud.

Penn keystone has the right idea, they truck it in 25 ton full loads from PA to wherever you live. Besides the extra upfront equipment costs which are substantial, it takes just as much maintenance, expense, time, work, and fuel to deliver a 25 ton truckload as it does to run a 7 ton load. Plus you can usually get a backhaul with a big rig.