Desert Equipment Transport (DET)¶
Desert Equipment Transport, Inc. — the group's own hauling company. It trucks auction purchases home for the dealership and fills spare capacity with outside freight. Brandon owns it separately from the holding company so that trucking-accident liability cannot reach the operating businesses.
🎯 Headline metrics
| Metric | Target | Actual | Variance | As-of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per-mile cost | 🔴 | 🔴 | — | — |
| Captive utilization % (Superior Truck & Equipment hauls) | 🔴 | 🔴 | — | — |
| Backhaul utilization % (fill freight) | 🔴 | 🔴 | — | — |
| Revenue YTD | 🔴 | 🔴 | — | — |
1. Ambition¶
Be the captive transport arm for the engine — move Superior Truck & Equipment's auction buys from origin to the yard at lower cost than third-party haulers, and fill backhaul/dead-day capacity with external freight so the trucks aren't running empty.
2. Where to Play¶
- Primary (captive): Superior Truck & Equipment's auction-to-yard moves — Phoenix/Southwest auction circuit (Copart, IAA, Ritchie Bros)
- Secondary (fill freight): backhaul + dead-day freight on the return runs — any external freight that fits the trailer + lane mix
3. How to Win¶
Desert Equipment Transport's structural edge is captive demand floor + fill freight upside: the Superior Truck & Equipment captive volume guarantees baseline utilization, and any backhaul revenue is incremental margin on top. The make-vs-buy threshold (Desert Equipment Transport cost per mile vs. third-party haul rate) determines Desert Equipment Transport's economic case.
🔴 Gap — Make-vs-buy threshold
Per-mile cost relative to third-party haul rate — the headline economic case for Desert Equipment Transport. Pending operational data.
4. How Money Flows¶
- Revenue: captive Superior Truck & Equipment hauls (intercompany B2B) + external fill-freight bookings
- Cost: truck operating cost (fuel, maintenance, insurance) + driver labor + regulatory + trailer maintenance
- Margin lever: total miles driven × (revenue per mile − operating cost per mile) — utilization is the dominant variable
🔴 Gap — Intercompany pricing
Superior Truck & Equipment → Desert Equipment Transport haul pricing (intercompany, arm's-length). Must be defensible vs. third-party rates and documented for related-party tax defense.
5. Pro Forma — Three-Statement Projection¶
Assumptions block¶
- 🔴 Captive Superior Truck & Equipment hauls per month — GAP
- 🔴 Per-haul mileage + the rate the dealership pays — GAP
- 🔴 Backhaul utilization % + per-mile fill rate — GAP
- 🔴 Per-mile operating cost (fuel + maintenance + insurance + driver) — GAP
- 🔴 Regulatory + IFTA + IRP overhead — GAP
Projected P&L (annual)¶
| Line | Amount | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue — captive Superior Truck & Equipment hauls | 🔴 | needs volume + rate |
| Revenue — backhaul / fill freight | 🔴 | needs utilization + rate |
| Operating cost (fuel + maintenance + insurance + driver) | 🔴 | needs per-mile cost × miles |
| Regulatory overhead (DOT/IFTA/IRP) | 🔴 | needs overhead |
| Net operating income | 🔴 | derived |
Projected balance sheet¶
🔴 GAP — truck/trailer book value (incl. the Ledwell trailer specifically), payables.
Projected cash flow¶
🔴 GAP — pending baseline.
🔴 Gap — The unlocks
Captive haul volume + per-mile operating cost + backhaul utilization. With these, Desert Equipment Transport's economic case (make-vs-buy + backhaul upside) is provable.
6. Path to Delivery (Operating Plan — this year)¶
Priority initiatives¶
- 🔴 Operating model refinement — see Desert Equipment Transport Operating Model
- 🔴 Cost modeling iteration — see Desert Equipment Transport Cost Modeling
- 🔴 Nav placement decision — Future Arms vs Operating (Desert Equipment Transport operational since 2026-05-27)
KPIs & cadence¶
- Captive Superior Truck & Equipment hauls per month (volume)
- Backhaul utilization %
- Per-mile cost (fuel + maintenance trend)
- Make-vs-buy threshold relative to third-party rates
- Regulatory compliance status (DOT, MC#, USDOT, IFTA, IRP)
7. Risks¶
🟢 Confirmed — Operating risks
- Freight liability — uninsurable corporate exposure (roadway/cargo/driver) — why Desert Equipment Transport is ring-fenced in Brandon's personal name, outside Arizona Truck and Equipment
- Regulatory compliance — DOT, FMCSA, IFTA, IRP requirements
- Backhaul utilization — empty return runs erode the margin case
- Make-vs-buy compression — if Desert Equipment Transport's per-mile cost exceeds third-party rates, the captive case fails
🔴 Gap — Quantified risk
Insurance coverage + premium exposure, regulatory cost, backhaul revenue volatility.
8. Gaps (punch-list for this entity)¶
🔴 Per-mile operating cost · 🔴 captive Superior Truck & Equipment haul volume · 🔴 the dealership-paid intercompany rate · 🔴 backhaul utilization % · 🔴 regulatory compliance status (DOT, MC#, USDOT, IFTA, IRP) · 🔴 trailer / Ledwell detail (capacity, configuration, captive vs fill-freight breakdown) · 🟡 Nav placement (Future Arms → Operating, confirm).
Appendix · Operational reference¶
Why this company is Brandon-owned (outside the holding company)¶
Freight liability — roadway, cargo, driver — is the most uninsurable corporate exposure Arizona Truck Group runs. Keeping Desert Equipment Transport in Brandon's personal name puts that exposure outside the corporate family. A roadway incident at Desert Equipment Transport doesn't cross-contaminate the rest of the Arizona Truck Group family.