Salt delivery is deceptively hard to run well. Margins are often slim and competition can drive pricing pressure. The dealers who win consistently do two things: they design a repeatable cadence that keeps trucks full and miles low, and they price in a way that reflects the true cost of delivery.
Use a recurring 20-day (4-week) system
One proven approach is to organize delivery work into a recurring 20-business-day cycle (roughly 4 weeks). This creates predictable capacity week by week and makes it easier to add stop-ins without blowing up the day.
- Weekly customers: schedule them on route days 1, 6, 11, and 16 of the cycle.
- Every-2-week customers: give them two anchor days in the cycle (e.g., days 1 and 11, or 6 and 16) so they always land in the same part of the week.
- Monthly customers: assign one of the four anchor days based on geography/volume balancing.
This predictable cadence helps capacity planning and driver familiarity, which reduces mistakes and miles.
Shape your routes like a star from the warehouse
A simple route geometry that works well is a star pattern: think spokes that extend from your warehouse to the outer areas. Within a given route day, the team runs out along one or two spokes and works back in. This makes it practical to handle last-minute requests inside the same spoke without detouring across town.
Avoid odd-week delivery schedules
Odd-interval schedules (3/5/7 weeks) rarely land cleanly inside a 4-week cycle, and they tend to create unpredictable spikes where several customers collide on the same week or day. That makes staffing harder and increases overtime. Prefer 1, 2, or 4-week rhythms whenever possible.
Deliver more, less often (when feasible)
If the customer's equipment and storage allow, delivering a larger quantity on a less-frequent schedule lowers your cost per pound delivered: fewer stops, fewer load/unload events, and better truck utilization.
Price to the reality of delivery costs
Your salt price should reflect both the product and the delivery work. That includes travel time, handling, stairs or basements, and any special service considerations. Transparent pricing tiers for distance, frequency, and service complexity keep margins intact while setting customer expectations.
Use software to keep routes efficient as you grow
Routes naturally get messy over time. Watertight includes a bulk route optimization tool designed for water treatment. You can re-cluster stops across sales locations taking into account your driver count, delivery days, and customer consumption.
Learn more on our features page, or get in touch to see how your current routes would optimize.
Operational tips that move the needle
- Set capacity targets per day and keep a small buffer for late adds.
- Pre-stage loads by spoke where possible to shorten turnarounds.
- Track first-attempt success and reasons for misses; failed deliveries are expensive—call ahead and confirm access.
- Capture add-on work (filters, service checks) during delivery to lift ticket size without another truck roll.
The takeaway
A 20-day (4-week) schedule, spoke-based routing, fewer odd intervals, and pricing tied to delivery realities will stabilize schedules and protect margin. As routes grow, use optimization to keep the plan tight. Salt delivery can be profitable—but it won't happen by accident.
Want help tuning your routes? Explore our features or schedule a conversation with our team.