How do I read the seasonal swings in a towing company’s calls before buying?

Towing work follows the weather and the calendar. A hard winter storm can fill the dispatch board for days, and a mild stretch can leave trucks parked. A buyer looking at a single year can mistake a busy spell for the normal level. Reading the pattern over several years, and by type of call, gives a truer picture.

Ask for the calls by month and by type

Request monthly call counts for several years, split into accident recovery, breakdowns, lockouts, impound and private-property work. Add dispatch and storage records if they exist. Look at which months move together and which stay level. Ask the seller to explain any month that stands out, and check the explanation against the weather that year.

Separate spikes from steady work

Storm calls come and go. Contract work such as motor club dispatch, insurer programs, rotation lists and property management agreements may give a steadier base, which the records can test. Ask how much of the slow-month work comes from those sources, and what the written terms are. Find out whether any of them could end or change when the ownership changes.

See how slow months are carried

Trucks, insurance, yard costs and drivers do not stop in a quiet month. Ask whether crews are cut back, put on other work or kept on the payroll, and how the company paid its bills in its slowest months. Look at the bank balance and any line of credit over the same period, and ask how you would be expected to manage cash.

• Monthly calls by type for several years.
• Contract and rotation work shown apart from walk-in work.
• Driver hours and overtime in busy and slow months.
• Storage and impound activity through the year.