Originally Posted by ctt0002

I've been a member of transcore 360 for about a year now. Just in the past month, loads have been very slim lately. Has anybody experience this? I'm not sure because of my mc # (credit score) or what that has been showing less loads or because loads this time of the year is slim? I'm thinking about switching to a different load board but not sure. Any advice would be great.

This time of year can be sketchy for some areas. It depends on what you haul and where you run. I know that when produce is moving in the southeastern US, dry freight sits because it doesn't pay enough. Then when the produce is done, guys are pulling down their pants for a dry load. It's up and down. Get yourself set up with NLM Logistics and Landstar. NLM will keep you busy and you'll have plenty to bid on. Hope that helps.

Originally Posted by cpape

I own a small trucking company with about 50 trucks. We have 4 "dispatchers" that require use of load boards. We used DAT for the last 20 years. We recently dropped them based on their total cost of 4 licenses. We found that ITS has the same loads (for the most part) as DAT. DAT may have a few more or better loads, but when you factor in the chance of one of these loads matching your needs, it just wasn't worth the extra money for us. That being said less than 15% of our business is with brokers.

My flatbed backhaul guru came up with an interesting tactic. She will call on a load and find out the commodity. She then uses McRae's Blue book to look for businesses making that product in the given town. Then she calls and asks for the shipping department. She has had better results than I would have expected. The odds are a little more in our favor as we are an open deck carrier (capacity is tighter), we have 50 trucks instead of 1, and we have been in business for 55+ years. In 2009, no one would have talked to her, but open deck trucks are in higher demand these days. I still think this is a good tactic for one horse operators.

Keep in mind that the customers interested in working with a small companies will usually be smaller shippers with low volumes that are looking for a good price. This may or may not be better than going through a broker. Larger carriers/brokers often negotiate good rates based on moving a certain number of loads per day. They may be able to pay you more than you would get from the same shipper. Stick to your guns when negotiating & know the market. It is also important to know your negotiating position...how bad do you need the load?

Be careful with the amount of credit you extend someone. You are much better off to have CHR owe you money than a lot of small shippers. That $7300 load isn't that great if you don't get paid...in fact, the fuel bill from that cross country trip would probably be close to putting you out of business if you don't get paid. Don't extend too much credit to anyone. In your case that would probably be one load.

Be careful with your paperwork. Brokers & shippers will try to stick you if paperwork isn't perfect. That guy on the dock who tells you the minor damage is no big deal is not a decision maker. If you trust him, you might have bought a pallet of widgets when you get to the other end and they note the damage. The BOL is a contract...use it to CYA. Make sure you driver is not signing for a count unless he can verify it. If he signs for 21 plts and there are only 20 when you get there you are paying for the phantom pallet.

Document everything. Save emails. I end disputes every day by sending a customer or broker an email of a previous discussion. I get more than 1000 emails a day, but I don't permanently delete any for at least 2 months. You would be surprise how often I am served by being abl
e to produce the actual conversation. Also, don't do business over the phone. If you agree to a rate, get it on paper or in an email.

Develop your network, whether brokers or shippers. That is really how you will get the good loads. Especially when capacity is tight, people want to work on someone they can rely upon.

If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message. I would love to see more small operators succeed.

Thanx very very informative.