Why Do You Guys Hate Brokers?

In my experience when a shipper finds out what the truck is making they are surprised because they are paying ALLOT more. Now this doesn't happen often. isn't a lot of opertuninty to compare notes with the shipper but it has happened and that's my experience.
Mainly it comes down to lack of transparency. We have no way to know in most cases so the natural tendancy is to conclude the brokers are taking too much.
Also it may not be the case that the broker is taking an unrealistic percentage but that load me being brokered through multiple brokers and each one is taking a cut. Look at the boards, you will find the same loads listed at different rates.

 

lol ...so true, dont be a victim to a double brokering if you do use load boards...load boards are like filters in my opinion ..u search for the best if you find it? its yours...but if its posted couple times Beware! myself i like to work with smaller companies or even smaller brokers who have good strong accounts who i know in person and i know they not raping me! bigger broker companies will take bigger cut ofcourse and you will see their loads on the board like crazy...and ofcourse theres the ugly ones who will pay the rate that you want..but then 30days come and they out of business..DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

 

the brokerage system is corrupted beyond comprehension, while there are some good brokers the majority are playing the system to extract the most they can and get the people with the risk and investment to do it for scraps hoping that times will improve, they are bouncing loads around from broker to broker and board to board each taking a slice off of it until there is just barely enough to cover the cost of running it.

the customers are complaining about the high costs of shipping and the o/os are complaining about the low rates and you got a bunch of brokers laughing at all of us as they push a whee barrel of cast to the bank every day

 

What do you expect? we are running $.60 to $.80 per mile just for fuel.

You can't just ask what is a good rate because there are too many variables. If there is no freight coming out of the area you want me to go to then I'm not going to pull it unless you pay me enough to get to another load. The rate is going to vary depending on region and trailer type because a good area for a reefer doesn't mean it's a good area for flats. You'r supposed to be the freight profesional you should know where the freight is and isn't. If we go to an area without checking the outbounds then it's on us and we'll be out of business. If you can't learn your business you should be out of business too. No offense it just hard business facts.
If the shippers don't want to pay then thee freight can sit on the docks. they will pay eventually. The bottom feeder trucking companies who will take a load for a buck a mile are drying up becuase they are all going broke. that's why you are seeing rates start to come up.

 

Not all brokers are bad. It's just one of those thing ya know where a few ruin it for the rest.

 

it more like the majority spoiling it for the few honest ones

 

Figures on what a good rate is relies on a lot of factors.

The least of which, is fuel. Everyone is aware of fuel cost. And can compensate accordingly.

Other things:

How far will he have to deadhead to get your load, then the next load?
What does the load weigh?
What are the weather conditions, here to there?
What is the terrain? Flat or mountians?
Are there tolls?
Amount of truck payment.
Amount of Insurance cost.
How much per mile, does the driver alot for a general repair fund?
Amount a driver pays himself, per mile.
Can he get a load in the area he will unload at?
How slow is freight in that area?
Will it take more than 10 hours to find another load?

This is not a complete list by any means. And, many brokers could care less about this list. But you can see how a Owner Ops cost can add up quickly.

Like any good business man, an O/O must plan for everything if he is to survive.

Taking 5% off the top, can mean the differance between losing everything, and paying the bills on time.

The average US small business feels lucky to make a 7% profit. Yet Owner Ops are made to feel like they are raping someone if they ask for an additional 50 cents to offset a dollar increase in fuel cost.

And the MAIN reason for poor freight rates, companies and individuals willing to take a loss on a load. Just to make a dollar on the other end. Even thoug it cost them 2 to get there.