Picking my own freight baby! My journey to & of being on Schneider choice, the Adventure & Numbers!

These brokers are just as bad if not worse shippers/receivers screwing trucks over.
Funny part is a huge reason rates and capacity is the way it is now is in part of them taking advantage of us.
By holding up trucks they are holding up trucks available to move product which means now you are going to have to pay triple, quadruple if not more to get an available truck.

They could kind of get away with it during the paper log days but times have changed and now they are paying the price.



Here my fabulous broker adventure story of the day.
My truck is low on hours and bad weather is coming, so my opinions of what can be pulled off was limited.
Saw a load posted 30 miles away from my truck, load went 240 miles.
It was posted for $1800.
I called the broker, load is ready NOW and can load immediately.... but it doesn't deliver till 6pm next day (over 24 hours later).
Nope not interested, if you can move that appointment to the morning I'll do it otherwise no.
Broker says hold on I'll call the customer on the other line and see what we can do.
Brokers says the shipper said no can do on the appointment but the shipper is willing to pay more and the offer for you is $2400 if you'd do it for that to help make up for it.
I asked the broker if they had any issue if my truck showed up at 3-4pm to roll to dice to see if I can get unloaded earlier.
Broker checked with his supervisor and got the all clear, "you can show up earlier no problem but the appointment can't be changed, offer is $2400."
I agreed, said send over the rate con quickly I want to get my truck moving being it's low on hours.
"Will do, will have it to you in 30 seconds. Thank you for helping us out"

Maybe two minutes later I get an email from the broker saying "my supervisor informed me to hold out on this load, we are losing too much money on it.. do not dispatch your truck" and then threw in at the end "thank you for understanding".

I replied saying, how are you losing money? You went to your customer and they came up with more money to OFFER to the available truck on the other line. You, your supervisor and shipper were all on the same terms when you made that offer to me.
I see how it is, good luck.

In other words.. the broker contacts the customer with my truck available to see what they can do, no can do on the appointment instead they offer a good amount more money to book the truck.
So instead of the broker closing the deal they decided you know what being there's extra time on this load let's roll the dice and try to get a cheaper truck and keep more for ourselves RISKING the load not getting covered.

Load to truck ratio at all time highs and they still want to play these games.
While in one aspect I'm pissed, the other bring it on baby! Keep trying to screw trucks and it'll mean more loads sitting and higher and higher rates needed to get it moved! You'll all pay the price in the end!

 

I post my truck saying MIDWEST ONLY!
Of course I get my time wasted loads going elsewhere.

Got 3 emails in 5 minutes 3 different brokers offering me the same load to Florida. SMH
Got offer $6800 from MO to FL.
Nope, no thank you.

Another guy calls me when I don't even have my number posted , TQL.
My truck is in Kansas City and he calls me offering me a load 200 miles away in Arkansas going 520 or so miles to Alabama.

I said nope no way.
Come on give me a rate. Okay $4000.
Ahhhhh oh that's too much.

I said really? Last week I left here in KC to Chicago for $4000. Few days ago did a TQL load did a 440 miles load from KC to IL for $3000, less miles and whole lot better market than Alabama on a weekend.

Cant you come down?????
Nope, you know what I won't do it for $4000 anymore either. I see $4200 to MI and $5000 to CO on the board now.
My rate to do your load is now $5000.

Needless to say he was not happy.
That's what they get and deserve it for wasting my time. Don't offer me peanuts when there's loads on the board paying a lot and I'm only one of two trucks on the board with 1000+ loads posted around me.

Crazy times, a lot of reefer loads sitting.
Can't imagine what's going to happen in spring, produce season etc, it'll be absolute madness.

 

It's just not Reefer, Van is at all time record highs also.

Biggest challenge in the industry is not megas, brokers, shippers it is all the endlessly drivers working for peanuts not knowing what they're worth.
If these cheaper carriers and cheap freight had all their crap sit they would be forced to pay more which helps us all out in the end. The guys hauling for .90 a mile I want to be hauling for $5 a mile! My competition is all the drivers working cheap and hauling cheap freight, I can't demand more on a lane when drivers will do it for less.

 

This ain't bragging. Ain't nothing special going on here, all these loads are out there for anybody else to grab.

This is mainly education so others can learn how badly they're getting ripped off.
If I knew what I knew now no way would I have stayed at Schneider as long as I did.

Frankly I hope all drivers do well, we deserve it. Ain't nobody should be driving for .90 a mile getting everybody else rich while putting themselves in the poor house.

 

Yup that's TQL, they are famous for calling when you post email. Also to offer you a load somewhere else you don't want to go to.