Transparency of Broker's Cut, Does It Exist?

Such protests or manifestations have ZERO leverage on the load-to-truck ratio, and consequently, any direct impact on the rates, but they can find resonance in setting certain standards in terms of transparency, detention, layovers, and hours of service limitations, sanitation conditions at warehouses that keep you stranded for a prolonged time, staging areas or parking availability at such places, etc. I mean you can't protest rates but you can protest cheating on detention.
While some of these things can be talked about for sh#ts and giggles, there are things that can improve overall working conditions.

 

There is a big difference in finding a load that pays $4k and getting somebody to haul it for $1k, and contracting with somebody for 80% of the load and lying about what the load actually pays.

The first scenario is perfectly ethical, if somebody offers a load for X dollars and you agree to that amount, what the broker has in the load has nothing to do with it. I will submit that whatever the broker agrees to with the shipper is a completely different transaction that has nothing to do with the trucker.

The second scenario is down right fraud, no excuse about it. You are promised 80% so transparency is required to make sure you are getting your 80%. The broker hasn’t made such a promise to give you a certain amount of a load, it’s just whatever is negotiated for that particular load. If you can’t see the difference, I don’t know what to tell you.

Best way to make sure the broker doesn’t make too much on loads is to not take cheap loads. If you agree to a low rate on a good paying load, that’s on you.

 

The way a larger brokerage downsizes in a down market gives an interesting clue to their perspective. For example, with what we have ahead now most of the layoffs are in the hr department so that's an indication of pulling back on a growth strategy headcount wise but not preparing for a deep trough. If a firm that has already cut hr staff cuts agents in the future, tighten up

 

Believe it or not there's new customers on the input side of a brokerage who are looking at the situation similar to a new single truck o/o. They have similar issues just from a shipping perspective. Small, new, trying to establish relationships doing tiny numbers...

 

Nobody should say when we can use our curtains unless they have evidence of wrongdoing...