What should i ask for these loads

I guess Henry Gerkins, or whatever his name is, has to pay for a huge mansion somehow. I was dreading leasing on with Landstar. I knew it might take 6 months to a year or more to establish contacts with good agents. I'm so glad I didn't go there..

 

A lot of misconceptions about LS here. I am leased to them, and gave up my authority back in '09 after I lost my direct hauls out of FL when the company was bought out. LS takes 27% with your own trailer, 35% with theirs, unless you are platform and you have the option to lease one of their trailers for 150/170 flat/step per week (flat rate, nothing else, and they pay for everything when it comes to that trailer) and you then get the 73%.

LS does take a cut out of stop and layover pay, but nothing else. Tarp, fuel, detention are all paid at 100%. I'm by far happier here than under my own authority, and when you factor all costs of authority including insurance, quarterly filings, factoring or chasing money if you don't, you aren't making any more with one truck unless you have direct shippers you haul for constantly or a broker trapped in the 70's and 80's taking less than 10%. Let's face it, most brokers are getting 15-20% off the top these days, add in quick pay or 1.5-5% of the load, plus all the other stuff involved, it's easy to see you can do better leased on, not to mention not having to make all the pointless phone calls only to find out the rate is lower than you'll accept. It's all right there on the LS board, money and everything. Plus when that load is paying 6.00 a mile to move, a typical broker will post it at $3 to move it quick and make big money. It doesn't work that way here.

Does LS have some problems? Of course it does. I'm not saying it's perfect by any means, but after having done everything running 3 three trucks and a leased O/O, LS is a vacation. This is not the company for unmotivated jerks, but then again neither is having your own authority.

 

How much do you think they cut off the top of brokered loads?
The agents are free to take as much as they want, usally 20 to 30%
If you figure the way they pay the FSC to their lease operators they get about 80% of the total freight bill. Plus they get a chance to haul loads that are never posted, only about half of LS loads go to the broker board.

 

Rumors, they give 100% of detention and tarp to the truck

 

When you go out own your own authority do you instantly have contacts, and good brokers only, or is there some learning to do? Everyone wants to start at the top, but most have to work their way up.

 

Unless things have changed since I worked for them in 2008, it's not a rumor. I pulled a company van and they took their 35% out of my layover and detention pay. I did several loads that they took it out of. Maybe your agents put it in some other way??? Only way I was able to even get 100% of a toll charge was the agent had to add it to the FSC.

Now I'm not bashing them, in fact I like LS and have thought about going back and renting a SD from them too. I can ask the recruiter I guess.

 

Layover and detention are two different things. Detention is paid 100% layover is not. Some agents don't know how to enter things right in to order entry.

 

Sure, why can't he get those kind of rates, I do too ?

Most of my loads have been in the $3.50 a mile range with several above that. In fact I'm loading one Monday that is paying $2300 on 500 miles = 4.60

Shippers are paying this kind of money.
The problem is people don't realize it. brokers know this and are skinning 25% off the top or more after they get it from freight forwarders or 3PL.

 

11 yrs here at LS and the one thing you forgot to mention is, that you always get your money unlike when you pull for a brokerage where you might wait 2 months to get your money.

Van Freight is cheap, always will be. Flatbed/step is reflective to the seasons & economy and heavy haul... Its there but those guys are having it bad the past couple yrs.

The bottom line is, Know your cost. Realize that you are not in business work at cost, despite what a lot of people like to think. A 1 truck operation cannot and will never be able to compete with the likes of these mega carriers. The only advantage a person has is to provide personal "SERVICE" and make the customer glad they used you... its our job.

 

Personal service, now I like those two words together.