Finding a broker to work with.

Just start running off the load boards. Know your costs and have an idea of what lanes should pay. You'll eventually find some decent ones. There are good brokers out there that don't have to post their loads on any load board, they have carriers in their pocket. Typically it is tough for a new, small carrier to start up with direct customers. Often they cannot commit enough capacity for the shipper and as a result often run off loadboards until the get more established. Besides just making a blanket statement of "not doing business with a high #MC", investigate further. Is this broker part of an established motor carrier that just opened up a brokerage? How long has that carrier been in business? There are some brokers with very low MC#s that don't pay their bills fast so always be vigilant.
Once you find a good broker treat them with the same respect and proffesionalism you'd expect to be treated with. They are actually your ad-hoc salesforce. Many people ask why we have brokers to begin with. Simply answer is there are too many carriers to contend with. According to the ATA there are near 500k authorized MCs (Common, contract, and private) out there with the majority of fleets being small. The big boys don't collectively comprise more than 10% market share (maybe even less). Don't believe their figures, go to a truck stop at night and look at all the different names. Anyways, how does a shipper pick the best truck for the job? Who is available, at what price, etc. It's just too much work for the small to medium shipper. Therefore they hand that work off to the broker (travel agent) and concentrate on what they manufacture or do.
The cheap, crappy brokers will be gone once the trucking capacity tightens up. He who has the trucks in their pocket in the in wins. Most brokers got it wrong and worry about taking care of their shipper client and treat the carriers like they are a dime a dozen. Truth is you can always find another shipper. People will always be making and selling things. Once you (a broker) soil your name by cheap, slow pay, controlling drivers, etc. you will find it is going to be very difficult to easily move your freight unless you go out and buy your own trucks.
Enough ranting

 

I'm new to the site but my question is, What is wrong with working with the shippers directly? Rates have to be better.

 

Welcome McCabe!
There's absolutely nothing wrong with working directly with the shipper. In fact, it's the preferred way to do business.

 

Yes, a bad broker can ruin their reputation very quickly. As we have seen on this board there are a lot of them and finding the good ones is not always as easy task. Once you do find a good broker you should treat them well and make you always do a good job for them because the last thing you want to be doing is going back to the old days of delayed pay and inconsistent work.

 

Most shippers dont want to work with 100 or so individual O/O when they can do the same thing working with 1 broker. There are some small shipper that will but most large ones wont

 

Total Quality Logisitcs

 

Steer Clear and as far away as you can from TQL here's why............

They are a horrible, crooked and dishonest company to do business with. Here is my story: Had a driver accept a load on 3/28/16 Load #6761425 from Valdosta Ga to Southaven MS to deliver on 3/29/16. Rate conformation had nothing on it about driver load count. Driver went into count load and they told him he had to wait in the truck. Loaded the truck and the guy sealed the trailer. When the truck arrived in Southaven MS they guard even wrote "Seal Intact" on the bills. The load was short 75 pieces. The driver notified the broker. Then on 9/21/16 TQL claims coordinator sent us an email stating we would have to pay for the shortages. Contacted the Cargo Insurance and they investigated and also stated that they found no fault to carrier since driver was told to wait in the truck, so they refused the claim and said that it had to be shipper or receiver load count error. On 11/23/16 TQL pulled $2,355 from my account for the shortages on the load. That is wrong without even sending us a letter or offering to contact us to let us know. They are a bunch of crooks, and liars. I hope every trucking company reads this and realizes what they are facing when they book a load with TQL. CROOKED, LIARS, that want to force trucking companies out of business to boost their own profit margins. May have these stickers made up and maybe owner ops will put them on their trailer and TQL will get the message that truckers are sick of their B.S.

 

You realize you just dredged up an 8 year old post that someone mentioned TQL in the last comment 5 years ago?

You really don't have to spam about your issues with TQL in every post on the forum. Everyone who comes in this o/o section of the forum probably saw, or will see, what you posted in the broker secton the first time. I feel your pain. There's not many people in here who do like TQL and there are lots of us who could tell a few horror stories. Yes they suck and anyone that works with them is risking getting their ### burned. So don't work with them and block their phone number. Problem solved.

 

That is a fact we will never ever pull another TQL load under my DOT number for anything.

 

Look here is what happens to them when they call my phone. I've had them blocked for a long time and they call every day sometimes 20 or 30 times. Sometimes one of them will call 2 or 3 times in a row...