Trailer Rent?

I have a bud who was told by LS that Lock**** Mar*** loads he was doing paid on $3/mi. The shipper inadvertently made a comment about how much money he was making and it comes out LM was paying $5/mi to LS and the shipper had a copy of the contract he copied for my bud.

After the lawyer got through with LS my bud got a nice payment and is supposed to not talk about it! Oops I already told too much!

They're snakes in J-ville for sure.

 

I've done several Lockheed Martin loads for LS and they rate always went up till the day i did my pick-up. They are a spot-market bid...... I know of 2 LS drivers who hauled the exact same thing I did, but did their run on Monday at $3.15 mile, where as I picked mine up on Thursday for over $10 a mile. Sucks for them but that is how the market goes with spot bids. I was told by the agenrt that the rate went up because the Wednesday load had not been covered yet so LM kept raising the rate till they got someone to pull it. Which meant that the rate on the next load was at that bid as well

 

I know LS is working very hard to stop the practice of agents having two companies. One is independent of LS and puts all load to its LS agency. Problem LS has is that as long as the customer understand that this is happening it is legal and agents are independent contractors.

I have run into this a couple times where I was transferred to someone else with a different company to book a load. First time I was clueless what was happening and just happy to get my rate. A BCO explained this to me and since I refuse to do business with them.

While it may be legal it is not ethical and simply designed to cheat the LS BCO and LS out of money.

 

I have known a few agents who do this and it isn't right. If they want to have their own company then they need to get their broker authority and start booking loads through their own company rather than skimming off the top on the loads that they book. This is nothing short of double brokering. I hear a lot of owner operators complain about cheap rates, but this is one primary reason. It isn't just Landstar, either. I know of other major carriers who also have their own brokerage and run all loads through their brokerage before going through the carrier. They may take 20% off the top for the brokerage. Then the carrier takes their cut. By the time it gets to the owner operator, half or more of the original rate is gone.

There are some honest Landstar agents. I can't see blaming all of them because a few operate in an unethical manner. If you lease to a carrier and are paid percentage, you are legally entitled to see the rate confirmation or contract with the rate. If the carrier to whom you are leased refuses to show you the rate confirmation or contract then you may want to reconsider your relationship with them.

 

If you're talking about the DFO program it's in full swing and has the support of those down south. Essentially a trucking company has direct freight and any they don't get covered with their trucks, they use their "Landstar Agency" to broker it out. I can't begin to tell you how much this program upsets me.

 

They got rid of several agents year back that had their own broker authority, some of the old agents still have their own.
Patrick and swan do I know for fact, but when i talked with them last year their new agents have to turn in their authority and have at ekast a half mil. in billable customers to start with.

 

you're not talking about alabama carriers and Blm or B something are you?
You have about a dozen agents in birmingham.

 

I don't even know who they all are. We just had a bad experience with one and will never load them again and I personally want to see the DFO program suspended.

 

Not sure what the dfo program is? i just know the brokers here that have their own trucks. I will have to say the landstar rates have been up better for a few monthes.

 

It's a trucking company that brokers all of their excess freight as a Landstar Agent. Not Landstar BCO's but a whole different company all together.