Load Boards

Thanks G for the word of confidence. My husband and I feel the same that with patience and hard work we will get through it.

 

Buddog,
I am only speaking from our own personal experience and I know each person/company is completely different. The shortest version is we went from 1 year of my husband being a company driver on van, to purchasing our own tractor and leasing on to a company hauling their reefer, a year later we purchased our own flatbed and leased on to a company. Another year later we obtained our own authority 3 months ago with my husband hauling and me dispatching. Each step taught us something. Easy, not all the time, but the good things in life are not. I am slowly building relationships through the loadboards. I found them scary and intimidating at first until I learned the game of quoting higher then I truly expect and lets see where we meet. What they say they are willing to pay always increases in the final hours. Learning the brokers I trust and do not. I have a broker list and I note each one and their quirks and good points and who to never ever call again. Currently I am working on building relationships with direct shippers more. We will not haul for less then $1.60 a mile and that is when we are stuck in the deadest of zones. Goal is always $2.00 or more mile when though broker. $3.50 or more (usually more) when dealing with direct shipper. KNOW YOUR NUMBERS> I hear all the time "We move those loads all day at $1.10 a mile" Well nto with me you aren't. I take our yearly expenses including fuel, HUT, IRP, fuel taxes, cell phones, driver pay (he is paid by the mile), all insurances, maintenance, and divide by miles we run. That is our running costs. I will not go below that and of course the goal is to go well above it for profit. As long as you are organized, patient, learn from mistakes, and have a sense of humor then I say go ahead. If you are missing any of these points then think hard before doing so. I have owned/been in business of other sorts for over 20 years and trucking is its own unique beast. There is no taming it, only learning how to make it do what you need to obtain your goals. When asked 4 years ago we said we were happy, and each year since, but something has happened each year to bring us to the next level, and I don't question it any longer. So now when people ask will we add more trucks my reply is "We will see what God has in mind. Its his business we just operate it."

 

Thanks lady farmer the way you put it is right this will be a learning experience and there will be mistakes done and we both have to have patients thanks again on the advice.

 

It is important to not get in too much of a hurry. You can look back at the current expenses and get an idea of what you need to break even. Too many owners take loads cheaper than they should in an effort to keep the wheels turning. My feeling is that if the load doesn't make a profit, it doesn't go on my truck. I don't waste my time on a load which doesn't pay anything. I would rather deadhead or sit for a day to find something that is profitable. I can't stress enough the importance of knowing your actual operating costs. Don't forget to pay yourself. If your husband didn't drive the truck you would need to hire someone to take his place. You should include driver pay when calculating costs. Some forget to pay themselves when running the numbers. Don't be afraid to turn a load down if it doesn't pay enough. I would recommend that you establish a minimum haul rate. I have a minimum haul rate and won't take a load for less, even if it picks up and delivers across the street. It still ties up the truck for hours if not all day for a single load. Like all businesses, time is money.

 

G. Having a minimum is a great idea but what if your in an area you can't out of. Is it really worth sitting or maybe going100 miles dead head for a good paying load. I know that when you have your own authority deadhead miles a re e on you.

 

I won't go below my minimum haul rate. Rather than taking the cheaper rate, I will deadhead out of a bad area. It is important to know the good and bad freight areas and set your rate accordingly. I think that everyone should establish a minimum haul rate. If not, then you could get to the end of the week and not have anything to show for your efforts. It isn't uncommon for me to deadhead out of a bad freight area in order to get a good rate. If you can't make a profit on a load, then why bother? You will need to decide for yourself what you will do in certain situations. You will need to decide for yourself whether you will have a minimum rate and whether you will sit for several days, take a load that is not profitable or deadhead out. I have been doing much more deadheading the last few years due to the general state of the economy. Deadhead miles are on the owner of the truck, whether you run your own authority or lease to a carrier.

 

Sounds like you all are doing a fine job. I would only say, that with a flatbed, you need to aim much higher than $2 mile loaded from brokers. I aim for $3.20-$3.50+ on brokered freight pulling a dry van and get it all the time. Flatbed is more work. Never be afraid to price fairly like that in these days of $4 a gal fuel, you will be surprised how often they give it to you.

 

I don't know how y'all do it but lately as rule of thumb I don't get too serious in the mornings. I may take a glance or two in case something good pops up, but I've found I get my best rates in the afternoon. the one I'm picking up Monday I stuck to $3/mile plus permits, I called three brokers on the same load and TQL even called me ! I realized they were spreading it out to other brokers and getting desperate. I quoted TQL $3.50/mile, and wound up booking it with Mercer. still not exactly sure whose load it really was. the math gets tricky on when to roll and when to wait. I always subtract $1/mile to give me some sense of where I'm at. let me try to explain that.

If you have a 500 mile load paying $1000, I just try to get the $1000 out of my mind, it's not real. just think $500. Or if there is a 1200 mile run paying $2000, I just think $800. this helps me compare loads on the fly a bit easier. I do take calls from brokers while driving too, so I have to have some way of calculating it.

 

G, again I thank you for all your input I see what your saying and makes sense. I will put it to practice when we get there.

 

I tend to sleep until around noon during the week when I'm home, actually about every day lol.. I hammer on the outbound rates. I work my way back to locations that have always been good to me from there, sometimes in one quick step, sometimes two. That's not always necessarily home here lately but never too far away. I keep my good contacts posted as to where I'm at and when I'm available. That gets me a couple of really good ones from practically nothing in the course of a week. Speaking of hammering on outbounds. Yesterday I was watching the race and just happened to see something interesting so I called. You need it to pick tonight? I knew exactly what the freight was - I've hauled it for several different brokers.. What's the rate? $600, uh ok, I'll submit a bid $900 right now, if you cover it fine, if not... So I emailed a couple of hours later and almost instantly my phone rings.. "you're killing me with that rate I can give you $750 and that leaves $50 for us, or my boss will fire me" - "well, I'm sorry I can't swing one going where that one goes for $750 or even $800, my price is $900"... ...so we hang up then about 3 minutes after a conversation with the boss my phone rang again and I had the load. Nothing feels quiet as good as those right there. So here I sit after 184 loaded miles... ...these things go both ways and more often than not I'm the one they're killing with rate offers. I feel no guilt whatsoever, that is the market.. ..timing is everything. You need a truck on Sunday afternoon... ...then you pay MY rate cause that's exactly why I keep my truck open and available all weekend every weekend.. This is why I was telling the lady who dispatches her husband's flat bed to not straight jacket her mind into thinking "$2 a mile for broker freight, then $3+ for direct"... ...brokered freight pays market rates and the market is whatever you make of it.