Do loadboards all have brokers posting the loads

I was wondering if all of the popular loadboard sites get loads from brokers? Would it make sense and would it be possible for a "loadboard" site to "be" the "broker" - get loads directly from companies that hold the loads?! I'm new to this business, that's why I'm asking. Is someone already doing it like that?

 

Yes. I personally haven't ran into the problem, but a few brokers in the office have. They found a customer who they could ship for, got their loads and struggled booking the load with the carriers we had in mind. They turned to DAT, posted their customer's load and their customer called within 10 minutes saying not to worry about shipping their freight if all they are going to do is "post their load". Turns out the transportation manager was keeping a close eye on the board and saw the load get posted.

To me, the whole point of a broker is to be the middle man between a customer who has freight to move and carriers who have the trucks. They seek out trucks, pay for the freight to get moved and HOPE to turn some sort of profit off of it. Good brokers don't lie about freight they don't have, mislead carriers or customers and can be trusted by both parties to satisfy their needs.

 

Hammondt has already thought of this and is way ahead of you in R and D......

 

Definitely true. As a carrier, cutting through the riffraff on a load board is most of the work. I don't know how many double/triple/quadruple booked loads I've come across where I just keep calling until I find the one that has the highest rate and know it's probably their load to begin with. (A certain three-letter broker tends to post loads from a big owner-op based carrier all the time. They post it for a little less than the carrier will post it for, but use other cities nearby so they don't look like copies. You call, and then they'll have to see if that rate will work by calling the carrier. Then letting you know). I learned a while ago, once you know the cities, find out if the load is on the board by a carrier, and if it is, just hang up and call them. You'll get a better rate and be discussing it with the person who holds the load, and not a middleman skimming more off the top.

 

It has been tried and really hasn't worked. Main thing is that some seem to think that the job of finding the carrier, making sure they are compliant, negotiating the rate, confirmations, check calls, paying invoicing, dealing with claims, etc. all can be accomplished for free by the shipper. Or that non of that is worth what the broker makes.

 

It's all a sign of the times Bill. It's the tech generation walking around like zombies, gazes fixed on their text msgs, thumbs frantically stroking the keyboard.....

Every now and then they tear themselves away from their virtual world just long enough to notice something that hasn't been automated and think, "Eureka, I have found it, this will be my Facebook moment, I will automate this thing and streamline the process, forever changing how shippers move freight..."

lol....

 

Epic........

 

True. But a long time ago, that cost was absorbed into the shipper's overall expenses. Not offloaded onto the one moving the freight.

 

Yep,it's called CH Robinson. There are others,just not as good at it.

 

I have read your posts on the subject with interest and I know where you are coming from. Can ya say 'old school' ? But, don't be toooo surprised when it happens. Everything progresses and technology has taken over. I remember the days of spending half an hour on the phone with pen and paper writing down all the information for eight or nine picks of produce. Not much fun, now totally forgotten and unheard of by more modern produce haulers.