Shippers don't need brokers?

Sorry they dont or there would not be one broker left .. Please tell me what you hauled worth 12 million dollars on one truck

 

It was the proto type piece to the American space station. I picked it up from Mc Donald Douglas in Huntington Beach ,Ca. Never saw it. As it was classified and was wrapped up in a foil type covering. Hauled to NASA in Houston. The GBL had a price on it at 12 million dollars. And when they were finished hauled it back. Right after that about a year or so.. They came up with the international space station. That was in 1991.

 

Yes they do they hire people to do just that. Whether they are talking to truckers, brokers or large trucking companies. They hire people to be on the phone to get there goods shipped as quickly and as cheaply as possible. The person on the phone doesn't care who he is talking to as long as the company he works for is making the most profit possible.

No they don't. Yes brookers give a shipper an extra out if something should happen but they don't take away total liability from shippers. Ever been down the highway lately? All those billboards of lawyers screaming call me and I will sue the pants of everyone until we both make some money. Is the world we live in now.

True and they shouldn't have to. Advances came around the same time brokers started to get popular. Advances are a tool brookers use to lure people in to take there loads at a cheaper rate. Anyone who takes a load and doesn't have the money to cover it should not be driving.

True as the economy started to go down the drain trucking still survived because goods still needed to get shipped. So every Joe blow that had a few bucks saved or enough credit to buy a truck did so and now they had a way to pay bills. Trucking used to be a lifestyle now it's just a job to many. They don't want to be a trucker they just do it to pay the bills. We used to be the Knights of the road now, sadly, we are just a nuisance. Drivers that didn't want to be there in the first place didn't take pride in their job and more wrecks started happening. More accidents brought on more regulations which made it harder for truckers and shippers. In steps brokers with an idea to make it easier for both. But in reality they just saw an opportunity to make money in a bad situation. I don't blame them is how many companies have started. Yes a lot of the blame goes to the guy in my mirror who got his license from a crackerjack box. Some of it goes to the government who has never understood trucking and some of it goes to brookers who are just out to make a buck out of a bad situation. If you owned your own trucks then you understand me. I've never dealt with you so will not say anything bad about you. Just like in trucking the bad drivers overshadow the good ones, so do the bad brookers. I will continue to do it on my own until regulations make it impossible and I hope im dead before that happens.

 

OK, for all of you that feel the broker does nothing that the shipper can't do and provides no value.

Please answer me this.

If a shipper doesn't use a broker and has not contracted with a carrier to haul any freight - i.e. it is all adhoc. If they ship 20 loads a day, how many people do they need in the office for just managing that freight and finding carriers? Because reading all this it sounds like you think all this happens with current staff.

OK, another question. How are all of you that are getting this direct freight dealing with expense of EDI? Is there a 3rd party site that works as an interface for you? Is that expensive?

What about the hourly updates? On one side I hear how independents don't want tracking but what do you do for updates for the customers that want hourly updates on location. This just doesn't seem workable with my customers. Yeah, we can tell them driver is on his 10 hour but they still want that hourly update saying that. Mostly via EDI but some we have to update a website (and few want to take phone calls or emails).

Danny, you mention that brokers keep bringing up the insurance/compliance aspect. This is because this is on the top of many customers minds and it is being asked of us every day. Every industry has trade associations. And if the customer hasn't had a scare with an accident they are hearing from their associations about how they can't protect themselves from negligence for not knowing that a carrier is a risk or has no insurance. And that they need to hire a carrier with much higher levels of insurance and use 3rd parties to cover extra freight.

 

Wrong, negligence is the biggest factor in large settlements. As long as the shipper did their due diligence in picking a broker they will be able to get themselves removed from any legal action. Now, if the money from insurnace dries up they could get pulled in at that stage. But if the carrier has million in liability and the broker has a couple million in contingent it is very unlikely that it will ever get to the shipper.

 

Well, how much time do they spend dealing with brokers ? They still have to package and arrange shipments, communicate when the trucks will be there, etc... I know brokers like to envision themselves as taking care of shipments, but the fact is you are doing very little in the grand scheme of things. How much time is wasted with a broker, stupid little questions... i.e.- does it require 4' or 8' tarps ? Can it load tomorrow ? or the shipper asking the broker, where is the truck ? will he be here by noon ? And each of these questions is delayed and the potential for micommunication by adding a middleman to the equation. They're going to have people dealing with trucks, I don't care if they hire a large carrier, a broker, several small carriers, O/O's or a combination of.

mostly email for me, sometimes just a phone call. EDI is cheaper than dealing with brokers and more efficient communication all the way around on direct shipments. Starting with the fact I am dealing with someone who actually knows what the load is, which is rare when dealing with brokers

There's a clear advantage to shipment tracking by hiring a carrier directly, why call a broker wondering where a truck is when you can call the truck wondering where a truck is ? I was using an app called Glympse for awhile which allowed real time tracking up to 4 hours, some of my customers thought it was cool, some of them didn't figure it out, it was a bit of a data hog. For most of the stuff I haul email updates are sufficient.

I'm not arguing the importance of insurance/compliance. I'm arguing that hiring a broker somehow guarantees insurance/compliance or provides the shipper with more protections here than hiring a carrier. If I am telling a shipper my insurance/compliance is good to go and a broker is telling a shipper the insurance/compliance of any carrier he sends will be good to go who is more credible ?

 

If they want hourly updates I don't haul the load. I'm a truck driver I get paid by the mile not the hour. So I drive by the mile and run my truck by the mile. Several companies will take a daily update some twice a day. Most I haul for I don't even talk to a person anymore either send in a email or call a number and leave a message. Just so you know I haul produce from CA to Boston and you know produce is time sensitive. If you do your job tracking is not necessary.

 

When the driver has a good rapport with the shipper. The shipper knows that what you say... Is what you will do. The only time that I will contact anybody other than to tell them I will be there the next day, is if I run into some type of trouble. So no phone call is good. You can't get that with brokers. And if my shipper wants to get hold of me.. They have my phone number. I treat my customers right up there close to Jesus himself.. They know that and I get paid well. Any problems they talk to me face to face.. Brokers have never met any shipper face to face. Then try to get hold of a broker after 5 or 6 . At their time zone. So for some body that brokers a load in Tn. You are at least 2 hours ahead of the west coast.. So a trucker can't get hold of anybody after 3:00 or 4:00 pm. So if something happens you can't get hold of the broker until the next day. My shippers know that my phone is 24-7 and I have phone numbers for them if needed after hours. Brokers don't do that.. Just what do they do that a trucker can't? Ohhh I know.. They come off as a trucking company with no trucks , cut the rates so they get the loads and then hope they can find somebody to haul it. And if they can't? Opps shipper is upset.

 

And that about sums it up. A business person would have responded with something along the lines of what does it pay. There is a reason we have drivers making 6 figures clear and not having to run soul sucking miles.

When I say educate yourselves I say that because then you will learn that their is a whole different world of high dollar freight. Business people look to understand all aspects of the business they are in. Employees just do the job they are paid to do.

 

I understand less now on page 11 than I did on page 1.........