freight lane/rate resources

Some load boards give you the details. OOIDA's MyMembersEdge will show you the rate sans FSC on a load.

Best site to just search for rates is truckloadrate.com (if I'm allowed to post that). It's a pay service, though.

 

ITS has indices for rates on lanes. You can't put 100% trust in that information but it will give you a general feel. Using it in conjunction with trucks to load ratios, another feature they have, also helps. You have to keep in mind the input on that comes from truckers & brokers plus the fact that some guys running what appears to be "cheap lanes" might be consistently doing so hauling high dollar freight. It all comes down to what can you find out there, what are you willing to haul for, and where are you drawing your lines in the sand. Said it many times and will say it again. An owner with a debt free operation has the luxury to demand top dollar and is under no pressure at all to keep the wheels turning "just so they can make payments". If your equipment is paid for and you're under $2 a mile all miles in you're running very cheap. Even $2 a mile is low.

 

We use ITS and our in-house rating system quite a bit when rating lanes. So far we haven't had any trouble securing freight and getting it moved.

 

Just to show how useless the lanes/rate index might be on any given lane. I did 2 loads this week. 1st one was 494 odometer loaded miles only and paid $4.283 a mile. The 2nd one was 340 odometer loaded miles and paid $5.141 a mile. Both lanes were different. I'd be shocked and amazed if either shows up on ITS above $2 a mile. Next week when I go back to work I'll pull up ITS and see what it says.

It goes back to what I posted earlier really it's all on you to get what you can regardless of what lane/rate indices may say. Like I saw a post on another thread asking about $3 a mile watermelon loads. The USDA posts what the rates are trucks get hauling produce of all kinds. It's dated but a person can go back and look it up adjusting for fluctuating fuel prices and clearly see $3 a mile is at the bottom end of what watermelons pay.

 

SHHHHHHH! I don't even get $3 a mile! But mine are non-exempt and not by the hundred weight

 

Out of NJ with a reefer, rates are low. I've been able to get $3-$4/mi.

After you've ran a load for a broker, ask what other freight they have. What parts of the country they run. Maybe how often the load runs, etc. Plus, if you like their runs, they pay decent (not necessarily great, but decent), they may start cluing you into their 'great loads' they've got. Be on time, communicate, and be dependable.

 

also keep in mind that a lot of this stuff is bull and there just talking, you have dig deeper then just loaded forums. just saying