Brokers. What problems do you run into with carriers?

please explain how you you thought you knew

 

When I was driving I had shippers I dealt with directly and knew what they were paying me. Just because they would pay me $3.00 a mile dosen't mean they will pay another truck or broker $3.00. It all comes down to the negotiating. If I can get $3.00 out of them good form me. If a broker can only get $2.00 out of them that's on them.

 

True carrier will probably be on here saying I screwed him over anyway because I deducted his pay.

 

Bottom line... brokers are a pox on this industry and are only around because carriers have gotten lazy. Do your homework secure your own loads you will be much happier.

 

indspirit, what areas do you mainly deal with? It sound like you have some dedicated accounts.

 

BS. Brokers serve many useful purposes.

 

Yeah, like I said, I'm just starting out, I certainly don't want to be a pox. That being said, from what I've heard here, our biggest problem is a carrier who doesn't communicate in any form, hard to keep track.

 

That would be most carriers out here. Expect to get paid top dollar on everything but can't take care of business. Turn the phone off because they're a sleeping beauty. Might as well give your customer the middle finger. Not difficult to stand above the crowd working spot. I'll take a solid rate I can haggle out of a broker covering dozens of loads a week for a customer and getting good money to do it over wasting my time trying to get in direct as a one truck operation and hauling it for cheap.

With a van that's exactly how it works. Anyone direct that's ever asked me for a quote has laughed off the outrageousness of me thinking what my time and equipment are worth. So no thanks they can keep it. I'll be glad to name my price later when some broker is getting paid to find the trucks, glad to help here's my price. Now if you're out here getting constantly taken advantage of on the spot because you can't haggle or don't know when you can or can't I can see where the stability of a guaranteed rate, albeit lower, would be appealing.

 

Ive been brokering produce freight for the last 3 years....#1 problem I have is always communication. However, recently weve started using a service that charges money to "ping" a driver's cell phone a couple times a day for location until driver delivers. This has been a lifesaver bc when we say something like after you load as long as your phone is on we WILL NOT CALL YOU, we really wont and that is AWESOME! I hate bugging drivers, I know you guys have a TOUGH job. Maybe im one of the few brokers that will admit that your job is diffcult and most brokers dont give you enough credit. HOWEVER there are rotten apples out there,brokers and drivers. I have dealt with both, and I will admit (since we operate a couple of our own trucks as well) a rotten broker will piss me off 10 times more than a rotten carrier.

 

My biggest problem is contacting a carrier who has a truck in the area I am looking in and they don't want to call the driver to see if he is interested in the load. I realize that drivers want to do long hauls. The load pays more per mile but the carrier will not call the owner wants the load. It might be nice for a driver to do a shorter run and get paid more every now and then. Many of the carriers that post on load boards for drivers that they have in an area will not consider anything less than a long haul. For example, I had a load paying 2.18/ mile for 370 miles. A truck was posted wanting a minimum of 1.85/ mile. The load was refused because the load wasn't longer on miles.

I do not know of one broker who makes 30-50% of a haul. I am not saying that they don't exist, I just don't know any. I count my lucky stars to get 15% but I usually get 10%. I don't lie to my drivers because I want them to cover my work and be reliable. I know that is not true of all but that is just people in general. I have built up a work relationship with drivers through the years and that has been a big blessing.

Almost everything that is said about brokers, can also be said of motor carriers and drivers. It is all about people. If you are trustworthy and honest you will be successful.

I just wish there was a way to speak directly with drivers and not the motor carriers that represent them on load boards. Because, I don't know if drivers are not interested in half the loads that the carriers say they don't want.