Eagle Logistics Services. Indianapolis, IN

I just want to say first, I didn't or don't want anyone to feel that I was singling nor one person on here. I was just trying to get people in both fields to understand and be open about the pro's and con's of why things happen the way things happen the way it does in the business. If we would just take the time to learn what each other does and why they do it, it would maybe make the business for both much better.

Their is a lot of new operators in this form who is looking for help, knowledge, understanding and resources
If info is shared like this, it will strengthen everyone and make them more comfortable in doing business with the few good brokers out there and brokers willing to work with the good drivers that are willing to work.

Relationships in business is always one of the keys to success in any business. Respect is earn and understanding is what is needed from both the Operator and the Broker.

 

Heavy, thanks for the update. I too was trying to be very clear and not take sides. Loads work both ways. Understanding what brokers do as well as drivers is very important. But, one thing we need to be clear on, when a driver falls off a load it's bad for them as well as he Agent/Broker. I completely understand the importance of drivers since my spouse is one and we own a fleet. If I am clear on the broker side then drivers will have less problems in the future trying to obtain loads. I don't know how many times I wanted to pull one of our trucks off a load and put it on mine as it paid more. But, that's not the way to do business. Once you take a load, own it. That goes for brokers as well as drivers. I will forever be grateful to the drivers that haul my loads and do a great job. Make no mistake, I understand if it wasn't for the driver I wouldn't have a job. I am always looking for good hardworking drivers. I do the best I can by my drivers, not just our fleet, but, all drivers that haul on a regular basis for me. Every driver that hauls a load for me (good and bad) I input their information into my computer so I know them by name when they call. It also tells me how good of a job they did. My drivers are the most important part of my business. No, not all brokers feel that way. I know, my guys haul for other agents when I don't have a load in certain area's. I've heard horror stories on how they are treated. I've heard first hand how a customer can treat a driver. Many times the customer has no idea that I am on the phone when the driver pulls in, and I have heard terrible remarks made to my drivers. That's when I call my customer (typically the boss of the person who is checking my driver in) to let them know it's not acceptable. Heavy, I do know both sides...a drivers life is very hard, and I do get it. However, I want to be clear when it comes to accepting loads, it's not a game. You own it when you accept it. I despise cheap freight, it actually annoys me. But with all customers you have to take their good and bad lanes if you want the account. Unless you get lucky and get to bid on just certain lanes. Which is my preference.

 

Excellent discussion from two experienced operators in their field,thank u both for your well worded points helps to bring a greater degree of understanding to those of us just learning brokered freight.....appreciate it

 

Not sure. I'm not terribly familiar with what IT is doing. The sooner the better though.

The best thing to do in the short term is to ask your OM to send you a copy of the internal load list (it's sent out each day). It's getting pretty long now

 

So when you do create a load board, will your drivers be limited to just your load board? Or will they have the opportunity to still uze, DAT, ITS and other boards? Your current load list is predominately brokered loads already. So, will.your drivers get the load after your DM/OM. Gets their cut? If they are able to go direct they can get a better rate.

 

No

Yes.

I'm not sure what you mean here. Some of our customer stuff comes from brokers, but the majority are lanes that have been brokered by our CSRs, no one else is getting a cut besides Eagle and our drivers.

Any load an Eagle driver carries would be subject to the normal 75/25 split.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by the bolded. Our customer freight is different than broker freight. Most of those are brokered by Eagle in dealing with the shipper itself. There is nothing coming from any broker. There were, initially, some lanes that CSR's got from brokers, but those have been phased out in favor of deals made directly with the shippers.

As for the %, there is no change. Our OMs book all the broker loads (unless the driver books his/her own) and the driver gets 75% of the flat rate.

On customer loads, the CSRs work directly with the shippers to ensure a better rate. The CSRs are salaried employees that don't get any extra cut of the rate.

For a more linear example:
Joe Schmo's Warehouse wants to ship something 1000 miles and is willing to pay $2000

A broker can buy that lane for $2000, broker it to Eagle (or an Eagle driver) for $1750, and the driver gets 75% of that $1750 ($1312.50)

On the other hand, if Eagle tries to get that load directly, one of our CSRs will contact Joe Schmo and work out a contract for his shipments. No broker takes a cut so the driver gets 75% of all $2000 ($1500).

The goal is to be running almost all customer freight by the end of the year because it pays better and there are fewer chances for miscommunication than there are dealing with broker freight. We'll use brokered freight to get people to our customer lanes and then let them take that.

Of course, if a driver wants to continue using broker freight, he or she is more than welcome to. We aren't forced dispatch, so it's their choice.

 

Another example, any load I post on my board I have to post 100% of the amount of the load. As a broker we get a percentage of the line haul. It's all about transparency.

 

Ok, I see what you're getting at. No, there's no additional cut taken out of any lanes that are obtained by Eagle. Our 25% is larger because of the lack of a broker's cut, so that's our incentive. That, and the fact that it's easier.