Brokers

Had a broker wanting me to haul a "backhaul" for less then nothing. told them that I would make more money coming back empty. he argued with me trying to enlighten me as to how my truck gets better fuel mileage loaded then empty. I told him I would haul the next load for free if he got back to me with proof that this was true.....still have not heard from him

 

Sadly enough, most of the brokers nowadays are coming either out of "logistics school", or changing careers that had nothing to do with trucking in the first place. My favorite kind of broker is the one that spent the past 35 years pounding himself up and down the road like me and found an exit out of the truck for health reasons, etc. He's the guy you want setting your loads up for you...for the most part that is, as long as he has integrity.

 

Old school truckers make the best old school brokers

 

I can't add anything to that...................

 

I am amazed by some of my customers. I am a truck driver who got out for family health issues and dispatched for a while and am now brokering from home. I look at the load lists my customers want me to move and a lot are asking for less than $1 a mile. I politely tell them no, and only post the loads the driver will make something on,

I am amazed that the next day the loads are off the list. I am not sure why someone would drive 1000 miles at 88cpm, but I am just a paper pusher I guess.

 

A lot of drivers here don't understand, that broker is not always the bad guy. Shippers want to move the freight for cheap too. I actually had brokers apologizing to me after I declined their offer, saying that shipper is willing to seat on the load for days, but won't bump the price

 

I have a customer like that. They will send out a load at 75cpm then add $50/day until it moves.

 

Are you guys really that seriously uninformed? Here is how it works, the brokers call customers and get their loads when possible..There are usually multiple brokers on the same loads as well. Customers tend to do that..We do NOT, I repeat DO NOT have our customers Black Amex cards in our back pocket. Our customers QUITE OFTEN set the rates. What is called a bad customer (which companies that employ college kids like TQL ,Coyote and Landstar etc), is a customer that puts ten brokers on a load at a SUPER LOW RATE, and by the law of averages, one broker will find ONE truck that is hungry to take that load at the price..Good brokers are not sitting on loads waiting to make a $1000 margin from some hungry hauler.. No, we NEED TO GET the load booked to appease our customers or before another broker does. The reason you see multiple big brokerages, such as the ones listed above, with low paying freight is because they hire college kids who can't find good customers and only GET OFFERED low paying loads from LOW PAYING CUSTOMERS. Do brokers set the rates? Yes, of course we have a hand in manipulating the market, but it is a double edged sword. If the carriers do not accept our low rates, then they go up because the load needs to move at the end of the day..If we find a truck to take the load at said low rate, then that IS THE RATE of the day.. It's crazy how many trucks I get a day calling asking for 500 or more on top of advertised rate. I understand the art of negotiating, start low, finish higher but not everyone in this industry does. I tell those trucks that I KNOW my customers rate and WHAT HE ( NOT ME THE BROKER) is looking to find.. Where he needs to be at on rate.

 

Tim77,PSUMoose and Dune-T.

I have an even better question,

I assume all 3 of you are brokers, my question is,

Why are you letting your customers DICTATE rates? Are you scared to lose them? Its ok to tell the truth,
Are you scared they'll move on to another broker?

Do you think they'll tell you."Forget it,I'll put it on my own truck" even though they don't have trucks?
Are you scared they'll use the 'local' cartage co or linehaul carrier in the neighborhood?

Rates are DICTATED by the power of which party has the motor service. No-one else(The Motor Service is the carrying party aka-carrier)

As a Carrier myself, The reason I DO NOT use 3pl's very often isn't only because of your rates..Its because you guys don't have the strength to put your feet down to ALL of your customers allowing YOU (the broker) and me (the Carrier) to Dictate the rate. No offense Brokers But until you guys do this,I simply cannot haul for you guys

 

I am sorry if you still do not understand. I think that is why a Carrier is a carrier and a broker is a broker.. We both have good enough ideas of how each others daily business day functions, but not a complete inner working knowledge..
To answer your question in a most simple and understanding method, the CUSTOMER PAYS THE CARRIER to move his freight at an AGREED upon price using a BROKER as a MIDDLEMAN. Some customers (####ty ones) set their prices in stone. For example, they move from A to B once a week for the past 30 years. They KNOW the price they are willing to pay based on their past experience..They WILL fluctuate according to holidays, fuel rates and truck demand. A GOOD customer with a good broker/shipper relationship will give the broker room to wiggle. In other words, find me a rate from Cali to NY market. Broker comes back with a rate and fingers crossed the GOOD shipper goes for it. This is usually in the favor of everyone involved but the shipper. Other words, the driver and broker makes some decent money. There are good customers and bad customers. Thats why you see GOOD Rates for a lane and BAD rates for a lane. Depends who the customer is and how much of a cheap client he is..

Are you scared they'll move on to another broker?
I would prefer they didn't. Simple business 101, keep customers.. But, since you are saying they would not give me a higher rate and then use another broker to find the cheap rate they want..Then, SOME BROKER is finding SOME TRUCK to take it for cheap, which is exactly what I ORIGINALLY explained in first post. There is always a truck out there, well usually, to haul a cheap load for a cheap customer..


Do you think they'll tell you."Forget it,I'll put it on my own truck" even though they don't have trucks?

Why on earth would my customer bluff to his own broker only to call him back later looking for same truck at higher rate..

Are you scared they'll use the 'local' cartage co or linehaul carrier in the neighborhood?

It happens, they use their locals on occasions. I just do my job and call another customer..

Rates are DICTATED by the power of which party has the motor service. No-one else(The Motor Service is the carrying party aka-carrier)


This is true to a certain extent. Again, logically, if you guys SAID NO as one big trucking union to low rates, then the rates would go up. But as stated now three times, THERE are trucks that go for lower rates.Hungry drivers that want to get back home. Don't like it? Get ALL your trucker buddies together and go Gotti on the low rate carriers... I dont know what to tell you..

As a Carrier myself, The reason I DO NOT use 3pl's very often isn't only because of your rates..Its because you guys don't have the strength to put your feet down to ALL of your customers allowing YOU (the broker) and me (the Carrier) to Dictate the rate. No offense Brokers But until you guys do this,I simply cannot haul for you guys

No offense taken, my carriers are my business friends and I sometimes take a loss to make them happy and sometimes they move my freight cheap when I am stuck with a load. Makes the little world keep spinning. To answer this questions, it's the same answer to why the TRUCKS don't ALL come together and put their feet down and only move freight at a certain rate. It WOULD require EVERY SINGLE person in the industry to price fix..
A plain agreement among competitors to fix prices is almost always illegal, whether prices are fixed at a minimum, maximum, or within some range.

I understand there are shotty brokers, many of them, and there are also just hands down terrible drivers... Best thing you can do is accept that this is part of the transportation industry and make sure you take notes to weed out the bad brokers , similar to what we do to weed out bad carriers.