Oh they will go out of business, but they will do some damages before they go belly up....that's the sad part of the story.
$1.03 a mile
Discussion in 'Flatbed Trucking Forum' started by 8car, Dec 10, 2015.
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Maybe PSUMoose can chime in here, but I doubt a broker is going to be running $1.03 per mile loads as their bread and butter. They might have customers that will only pay low rates for commodity freight and/or freight originating in dead zones where drivers like me might consider a cheap load to pay fuel as opposed to deadheading back to a high value area.
Their bread and butter will come from select customers that require a high level of service. I'd be willing to wager that broker with the $1.03 load has freight available for well more than double the rate, maybe not in that area.
Also, there's nothing that says you have to accept the freight at that rate. You can, and should, make a counter offer if you have any interest in the load. Make a deal. Sell yourself. -
It usually works. When I started out I was shocked that people were taking the loads for $1.10 or less a mile. Turns out they were doing what I am doing now. But by keeping track of loads you have moved you have a good idea what they are going to move for.
Also no these are not my "bread and butter customers" as we all know this is a cyclical industry and I just use them to help pad the valleys a bit when my regular customers drop off for whatever reason.Lone Ranger 13 and Lepton1 Thank this. -
Some good insight from brokers itt
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I worked with brokers on the other side of the coin for a few decades before getting back into trucking. Depending on the business model, a customer may need to move freight cheaply and can wait until a sucker... uh, desperate driver... is willing to bend over. They are looking for drivers in need of a backhaul. I once negotiated a ridiculous rate from Seattle to Salt Lake City area hauling paper boxes, because the carrier was a reefer outfit hauling frozen beef from Utah to the Seattle area and just needed a reliable backhaul.
Timing is important. A friend of mine runs reefer out of Sioux City. He waits until Friday to book his loads to NYC. Why? Because that's when the shipper gets nervous he can't cover the Monday morning delivery deadline. The same load that paid $2.00/mile on Thursday is suddenly north of $3.00/mile.
Sometimes patience is a virtue. Better to sit and wait for a load. But that's bit me in the butt at times if no good loads appear. Relationships, salesmanship, and luck of timing all come into play.redoctober83 Thanks this. -
Steinbrenner and DUNE-T Thank this.
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PSUMoose Thanks this.
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Sadly drivers and businessmen are often their own worst enemy. Complaining or "taking a stand" rarely works as a form of salesmanship.spyder7723 and PSUMoose Thank this. -
They will tell you what it's paying an that's it...they've gotten hip to us guys with our own authority an they know if they give up too much info you'll only double back an get plugged in with the shipper/customer directly. I've done it several times where a customer asks me directly how much did I get paid on the load...an I reluctantly tell him an he goes "man!, I paid 3 times more than what they paid you to get that load here!" "How bout we just cut that broker out an ill work a rate out with you!"producelove85, FloydNasby, roanhorse and 1 other person Thank this. -
Something to remember with the broker vs shipper direct. The broker will usually have more to offer than the shipper. We offer fuel advances, and offer to pay within 24hrs of receiving the paperwork. Try to get that from the shipper.
Also I had a driver go direct to the shipper then come back 2 months later and ask to run the load again, because the shipper hadn't paid them in 2 months and they had run 4 loads for them.
The broker has more money so they can take a shipper to court and make the shipper hurt. A small independent on the other hand might have to settle for less because they can't be out of the truck to fight for their accounts receivable.
I may be wrong, but a little less on rate for the benifits offered seems like a good deal, but if you don't like brokers, don't use them. That is your right.
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