DONT CALL BROKERS

how do we get the shippers websites for flats, how and where do you look for the rates?

 

That's not true because I was not born here and I don't run for that it's the person not were they was born

 

Don't except cheap rates. If you're asked what you need to do a job, quote what you're worth. My broker I use explains to me every morning what everyone is quoting in their system. So when I send in quotes, I start as high as I can, $2.50 to $3.00.... Just to set the bar high.... If everyone did that, rates would rise...

He lets me know all of the other offers, sometimes sends me a screen shot of them, and all I can do is shake my head.

 

Why would he send you all others on a screen shot.come on if he was that good of a friend why are you bidding on freight he should know what you want.Why do so many on here feel the need to make up this crap.2.50 to 3 there's a lot of variables to bidding on freight then just saying 2.50 to 3 I wouldn't want take anything to south Florida or New England for 3 a mile

 

I've started being a driver for the first time. I've had a CDL for over 10 years. I've always been in the business of transportation, but never a driver. So, I want to start a carrier and I need to be a driver to understand how it really works and not just on paper. Thus far I've realized why drivers are jaded. In addition I've realized freight brokers a sleaze balls and a scam business. There is a ton of opportunities to make trucking much smarter. It seems everyone has their hand out making money on the driver and there is no accurate information for people to understand.

 

A truly effective broker who wants to provide good service to his customers and therefore EARN their business takes care of his/her drivers. Also, a truly good broker knows that if you want long term success, you have to take care of carriers when loads are slim in order to get a fair rate when they are plentiful. I am a broker. I do not look to make a killing on a load. I shoot for an average of 12-15% margin. That pays for my costs (load boards, rent, internet, phone, etc) plus some to support my family. I am not trying to get rich. I simply try to take care of my drivers and my customers and that in turn gets me more business and drivers/carriers that can trust me. I can understand why you have a bad feeling about brokers but it is not fair to lump them all together. Just as I do not lump drivers who don't care with the true professionals that try to do the best job they can everyday. Happy 4th.

 

Yeah... what HE said...

 

It's really simple, don't haul brokered freight. Go directly to the shipper... Otherwise you're SOL, brokers are not going to pay good rates, only what it takes to get the load moved. Sure they might pay decent occasionally to get something moved but, they are only robbing Peter to pay Paul and are going to have to move a few loads cheaper than they already would to keep their projected income on par.

Look at it this way as a broker you are fighting other brokers and carriers to get a contract. Granted the lowest bid may not always win, but either way the bar is set and they are only going to get it for what it can be moved for. Now thinking as a business (and as a person, actually the same as a business by law) isn't it the goal to pay out the least amount of money and keep all that you can in your pocket?

If I was a broker I wouldn't pay out for #### and obviously they don't and neither would you. For one it just isn't possible, it's a bid process and two it's a bad business model to give out money unnecessarily. Complaining about brokers is like complaining that cigarettes are going to kill you. The solution is obvious...

Truckers that want brokers to go away are the same truckers that are using them. Want rates to go up, stop using brokers, oh but, some shippers only use brokers. They wouldn't if brokers couldn't get it moved because their phones stopped ringing. Otherwise enjoy the time while on hold...

The problem isn't the brokers!

 

If brokers were to be eliminated all of a sudden, initial spike in rates would attract more carriers and more trucks. It is all free market mechanism, which this freight market in the US strangely resembles one still. Besides, what some guys agree to run for now, reflect what rates they can run at their life sustainability level, when they bid for a load. Businesses want to keep their shipping costs at the minimum too. Sooner or later, the rates would go back to the same level.

 

Brokers don't set the rates, trucks do. The OP is right though, if you all decided you needed more money in unison prices would go up. In fact that's what is happening EVERY time prices go up! It's certainly what will happen when E-logs become mandatory.

Everyone who says that brokers aren't paying more than they have to... yeah duh of course we aren't. The people who purchase anything else do? Our job is to find the best truck at the best rate (some mixture of those two depending on the freight) and charge the customer a little more for the trouble. Rest assured that our customers wouldn't be paying you more if they went out and found the trucks themselves. They would (quite correctly) want to capture the 'brokers share' of their freight costs... Just how the megas hire salespeople to go out and find customers directly and keep the brokers cut themselves. No matter what someone is going to be sourcing the truck and that person will be getting paid.

The overall trend in trucking (and every other mature industry) is for prices to go down. There are thousands of suppliers all competing for a slice of the pie and technology is lowering their costs... both through improved fuel economy and in lowering the necessary skills of the average truck driver (which allows them to hire lower end employees to do the job who require less pay).

Mark my words in the coming decades we'll see 1.00/mile be a good rate for a truck and 1.00 won't be worth half of what it is today. There also won't be a driver in the truck and the truck will be fully electric so it will have much lower maintenance and energy costs (way fewer moving parts in electric than internal combustion after they work the kinks out). Anyone who thinks that being a truck driver will still be a viable thing in 2030 needs to be realistic with themselves.