A question for Brokers from an Independent

RGN · Oct 5, 2016

I just noticed this came back from the dead

crankshaft90 said: ↑

Since your name implies you work with RGN freight, you might be upset that rates are not what they used to be, and this is true. Freight brokers have lowered your rates to where you can no longer make the money you used to. I think this is because of the price you used to charge because it was unsustainable for the shipper. They needed to cut costs and found that it can be done with multiple brokers bidding on the freight, which helped lower their costs while maintaining service. That statement might not always hold true, but it holds true enough that they wouldn't stop.
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I think you misunderstood my question- I wasn't talking about broker/carrier. I'm not upset at all about the rates I'm getting (I don't use brokers).

I'll put it another way: Broker A has a load for $5000 and takes 10%, broker B comes along and takes the shipper by quoting $4000 and takes 10%, then broker C comes along and quotes it at $3000.......follow me? As long as there are bottom feeder carriers it works (sort of), but it seems more like a circular firing squad. Carriers say "don't haul cheap freight", do good brokers say "don't quote cheap freight?". If you are working on percentages, it seems you'd want as much as possible- unless someone else is driving the market into the ground.

rollin coal said: ↑

I don't buy your theory of RGN rates being possibly unsustainable. I think GREED has more to do with it than anything. All segments are down. Guys who always do legal flatbed loads might look at a $5 a mile RGN load and think "that's awesome" when in reality it's a LOSER. Then you have regular freight broker perhaps looking to crack into a new segment. Can you imagine some guy who has been pushing cheap freight onto regular flats and vans for 3 or 4 years what they think when they see a load that pays $40,000 going 1,000 miles. That guy thinks he can get it done for a lot less and skim BIG money. Then those loads end up wedged under a bridge. How's that for sustainability? I think brokers and shippers/receiver's alike need to be held accountable when a bridge gets destroyed, same as the truck will be in that scenario. Did they do their due diligence?
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Well said

afterburn25 · Oct 12, 2016

crankshaft90 said: ↑

Here are my thoughts on this subject:

Rates change based on the season. So if there is fruit in CA, they want to go there to get that high paying freight when it happens, driving down the rates. The same applies on a year round basis to Flat Bed guys when a broker needs someone to go to FL. It is the opposite of desirable, so it jacks the rate up. The reason why brokers will be needed is because we are paid on finding that guy who wants to go to FL, or to lower a shippers rate when CA pops.

The rates change on a weekly basis too. I work with a shipper who wants trucks to pick up at 7 am... in the middle of no where. The rate can change from 2 plus a mile on a Monday morning, to nearly half that from a Monday to a Tuesday because of what they want/need.

To bring this to a point, brokers are tapped into the market in ways carriers and shippers are not because a single carrier cannot satisfy the needs of a shipper. This works vis versa too.

Since your name implies you work with RGN freight, you might be upset that rates are not what they used to be, and this is true. Freight brokers have lowered your rates to where you can no longer make the money you used to. I think this is because of the price you used to charge because it was unsustainable for the shipper. They needed to cut costs and found that it can be done with multiple brokers bidding on the freight, which helped lower their costs while maintaining service. That statement might not always hold true, but it holds true enough that they wouldn't stop.
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one could also argue that a single broker also can not meet the needs of a shipper as they all use many different brokers. there is no reason why a shipper cant just put up there own load board and let the carriers call in to book loads hire a few pepople to process the paperwork and done deal.

rollin coal · Oct 12, 2016

But that makes no sense if a company can outsource logistics and save money they'd be crazy not to. You don't just hire extra people. They have to be justified.

6wheeler · Oct 12, 2016

Right now, brokers are having a hard time moving anything in Virginia for less than $500 no matter what the distance.

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