Brokers, Please explain the plummeting rates these days.

So many people just don't get it. Brokers and carriers alike are just completely off base. Every single business that I do business with have all raised their prices. Same goes for everything I need in my personal life. They all have also raised their prices.

But for some bizarre reason some people seem to think carriers should be the only fools in this system to not raise their prices accordingly. Why are so many of you in denial and ignore this simple fact?

I can see why brokers would ignore it and attempt to talk naive carriers into believing the nonsense since they benefit from suicidal business practices. However, anyone with half a brain can surely see it's a seriously bad move.

 

Sorta to your point

We all want as much as we can get but when that new or naive guy joins the circus it is he that gets ahold of the broker or mega for that point and sees $$ signs and take cheap freight therefore giving the broker a threshold of what the rate can be, not that it should be

If I get a reputable lawn care company with a nice truck and trailer to bid mowing my yard and it’s $100 but 5 others with a mower inside their minivan tell me $40 then if I want cheap the rates around $40 but if I care what my home looks like and want a pro I’ll pay $100

By the time these guys driving figure it out it’s usually too late
You think that’s why so many here say don’t become an O/O or even drive period?
Because they never figured it out or simply can’t?

I had a friend who got back in the business that told me he has this great load from Miami to Seattle for like $6000
He couldn’t believe it.
I told him he can’t afford to move that load for the rate
His reply. “ I’ve never made $6,000 in a week “

My reply “ and you still won’t “

 

In his defense coming OUT of miami thats not the worst rate ive seen

 

Case in point, unloading just now, the schmuck before me has a "good paying load, 5600 indianapolis to miami paying him 5600... which isnt terrible, but then he picked a 1.5/mile back to indy from orlando. So hes doing 6950$ on 2400 miles... 2.89/mi

Way to take a decent paying week and turn it into below average, which i told him (along with advice to go to georgia on 1.5 if he had to but get better coming out), and he protested that he made good money going down so it doesnt matter

 

I got the work my trucks do because my customers were regularly eating contract clawbacks in the millions, and hundreds of thousands in port demurrage over freight pimps stories and lies. That doesn’t happen anymore, and they happily pay me an obscene amount of money to keep it that way. It’s in the contracts that I can’t broker loads out. They learned. But if I could I’ve got one here loads in the morning. I could pimp you that load for $3.50/mi, pays me $13.65/mi but you don’t need to know that, I’d whine and cry about bankrupting myself giving you all I had in it and spend the rest of the day laughing at you.

 

You’re giving examples of your small fleet exclusively, and I’m talking about places that move hundreds if not thousands of loads a week. Not exactly the same thing, although similar to my example of Plum Creek having a direct carrier list for their maxi loads but brokering all their truckload freight so they didn’t have to deal with it. I’m also of the mindset that I don’t make a habit of counting other people’s money. If I’m happy with what you offer me then it’s none of my business what it pays you. That’s kind of how things should work. My business transaction is with you and is altogether separate of your business transaction with the shipper.

 

If all brokers are "freight pimps", does that make you a "freight prostitute"?

 

What do you call a lot lizard with a mattress tied to her back?

Owner operator.

 

Maybe not for Miami but my point to him was after fuel. Maintenance fund. Truck expenses etc that a rate of $1.80 to a guy thinking it was $6000 a week is ridiculous
His pay was less than company drivers and with no benefits
And he could bounce to Atlanta or Alabama and get a load going 1/2 the distance that would a) pay way more per mile for all miles and b) land Him in a much better zip code

 

See second post directly below the one you quoted i know