Do you have access to load boards?

The thought of bidding on a load, makes it sound like the tv show shipping wars…..

 

Ive never "bid" per se. I have a price and thats what it is. Take it or leave it. Bidding is all about seeing who will take it a few dollars cheaper than the next guy.

 

Same here/

 

Not necessarily.
You can bid your price or more and win. That's the fun part, sometimes those bids work even when you bid just for kicks, and they accept it.

 

Open deck may be less suitable for bidding because there could be more details to discuss other than commodity, weight, shipper/receiver, appointments and ... the rate.
Maybe the other things are carrier reputation and experience... I don't know.
But general paletized dry freight is simple and suitable for bidding by random but still pre-approved carriers.

Calling on most of that freight posted on load boards is about money only, anyways.

 

Oh yeah, I guess what I meant was bidding as in, you enter what you'd do it for online or something and they let you know type of scenario. Ive been asked what id do something for and threw out high numbers and "won" so to speak.

 

I’m curious how you folks that knock bidding and the spot market, find your rates that you charge. Do you just randomly pull numbers out of your butt? Do you look at the “market?” If so, do you understand what compromises of those market rates that you use to determine your own rates?

 

There are a few. I have a direct shipper that now takes overflow of contract freight and wants bids. Even allow themselves 30 minutes to approve it.


I'll haul what I am under contract only. I'm not impressed.

 

I do RGN/heavy haul so it may be a bit different than van/flat. Not many places to "bid" freight. On a load by load basis, I never have really looked into what the market would bear by putting a rate out for a certain load. If someone asks me to do a load, I throw a number out if they dont take it, I assume its not "bearable".

Im talking spot market stuff not a direct customer. Direct customer I have in over a year has never told me no on a rate. Which makes me think im leaving money on the table however, im happy with the number and so are they.

Edit to add: there was a "no" one time.

 

We have a spread sheet that has all our costs in it, then we add profit.