Frustration! Can someone clarify for me please

How big a dead head is it to get the load started?

Where is it finishing out at?

I have had a 1P19D and also a 3P2D. Multi-stop loads don't bother me. But it will also depend on WHERE you are sending the truck. You want me to go to Supervalu in Hopkins MN, there's a $1000 surcharge just to go to the dry side. Nash Finch in St Cloud, lumper AND a $100 surcharge just for where it's going plus acceptance that there will be no cargo claim put against me. The union monkeys there like to stuff fork lifts into the load and damage product.

 

Plus the commodity matters. Is it a load of bagged potatoes which are pretty bullet-proof, or fresh flowers which are a nightmare, especially when you have a lot of extra stops to increase the chance of shocking the product. For a run that is fresh flowers with multiple picks and drops, ending in Bozeman, MT. I'll bid it at $4-$5 per mile with an additional surcharge for it ending in a black hole with nothing coming out. Basically I'd be looking for nearly a round-trip rate going in, and more per mile because of the liability involved with a fragile commodity.

 

I like that, well thought out.

 

Basically I'd be looking for nearly a round-trip rate going in, and more per mile because of the liability involved with a fragile commodity.

Since there is no such thing as a back haul , why wouldn't you quote R/T every load ?

Just askin.....

 

OP: I think you're getting the message by now that rate per mile sort of goes out the window on LTL truckloads. I agree with most of what's been stated already: revenue per day, who/where the consignees are, difficult locations/traffic, and the like.

One thing not yet mentioned is that as you add stops, schedule risk increases exponentially. If you start with an already tight schedule, same deal. Hit some traffic and miss an early stop, or have a count/load problem early in the trip, it's like dominoes. Everything onward has to be rescheduled. Problem is, no matter where the fault lies, the carrier is expected to continue the load at the original rate or even suffer a late fee or penalty. There's never anything that spells out a daily rate for the carrier in case of delays they aren't responsible for, and forget about any sort of performance bonus.

Some places (Sysco and Walmart come right to mind) are very inflexible and can suddenly introduce a day or three into an otherwise tight schedule. Or backtracking as you juggle the remaining stops to "make it work." Things go sideways on a Friday? Now you're storing the product on your equipment God knows where for the whole weekend.

PS: The fuel for the reefer comes out of the same pump for truck fuel, and the price is not "free." Not even discounted. Any delay not only ties up the equipment and driver, but the broker and shipper will probably expect that the reefer will continue to run. But then, that's all on the carrier - don't want to risk a cargo claim, now do we?

Honestly, in my case there's as much science as fiction when I quote a rate on a load like you described. If I really don't want to do it and there's easier, less risky loads on the market, I'll probably knock your head clean off with my quote. If you choke and get hurt feelings, well I didn't want it anyway. Once in a while you may actually need to move it and I'll take it and make money for my trouble.

I ran into this just last week. I was in the middle of working a multi-stop nursery quote that would have taken me close to home when I wanted, but I really didn't want to deal with it. I was still negotiating, but my heart wasn't in it. A lot of hustle for what was shaping up to be a mediocre rate, oddly about $2.35/mi not that it matters. I got a call in the mean time offering a different load into a potentially good enough market to reload and go home direct on a Friday (didn't work out, but still..). Same cpm on a one and one frozen load, dead simple low risk, both ends easy and predictable dock delay. Same money, would have been more had I scored the reload. Nothing personal, but less work for the same money is a no brainer for me.

Maybe you need to reconsider doing business with this shipper if they aren't willing to consider stronger rates or better terms. You already know we carriers do this with you brokers. Get cheap on me or stick me real good on a load that doesn't go well and I'll quit taking your calls. Some customers just need to be fired so they can suffer the consequences of a better deal they think they should be getting.

 

Well, for me, there is such thing as backhauls. I don't always use the spot market. I've got fronthauls via direct accounts and am glad to get my backhauls because it makes the trip not only sustainable, but actually nicely profitable. Were I to quote round trip rates on every bid, I'd be sitting all the time. Try quoting round trip rates ($4+) to CHR or even landstar on freight into a decent lane, and you'd better have a book to read or something because that phone won't be ringing. Even into a black hole, some brokers / shippers are too cheap.

If you can get round trip rates in the temp controlled spot market from those folks, you must have a lot of patience and / or a magic wand.

 

bailey you can pm your info. those rates aren't bad

 

I am a grower shipper, and I am not a snake in the grass... I book lots of reefers multi pics and drops and I do care. (The reason I read this forum is so I can be a better shipper, and I thinkin turn this will give me better trucks)

When I book a multi drop I figure $200 on each drop, not $50. So if I have a wm load going to no plate ne and Cheyenne wy... I figure the miles based on furthest point and then add $200 for second drop. So I think you are low on $50 drop. Plus the multi pics are a #####, depending on your pics a guys could lose 3 days. 3 pics around the ports in Philly, no biggy. 3 pics from salinas, to reedley to Oxnard... That's 2+ days. I usually figure an extra $500 for a second day of pics

Plus there are lots of dead zones right now, with no back hauls. So depends on where you are sending him.

Am sure your shipper has done this one a few times, and knows the real rates. If you pm me, am happy to give an idea what I would budget if it where my load. I am currently shipping from the Central Valley, La and from the ports in Philly to most major retailers, so I think I am posted.

 

that's a great looking rig....... just sayin"