Government regulates everything else time to regulate rates.

Well 1st of all we are talking about the broker being transparent with their transaction with the shipper. We haven't discussed what anyone's costs are.

But I would bet you any day the week if you took the average owner operators expenses and compared them against the broker you would see a massive massively lopsided situation.

I can tell the broker what the cost of insurance is the cost of engine replacement the cost of tires the cost of insurance, tags, 2290, and he can tell me the cost of replacing his computer once every 3 years and his reclining chair.

That is an easy argument to win 7 days a week.

 

You think anybody pulling a load for 1,000 bucks thinks the broker is charging less than 1,500?

 

And the person without those costs will be the one the broker the load, as they will have the lower costs and the broker will negotiate accordingly.

If you truly believe this is a good idea I have no words for how short sighted that is.

 

For the sake of argument, let's leave the government involvement in capping the brokers' cut, alone.

It is a given,

1. "How much a broker has it on it or should have on it" - transparency - is a valuable information asset, aiding the profit maximization strategy. Every owner operator, who is in possession of it, has an edge over other owner operators, who don't. The mere efforts to obtain it are completely justified. I don't see anything cunning or immoral in wanting that information.

2. Knowing your minimum rate per mile equals knowing your costs. Based on that information, the strife for a desired rate is built upon. The desired rate, on a given lane, is not necessarily an outcome of "what a broker offers me" minus my costs but rather "what a broker can pay me" minus my costs.

The two points are very complementary and innocent as such. While it is arguable, that the effort of establishing a common minimum rate per mile, is a daunting task, the transparency of a shipper to broker pay, is not. As a matter of fact, you can pay to get that sort of information on DAT.

I don't see anything detrimental, to the livelihoods of owner operators or brokers, in the very transparency. The transparency, in itself, does not prevent brokers from maximizing their profits, it would sure make it more difficult for them but at least nobody will accuse them of thriving on o/o's ignorance. Now, if they get to keep 65% from the rate, and everybody is able to see it.... they might feel ashamed a bit, or else they can always somehow justify it. After all, not all the trades, in this World, have to be glorified.

Another discussion is whether or not the transparency should be required and imposed on.
It is no brainer that I would benefit from it. Therefore, I vote for it.
Is it not, in a capitalistic spirit, to say that, a good businessman cares only about himself alone, someone else's interests are none of his concerns?

 

You have no idea with the brokers charging in that's exactly my point.

 

I still can't grasp the idea of being concerned with what someone else makes.

 

Without the government involvement nobody cares what you get them to do.

 

I don't care what the hell they're making, as long as they pay enough for me to make money I don't care.

 

Well said!
Any broker will do anything to make as much profit as he can from his transactions. But , in order for a broker to do that, someone has to accept it .
So, it is your #### responsibility to say NO to cheap loads rates, period!
Unfortunately, we as independent O/O are not united .the cost of living goes up and up and up and our rates continue going down. So, it is our ignorance that is keeping it this way .

 

What business is it of yours what a broker makes on a load?

If you take the load for a $1000 and the broker made $5000, do you think you are somehow entitled to some of that money?

This is a free market, capitalist system, not socialism.