How does the process work?

After seeing a load on a load board that you want what do you need to do to secure that load?

Is it as simple as a phone call or is there some type of step by step process that must be followed?

 

Call the broker who has it and haggle over price. Sometimes they ask for your MC number up front, and sometimes after negotiating is done. Know what you need before you call. Credit check before calling if it's someone you've never worked with. Nothing to it just know what you need before you dial...

 

Also make sure you have all of your insurance paper work handy too.

 

How much haggling actually goes on? I mean is it as simple as well on the load board it's listed at 1.50 per mile I as a O/O "need" to make 1.60 per mile to make anything. So when I call I say well I will haul it for 1.60+ and does it start there or are they pretty set on the price and won't budge so it's then just onto the next load?

 

All depends on the broker, the time you call, how quickly he needs it moved etc,

On load boards, you will probably haul 1 out of every 10-15 you call on etc,

 

What makes you say that?

 

There's no easy answer to how negotiations go lots of variables most of them beyond your control. As you get better at searching out freight those 10-15 or 30 wasted calls daily on a re-load will drop down to 2 or 3 on any given day. Key things are avoid going to dead markets for less than $3 a mile all miles in to that market. Too many guys, and you can see it posted on here from time to time, make the mistake in thinking $2 a mile on 1,000 miles to any location is a great rate. Wrong!!! That will get one in trouble if they go to Laredo. Or for instance the other day ago some poster was trying to get out of Nogales and go to the east coast thinking $2 a mile would be great.... ....yeah a great way to go to a market flooded with $1.30 a mile in any direction... Another pitfall I think many fall into is the old "must be less than 100 or 50 miles deadhead on every load", that will condemn one to whatever cheap freight is close by every time. I search a 150-200 mile radius every time. You try to establish yourself with a few good brokers, learn their freight/lanes, and work for them as much as possible. When things slow down and you have established some good numbers you start to see what your average length of haul is and how you can price yourself "cheaper" on spot general freight. For instance my average length of haul this month is 239 miles and my rate to the truck including 36% unpaid deadhead miles is $2.29 a mile to the truck. That's a lot of $3.50+ a mile freight going on my truck, but aside from that, it means in a pinch when the good stuff isn't there I can fill in gaps with general freight picked off from CHR or whoever off ITS at $550 to $600 in 200-250 miles any where I go easily, and most times I can beat that.


If you know your minimum is $550 on any given load and the broker throws a number like $450 at you, as long as you aren;t more than $200 apart (from my experience) you can easily get them to go above your minimum on a situation like that. You can easily plan several days loads in adavance to set you up on good lanes or whatever. Now some guys might frown on a $550 minimum on a 240 miles run, honestly I would have too several weeks ago, but have since figured out that it works from time to time. The ultimate goal is to get aways from cheap loads like that entirely but when you are working spot exclusively and your good stuff dries up you have to think out the box and try different things. Holding firm on "nothing below $3 a mile on my truck" will have you missing out on a lot of opportunity. With one exception every load I have hauled third quarter was over $2 a mile to the truck except one and that was a hasty grab it load without punching the numbers first hand. rate to the truck 3q well over $2 a mile with +30% deadhead. That's many long nights searching load boards for the right loads and days of making calls, sending emails, and texts to regular brokers looking for what they have on any given day... I get solid home time too. That is the most important part to me aside from staying profitable while doing it... Everyone has their own system and way, this would be mine.. Now this doesn't happen right out the gates. There will be many wasted phone calls and lots of cheap freight offered when first starting out. But with patience, time, and using that noggin for something besides a hat rack you'll figure out something that works...

 

Most times the rate will be discussed as a haul-rate, not CPM. So use your calculator and figure out how much it is in total (miles x mileage rate + expenses like lumpers, etc) and use this total to negotiate. For instance, $3000, not $1.90 per mile.

 

So this goes to another couple questions then. Being that I live in Ohio and there is tons of freight going into and out of Ohio do my chances of finding better loads increase because of this?

I guess this really all goes back to having somebody looking for loads past the current load that is in the trailer.

 

the rate the brokers are willing to pay depends on how many trucks in the area, one day rates might be great because there is only a few trucks in the area on the other side another day rates may be in the toilet because of alot of trucks in the area...

i don't think working with several brokers is a good choice, get a solid rep built with 2 or 3 and the rates will be better because they know you can and will do it right and on time.

i have had good luck posting my truck on load boards but also alot of calls that are not worth answering the phone.


i start looking for another load as soon as i have my appt set for delivery.