Kennedy Transportation/Logistics

I've had experience in both areas.

Brokering loads isn't too bad as long as the company you give the freight to isn't bad. They mess up and you're at their mercy until it gets fixed if your load is on their truck. Overhead? You can broker loads from your bathroom if you wanted. You have a bond you have to pay in to and you do have to have a FF/MC #. The MC only cost a few hundred dollars. The bond can be anywhere from $50-$200 a month... which you can make off one load if you have a good shipper that pays well. You'll have the internet, load boards, paper, computer/fax/printer, phone lines... that's really about it in terms of things that aren't just a few bucks. The hardest part is finding the stuff that pays well. When you call guys up and they only offer you $1.75 a mile to Florida, sometimes it is because they're only getting $1.90 a mile because they put it in a cheap bid to get the freight thinking they can always find someone to do it cheaper.

 

Flatbed you did better than I did understanding JJK's long sentences! I'm still stuck on this last one from uncommon!

If they would both put revelant information as to what their trucking experiemce is and maybe what they actually do it might help!

Why is it everyone thinks you need a "license" or a "bond" to broker your own loads?
You need nothing to broker your own loads except for a truck, fuel and everything else to get the truck from shipper to receiver, then send the properly filled out and signed BOL's back to who you got the load from then wait for the payment to come back on what you agreed to when you contacted the shipper for the load OR their agent. This culd be anything from the day they receive the BOL to 90 days later. This is the same thing brokers do with their customers.

The ONLY thing you need a "brokers license" for is if you are working on your own getting loads and then "brokering the loads" out to trucking companies.
Brokers are the ones PAYING the freight charges to the hauler for the shipping company. That's why a broker needs a"bond" and the operating cost to cover the loads he "brokers" to a trucking company or an O/O. The way a broker gets paid is taking a cut off what he negotiated with the shipper for and he "offers" you what he believes is a "fair" amount and keeps his percentage which I agree is way too much fo maybe 30 minutes of paper pushing and phone work! That's why I'm not doing any as there is already to much coming off the top and as a driver I will not screw drivers for me to make a few dollars after working with a broker.

Anyway as an O/O if you know a small company that produces a product you can do the exact same thing the brokerage OR a Broker or Broker AGENT does (like I do on occasion) and work a deal out with this company (either big or small) and when you prove after hauling a few loads for them you just might be "in the money" as they know you're reliable in getting their product to their buyer. You on the other hand, because you're a smart business, aren't screaming for payment the day it's been delivered BUT can wait for up to maybe 90 days for the check to come in. Some truckers have enough in the bank called "an operating capital" that they can wait for the payment or statement to come in. Simple business. Once the checks start to come in on a regular schedule you no longer have to hit that operating capital account you had to cover your expenses while waiting for your work not only as a driver but salesman to pay off!

Brokers came about when this country grew to where the shippers got tired and were spending too much money on having to deal with so many O/O's and companies. Brokers saw a good thing when they saw it and offered their services to the shippers and took a lot of pain and aggravation off their shoulders as most of you know dealing with truck drivers can be a ROYAL PITA! I know! I've been and dealt with truckers for 32 years! Some act like theyre Billy Bad Arse but couldn't get their canary arse to back up their alligator mouth! Other were just complete morons wasting good air the mentally handicapped need to live on and others I wouldn't give the time of day to but there are some I would hold out a good load for as I know they can get their end of the job done!

I had one driver that I had a NYC load for going to yep Hunts Point!I told him that the toll and the gate cost were paid in the rate. When he delivered all I heard on several calls from him were the costs he had to pay and was I going to pay him for it! I finally had to talk to him like a child and explain and break down that $2.48 CPM freight rate he agreed to and even asking this idiot if he understood how NYC and Hunts Point worked before I even considered him for the load.

This was a chicken load out of Rogers, AR with 1 drop! The toll was at $40 and the HP fee was $25 but he just could not figure it out! Needless to say, if he ever calls again on a load I post I'll be sure to laugh real loud for him as I hang up the phone!

Now I'll explain how I get your payment to you. As I said I broker AGENT loads out. What I do is when I'm in good enough condition to do my end of the work and when rates are steady and this cesspool called trucking straightens out I call a few of my contacts, one in Rogers and the others in Salinas, CA and the area. When I get the loads booked I call a BROKER, the guy with the money! I work out a deal with them and "sell" them the load. A lot of brokers will try to get my contact information if I have never worked with them. My contacts are just like that little black book of yours. They want me to sign some kind of stupid contract and I hang up or after reading the thing I decide if i want to work with them. That part is past and I have who I work with now.

I post this load after calling a few friends and wait for the phone to ring. I do my part in vetting the callers by checking "blackball" lists and their background. I'm NOT giving MY load to just any voice on the phone. If you're an Alpha Hotel and know it I'll know it from talking to you for a minute! Yep, I've been dealing with drivers for most of my life and can spot an Alpha Hotel from a mile away! Do you think I want MY customers going through the Alpha Hotel dance? Not if I want to loose money!

Anyway when the load is picked up, hauled safely and delivered with both a signature AND printed name on the BOL and you either email the copy to me or fax it before you mail it to me you will receive your comm check or direct deposit that day or the next from the Broker. The broker has to wait for his pay along with me as I don't get mine until he gets his as per our agreement!

This is brokering at it's simplest.
But to "broker" your own loads you do NOT need any special licence just your operating costs!