Landstar

You are kidding.

Worked on a load today that 3 different agents listed all coming direct from customer.

Have spoken with LS agents that will tell you the easiest account to get is from another LS agent.

I give all the credit in the world to your father for running a trucking company and being a LS agent at the same time. But the respect that other agents afforded each other several years ago is gone with many of the new LS agents.

And with all due respect, you are sitting in an office listening to what the company tells you. Many of us on this forum are on the phones daily gathering information on how to best leverage your system. And I can tell you that your "play nice" vision is not the reality in todays LS.

 

That's very interesting, I'd like to find out how they are negating our "double brokering" clause. I agree with you 100% though Bill, it's a cut throat world anymore with all the greedy people who've managed to weasel their way into it. The only thing I can tell you is that I refuse to go back on my word and maintain my integrity in hopes that what small difference I can make will lead to others seeing my example and doing the same. I guess you can say my momma and daddy raised me right. I'm proud of the upbringing they gave me and consider myself very lucky to have had the parents I had.

 

I never said that Landstar promotes agents competing on the same account, but they certainly don't protect their agents from another infringing on the account. I was leased to Landstar some years ago and have done business with them for many years. It used to really get under my skin to think that Landstar would allow that to happen. At one point they could get away with it due to some being agents for a different division, such as Ranger or Ligon. I have seen 3 or 4 agents with the same load and at a different rate. I have also spoken to agents who have had to compete with other agents who will go in and cut rates to get the business. Perhaps this has changed in recent years, but this is the way that some Landstar agents have operated in the past and Landstar did look the other way. I have even spoken to some of their executives and they told me that since their agents are independent that they could not control whom that they called on or did business. I have experienced Landstar as a BCO and as a carrier. I don't have an ax to grind with them. Some have good paying loads. But, when Landstar allows agents to compete for the same business then they are encouraging them to cut rates. There is enough competition around that they should not be competing with one another.

 

I can attest to that happening in the past and we were less than pleased. I attempted to do this on a potential large volume customer the other day and was told by accounts they were "not open to pursue." I only wanted to talk to them about their express and rail shipments, but because they have a Ranger agent in place, we can't even do that, despite the fact he's not even moving that type of freight.

 

If that is the case, then I am glad that they changed their policy. It seemed to defeat the purpose of getting good rates when agents from the same company were the ones driving down rates.

 

Multiple times landstars agents has taken loads from us and put them on outside carriers. We have stopped giving them loads because of that.

 

That's why Landstar is able to provide the rates we do. The carriers we put the loads on are approved to haul for us and are held to the same standards as our drivers IF NOT more stringent. Who is it you work for?

 

They were brokered the loads and then given to outside carriers.

 

is it not true that you are allowed to keep however much you can out of a load put on an outside carrier but are limited to a certin percentage if it goes on a bco truck?


best paying load i ever hauled at LS was one that was given to me because my original load was mistakenly booked on another truck. it was a long trip and paid.over $3/mi for a van. it was close to home and ran to ca and back. i would have run it every week but never saw any listings for these loads or that agent in general. when i checked in he asked.me what company i was with. i said landstar, he said "ya, but what truck line" i repeated myself and he said "wow, three years using landstar and your the first actual landstar truck ive seen"

i am convinced he was taking these $3+ loads and putting them on the.outside board for probably $1.50. this was in 08 probably when rates were real low everywhere

 

No policy change. They have a few protected accounts based on customer request and that LS determines it is a large enough account.

Because the agents are independent, LS is limited in the amount of control they can have over them. And restricting sales activity at any significant level could not be enforced.