Load Board Truths and Myths

From what I've seen, you started your venture solely off the load board. How did you make the jump to contacting direct as a brokerage, is what gave you the comp. advantage over other brokerages the trucks you had? I just don't understand how so many brokerages are able to get direct shippers with no differentiation. Thanks

 

I don’t have that many customers though and what customer freight I do have I broker almost all of it out. It’s mostly about relationships I’d say. For some companies the rate is all that matters, for others it’s the service that matters. First though you must develop relationships and trust. People like to work with people they know. So, whether you go introduce yourself, or your introduced through a friend or family member, just take it from there.

New relationships are easiest built when the market is in flux. If rates are going up and up then provide capacity when others can’t.. If it’s going down then move it cheaper.

 

The hand full of shippers I have don't have a clue what the broker is paying the trucking companies, and most don't care. I think what bothers the shippers the most is brokers that can't move loads that they promised and trucks falling off of loads.
Broker's don't normally stick with shippers too long. If you know of a local operation that you'd like to move stuff you could almost call your self full time employed by that company

 

Why don't they stick with shippers too long? Is it because the broker is incompetent or the shipper too demanding/not understanding?

 

So, you are suggesting that the Broker is charging 50% of the line haul? That's a bundle, for sure. Of course, that is a really short run. What percentage do you think or know that they will often get off of say, a 1200 mile run?

 

Would shippers learn to value transparency in the pricing process or do you think it'll stay the same always?

 

Do you mean a local shipper, or a local carrier? I assume you mean a local shipper, to eliminate the broker, but I wanted clarification. Then, I will have a follow up question depending on your answer.

 

I'm just thinking out loud, here. Real Estate Brokers have to be transparent, as do auctioneers (also a real estate broker), so why aren't and why shouldn't freight brokers disclose their take? I'm not sure that they should, I'm just reaching for some feedback on why a highly regulated industry like interstate commerce doesn't have transparency, when stock brokers, commodity brokers, and insurance brokers have either fixed rates, or have to disclose the rate charged for their services as a commission.
To top off the thought, there are brokers who are layered in some shipments, right? So, one broker advertises a load at say $2,000 offered, and another broker offers the same load without any amount offered and sometimes they change the weight ever so slightly to be slick, so nobody may notice. So a driver may agree to a crummy paying load, say in our example above $1500.00, because it came from the third broker down the line and everyone gets a cut? Is that how it works sometimes.....layered brokers?

I'm all for a free market. It's the very cornerstone of capitalism. However, if shipment payments are reduced, the shipper who may have agreed to pay "well", suffers because the person doing the real service of getting the products to the destination safely, has to cut corners because his money has been reduced. That's just one way of looking at it. I know brokers play an important role, but at what cost and with what restrictions?

 

Of course DAT doesn't care. That guy pays to advertise loads, correct? Do you ever call for a particular load and the one that is available, is actually better than the one you were calling about? Or is it just a bait and switch for crums.

 

I did the same . They said each subscribers can post as many times as they want. Just as you can