Load Boards

Oh - BTW, G/Man, I recently found one of your replies on another forum thread at Class A Drivers.com from 2007!

It's nice to have someone like you on these forums helping people year after year.



Update - I recently got a few quotes on moving a chevy cavalier from Flint, MI to Orlando, FL, pretending I was a private owner who needed to ship my car.

I can hardly believe the variance!

$595
$799
$1250!!! (BestAutoShipper.com) ---highest quote
$685 (priority) $580 (economy)
$485 (standard) $590 (expedited)
$675
$594
$450!!! (Stateway Auto Transport) -----lowest quote


I've also noticed that these quotes were pretty much all from Flint, MI to either Houston, FL or Hastings, FL

Are those two places somewhere that has a large drop yard that multiple companies utilize???

 

The best way to learn this business is to work find someone who has several years experience who is willing to spend the time to train you. It doesn't take much to damage a vehicle. It takes time to learn how to properly load and secure cars. It sounds like you have someone who is willing to do that and pay you well while you learn.

Once you learn how to load a stinger you can load anything. As far as the sleeping arrangements, you could get your own pillow and a sleeping bag and lay on top of the bed. Unless you know what you are doing you could lose your shirt very quickly hauling cars. One small scratch could cost $1,000 or more. In fact, you would be lucky if a scratch only cost $1,000. That really eats into your profits. It sounds like a good opportunity to me.

 

Hauling cars is no different than the rest of the freight business when it comes to rates. There will always be those who are not good businessmen and who don't value the service they provide.

 

Yeah I would figure that to be true too, but then again, I think those are rates directly from a carrier. How much of a % typically do brokers take out? I know it probably depends on how cheap they can get a carrier to take it, but if someone tried to aim for a certain %, what kind of cut would they be aiming for?

 

it's too bad you all just can't take a stand against the brokers.

how much does it cost to keep a computer running commpared to a truck.
and since it's the shipper that acutally posts the loads.

maybe i should reconsider my thinking about gaining my own authority and reconsider being a broker.

ok. i've looked at all the recommendations on this thread. but everyone that i want to check out all require dot numbers and what not. i'm not setup yet.

are there any that can be subscribed for a decent price without all the official jazz. and shows the rates for the loads????

I'D LIKE to get a feel for what i have to look forward too.

 

I am O/O with my own authority. This does not make me an authority but I have used Internet Truck Stop, Get Loaded, and Ooida's Member's Edge load board and for the money and SERVICES I chose Ooida's. Their board is powered by DAT. One of the extras is a average lane rate which I have found very helpful. Rate says avg is 2.76 a mile and broker is offering load for 1.90 I will tell him/her to meet the average and I will take the load. More times than not they will agree. I also look at ShippersPoint.com. No brokers are allowed on this board.

 

There is no set percentage for brokers. I would expect that most will take about 15-20% of the rate. I knew one who only took $50 per load, no matter what the rate. One broker with whom I have done business for many years takes 10%. Another that I know will take at least 30%. I don't do business with them. I have also known of some who have tried to take as much as 50%. You can find some of them in the bad freight areas. I know some of the major brokers will take a block of loads and guarantee to move them. Whatever they can move them for below what their contract with the shipper, they keep for their profit. If they receive $3/mile and can move the load for $1/mile, then they pocket the difference. It is doubtful that they would be able to move a load for that much of a differential, but could do very well with the profit margin. Some carriers are better negotiators than others. Some will take a load for whatever is offered without even attempting to negotiate a better rate.

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There are honest brokers. The best thing to do is not worry about what the broker makes. If you can get the rate you want then don't worry about the broker.

 

The best way to take a stand is to not take cheap freight. There are a number of people who don't like brokers. Some are not good and some are not honest. But brokers do perform a service. When someone performs a service then they should receive fair compensation. I have had direct shippers and brokers with whom I have dealt with for many years. I have a good relationship with some brokers. They understand that I won't haul cheap and will usually not call unless they have something with a good rate.

If you don't want to deal with brokers then you will need to spend time calling on shippers. It may take dozens of calls before you get the first load. Just because you deal direct doesn't necessarily mean that you will get a better rate than if you deal with a broker for the same load.

It is true that a broker doesn't have much in the way of overhead when you consider the cost of a truck. That is if you only look at their cost of doing business as being a computer, fax, desk and phone. A broker will sometimes need to pay the carrier before he is paid in order to keep good carriers. He is liable to pay the carrier regardless of whether the shipper pays him. There can also be problems with carriers, too. If a truck breaks down, he may need to scramble to get the load covered. He may have a driver who decides to load a critical load and then go home for a few days. Brokers live on the telephone. If you have never spend 8 hours per day on the phone for days on end, you have no idea what it is like.

Every business has it's downside. Brokers are basically salesmen. If you hire a salesman to sell your capacity you will need to pay them a fee or commission. There really is little difference in having your own salesman or using a broker.

OOIDA has a load board called mymembersedge. www.mymembersedge.com. It is one of the DAT boards. I don't know if you can subscribe without having authority, but it is worth a try. Most load boards will require you to have insurance and authority. It is a way to protect subscribers from unscrupulous carriers and brokers. Most load boards cost about $35/month each. Some offer additional services for a higher rate. There are brokers who have their own load boards that are free, but most won't give you access until you are set up with them and that requires that you have authority and insurance. I think that if you want to check out rates you will need to find someone who has authority who is willing to share some of that information, or go ahead and get your own authority.

 

G/Man is right about the brokers. They do perform a needed function. Sometimes it is better, and cheaper, for a shipper to outsource their shipment logistics to a 3rd party, namely a broker.

Also, the trucking companies that are all Owner Operator, are basically a big brokerage firm that has so many loads that they end up just hiring on owner operators to be exclusive to them. One company I worked for started this way, and they ended up buying some of their own trucks outright, and hiring people to drive them. They are about 50% company driver, 50% O/O, and about 70-80 trucks all together.

And another thing with brokers, it is all about market forces. Supply and demand are key components in what will drive a price on shipment up or down.

If you as an O/O are in an area with a low supply of freight, the cost of doing business for you will go up. If there are 100 trucks in the area and only 25 loads, then the ones who bid the lowest will get those loads. On the other hand, if there are 100 loads and 25 trucks, then the trucker has the upper hand - the broker will have to raise the rate to get his load hauled. In the first scenario, truckers are inadvertently competing with each other for freight, the 2nd the brokers are competing with each other for trucks.

Also, if there is a load going to an undesirable area, say NYC, then the supply of trucks willing to go to that area is low - so a broker will have to offer a higher rate for someone to take it.


A good broker and a good trucker will know where there is a good supply of freight, and where the places are with low supply, and they will negotiate accordingly. A good trucker, though, needs to know how much a fair rate is in a particular area for a particular lane. If the broker offers a rate of, say, $1.60 a mile, and the trucker says no way, there might not be anything paying better. Likewise, if a broker posts a load at $1.50 a mile, and doesn't realize that the supply of freight in that area is pretty high, he will find that no one is calling on his load. Better raise the rate, huh?

But by and large, if a trucker is willing to take a load at whatever rate he takes it at, then that is his doing.

People complain that there are those who offer low rates, and those that will haul for that low rate. Well, that just may be market forces, or at the least, market forces combined with bad financial decisions. Taking low rates, one might end up finding himself out of business. Once enough people are out of business, the supply of trucks lower, brokers offer better rates, etc. Market forces will balance.

If you don't want cheap freight, then you should not take it. That simple.

If you find that "cheap freight" is becoming a problem, then maybe the problem is you - maybe your overhead is too high compared to most other trucks - some people start out with a $150,000 truck and a $30,000 trailer, eat at the Iron Skillet every night, drives 75mph, well yeah you are going to need a higher rate, like $1.60/mile to break even than the guy with a smaller truck payment, buys a fridge and stocks food, drives 65mph, etc, might need $1.10 to break even.
In this business, 50 cents a mile is a crapload.

Truckers compete with each other, and the ones who make better financial decisions are the ones who are going to survive and prosper. Same with brokers.


Trucking is a business, just like any other.

 

My dad just started O/O business. He has 53' reefer and doing the trucking business on his own now. I find him loads and kind of work as the dispatcher. SInce im really inexperienced with this, I need some good recommendations from you good experienced drivers. I use the CH Robinson load board right now. It seems that the load board has not really good loads because the rates are bad and very heavy loads. I need to know good broker companies that I can find decent loads. I tried England Logistics and Prime Inc, but their load boards are always empty or very little loads. What am I doing wrong? Do I call these brokers and ask about loads or what do I do? He is at California now trying to deliver loads to any eastern states. So, pls help me!!!! Thanks for all of your support!!!