o/o and broker?

Yes this is the scenrio you see with the Large Companies right now. Only problem is the time required to find this freight, bid on it, set up as a broker in FMSCA and be bonded. Of course now the risk for non-payment from the shipper becomes a reality.

 

An owner operator that's his own broker is a broker/trucking company!

Sort of...

If you are going to get your own freight accounts and that's what you are going to have to do in order to be your own broker, you are going to have to service those accounts in order to keep them (not to mention bidding the freight,billing and the added risk of having to try and get paid). In order to service an account you have to cover all loads that they give you and see that they are delivered by you or whoever you contract the work out to. All of the sudden you will find yourself spending more time servicing the account than running your truck...Then you are a broker, Not a trucker.

If it was as simple as that we would all do it! Being a trucker is a full time job, Being a broker is a full time job as well...

 

Find a good brokerif you want to that route. But there are pitfalls, so look out. First and foremost, a good and honest broker.

GOOD LUCK,
truckinwva

 

You wouldn't be gaining anything by being your own broker. A broker still has to go out and get their own accounts. If you can get your own accounts, then you don't need brokers in the first place. If you can't get your own accounts as an O/O, you won't be able to get any as a broker.

The only reason to get brokerage authority as an O/O is if you were so good at getting accounts that you had way too much freight for you to move on your own. That's not a problem too many people have right now.

 

You wouldn't have to be bonded and obtain a broker MC number from the FMSCA unless you are going to broker out the work that you obtain from these accounts to other carriers. If your going to do that you might as well concentrate on being a broker and sit at home and make money, cause if you can get accounts in these economic times you gotta be good! LOL.

 

Agree 100%

 

There is some risk in being a broker. If you are a motor carrier dispatching OO under your authority, there is hardly any financial risk. I guess that brokers will often times lose money on their late loads, making all their money with loads that are not time sensitive. Try calling a broker 4 days before a load is ready. Then see what it is sitting at within hours of launch time. The broker is not simply biting into his profit, as I once thought. They are sometimes actually digging into the profits of the last couple loads. I think that is pretty risky, and very nerve-racking.

 

You do not have to be a broker to get your own loads, only to be middleman for other carriers. If you can get all the money it is always better than sharing