Own Authority VS lease...

That is a good reason why some shippers hate doing business with brokers. They know that they and the carrier are getting the shaft.

 

Yeah but that is normally the smaller shippers. Someone like this could careless because they are working with a long list of brokers and carriers. First one to call in and get the load wins. I don't like shippers like that. No loalty and feel that if after I get the load booked and they get a better rate they will cancle.

 

You will never win when price is the only consideration. A few months ago I had several loads cancel in short succession. Another carrier cut the rate. The broker said something about the load canceled, but you know how that goes. I prefer dealing with shippers and brokers where price is not usually the issue. They are willing to pay for service.

 

Agree 100%. Spent the last hour putting quotes together for a customer that is bidding on new business. If they get it then I have the loads (not sure how I will cover them at this point).

Price is part of it so that they can win the business but they could find someone a lot cheaper than me but they won't go that way because they are loyal.

I have completed a lot of bids here recently and lost them all. Have gotten a couple call backs to revisit my rate as the winning bidders did not check out clean. Major safety issues and/or poor refferences.

One bid I lost was to a low bidder of over $1/mile below my bid. And the carrier has been in business 3-months with 5 trucks and 3 out-of-service already. They already called to see if I wanted 2 of the 10 loads on the bid. I said no thanks. I would have to buy trucks for this business and don't trust that the business would be around next month.

 

There is no way that I would go out and buy more equipment unless I was very certain that the business would stick around for a while. I have been thinking about buying a 3 or 4 axle double drop, preferably an extendable. I have some business that I could haul with it. So far the business looks fairly stable, but with the economy teetering, I am hesitant to make the move unless I can get a very good deal on the trailer. Earlier this year I could have kept several of those trailers busy.

I guard my safety score. I have picked up quite a bit of business over the years due to my safety score. I can't believe the guy had only been in business a few months and already had 3 oos. That will really kill his safety score.

Price will nearly always be a consideration, but not the primary consideration with all shippers. You need to be competitive, but I still think that it is better to sell on service than price.

 

I'm a small fleet owner, 6 trucks, 9 flats..looking to change and lease to a good carrier. Are you still looking to partner up with some of us small guys?

 

I have been a Driver for 15 years and in October 2011 I opted to obtain my own authority due to an offer from a company that would "keep me successful". What a joke that was. I got my authority for just under $1000 which got me LLC incorporated, Registered Tax ID, MC# DOT# UCR, BOC and Carrier Certified. I mean I did nothing but pay the $978 on a $233 per week agreement. Well I only worked for this company for three months and due to this company's BS I got screwed for three months with little money to show for anything. I even ended up walking away from a lease from a truck leasing company that was costing me $65k in three years and only was able to pay for the truck, insurance and maintenance. Needless to say I took my authority and walked away!

I was able to find a gracious man that agreed to sell me his sitting truck for just the pay off amount and that is it. I signed the truck to small carrier (3 trucks, 4 trailers). I am home every day, off on weekends and holidays but still generate approx $3500 per week revenue with pay at 77% of gross. He always gives me a copy of the load pay and pays me weekly. We use his trailers and run under his authority. I bough my own plates ($1550) insurance is only $150 month. He uses his insurance.

After reading this post i would like to comment on a couple of things. Own Authority 3-5 weeks should only cost approx $400. I am running power only until I can put enough $ back for my own. I will buy another truck to hire another driver and pay him/her 30%-35%.
My carrier uses ITS exclusively however I have used a couple of load boards to find the loads and negotiated a minimum of $1.80/ mile any less and I am only driving to pay for the ride. These loads are certainly set up to be paid at better rates but the agents/brokers want to move it to get paid. If it ain't worth it for me to haul it I wont period. I wouldnt go back to per miles driving nor would I consider any less than $1.80/ mile.
In the words of my carrier, "We may be getting rich but we refuse to be broke!" Since starting over from October I have invested approx $5000 and still have been able to keep my bills in order. I am now in a position to start making good money and am quite happy with my decision to stay O/O instead of lease or company driver.