Posting For Good and Bad Brokers

Would/could you PM me what you're talking about? Thanks. ~Bigdubber

 

I would like to put my two cents to this thread, over the years I have learned that most owner operators and small motor carrier with operating authority and fewer trucks do not understand the strategy of their operations to pick and choose. One thing in todays economy, if one is looking for something not in the parameters of stress, hustle and battlefield, etc... then one should not become an owner operator or a small carrier. If you are looking for good money its like a war between operator, brokers, shippers and authority. Understand that brokers do have their own battlefield.
I am going to write about owner operators and carriers who are willing to fight the war and motivated to make good money, even though their is no definition of good money, in fact, quote from my favorite movie, "its never enough", never mind 'good money'. I suggest one should nourish their greed and strive for more, and you will be surprised to find the extent of money you can extract out of current transportation industry.
For owner operators, if you are making $1.30 to 1.45 with 3000 miles/week consistently over the period of at least 3 years to your financing term, and you bought your truck somewhere in range of 30K-40K: this is the borderline you need to make in order to be operational for years to come, until you and your truck has strength to roll. This does not give you any room for maintenance, depreciation and breakdowns, for your truck as well as yourself, never consider that your truck is paid off, you always have depreciation. This operation is on a course of slow death, because both of you (truck and yourself) do need time off, maintenance and there will be breakdowns. Understand, that in this operation there is no progress, trust me you are better off being a company slave than with a perception of being free and your own boss.
For small Carriers, same owner operator numbers apply but the crunching is even more complicated, you need some extra on top of $1.30-$1.40 for other over heads. Brokers never pay good, they pay market or below, 99% of the time you get paid below the market, even if it is $3.00/mile on dry van. What is market or spot market? Understand that, when you get a load from broker, its in spot market, it has nothing to do with what is broker's contract rates with the shipper. Its like a stock market, changing every moment based on demand and supply which is changing every moment. Imagine broker offering $0.55/mile coming out of Floride, or asking you where do you want to go? he is actually trying to alter the demand and supply. You as a truck does not want to go anywhere, its the freight that wants to go somewhere and has a time constrain, every shipment is time sensitive. It is important to have a good negotiator of rates, which is only possible when you have continuous evaluation of market at the time in the area. Often it may be better to deadhead several hundred miles to get a better paying load, all needs to be evaluated fairly quick. Most small carrier think they can find loads from the truck, yes one can, but it would certainly be below the market, at that time in that area. There are companies who does dispatching for you ranging from 4% to 20%, out sourcing your negotiation is the only solution, but guaranteed 4% to negotiation is not a good idea you are better off doing on your own. 4% companies will have a guy negotiating somewhere 10 to 20 trucks, his target is to cover all of them and get longer miles for you, so they don't have to cover all 20 everyday, most of the time your money is in shorter loads. Remember percentage of nothing is nothing, so its very important to find a dispatch company that negotiate your interest. I know of one E2 Financial Corp out of TX, they would be on higher percentage side, but you get a dedicated negotiator and your operations manager who would cover no more than 3 trucks a day, which means he is doing required market research for your capacity every day based on your position. To increase overall revenue you need to make sure the optimum use of asset, e.g. position for the right time and business.
Conclusively, understand your expanse in details, understand the market, $2 or $ 3 per mile is not a good or bad rate, understand how desperate the broker is for your truck. Remember, most of the time brokers need you, and his rate changes in your benefit from morning to evening as time goes by. Do not buy, early birds get the worms

 

I totally agree with tree, but problem is when O/O and Small Carrier negotiating they do not have right tools and resources, they are driving and booking, they depend on their wife, who in most cases just acting as a secretary relieving you from phone, not really negotiating. It takes continuous monitoring of freight and continuous negotiation everyday. A good paying load will not stay more than a second on the load board, it is covered booked on the first call. Anyone who is not on top of load postings, is judging market based on what is stagnant on the board, more than few minutes. Also, most importantly, it is more difficult to negotiate in a good market than a bad market, because you do not know how much is the demand for your truck. In the specific market demand for your truck could be much more than what you can even begin to imagine. Open market means compete and optimize, if it is acceptable for broker to pay below the cost of per mile because of demand and supply, then you have every right to be fair and ask to cover all the previous losses in that one load. Brokerage is not a fair game, its a game of deception

 

You would be surprised the actual rate of the load. Most of the time brokers are only making 10% of the gross, let's not factor in lumpers, detention or extra stuff, just a simple load. But you also have some trucking companies that drive the rate down because they will take the load for almost nothing just to move their truck. It is a two way street. Brokers have to negotiate the rate with the customer just like the truck negotiate the rate with the truck. There are less customers than there are brokers and truck companies. One broker will give a rate and another will low ball the rate and take a loss just to get the load so, now the broker has to work at that rate because buyer at the receiver will say 'Well, we got it for that rate last week. Why is the rate higher this week?'. Trucking is really just a crap shoot most of the time. Who has the truck and who can get a better rate and what the buyer really wants to pay. I have an actual run end with a buyer who told me that he despises this industry. That the seller, truck broker and driver are all crooks. Than he charged me a late fee for no reason. What do you do? You can't cuss them out because that is bad business. All a broker can do is remember what happened and hopefully, make up the money somewhere else. There is so much headaches that the broker deals with that the truck doesn't see. If they are a good broker they won't pass the bs on to the truck. The every hour of calling and the horrible comments. A good broker knows that is just part of the business. They know that they have to keep the customer and truck happy because just like this forum all the truck drivers talk back and forth.

 

TLO Logistics USA, Brownsville, Texas

They are running a dispatch service called PDO Logistics. Through that service they are booking loads off load boards through other brokers for the carriers signed up with PDO and then creating a fake rate sheet through TLO subtracting the commission they added to the load. There is a factoring company involved that has agreed to pay PDO so that PDO can make sure to pay carrier the fake rate.

 

TLO Logistics has active broker authority, that means they have right to negotiate with carrier, and issue even hand written rate confirmation.

 

The carriers are signing up supposedly with a dispatch service so they have an agreement with PDO, there is no agreement with TLO the brokerage. The load does not belong to TLO and the real broker does not have a co broker agreement with TLO. If I were the driver who is doing business with a dispatch company who is supposed to be getting me the best rate but then I found out they were putting a commission on it, even though their website state no commission. I think I would be a little upset.

 

Do not haul hb for velocity transportation harlan, ia


We hauled several loads for these people who are impossible. Control freaks, miserable loads. They try to get you indebted to them so as to control you further. They will try to avoid rate sheets and carrier agreements to prevent you from attaching bond. Owe us $2200.00+ for non payment of last trip for excuse of not returning rental trailer that was provided to us locally and delivering it 500 mi for free to their door step. PREDITORY BROKERS of the worst kind.

We are now associated with a legit organization that charges nothing for wear and tear nothing for transaction fees in short they are not PREDITORY NONPAY. You have been warned!!!!

 

You should never haul a load without first getting a signed rate sheet and of course that comes after a carrier broker agreement has been entered into. If they don't want to give you a rate sheet or have a carrier broker agreement that's some serious red flags.