Securing Freight

First you need to be a company driver and get experience. Find a small carrier that will lease you on before you buy a truck. There you can learn how to book loads and negotiate rates, and most importantly build relationships with brokers. So when you get you own authority, the brokers will already know you, and won't care that you have a new authority.

 

I think one of the easiest ways is with a flatbed and call a big lumber yard. I’ve contacted quite a few and only one told me they wouldn’t deal direct with an owner operator only with brokers. Most of them will even email you a packet with all their info so you can get them on your insurance etc.

Now here’s the best part, but this is top secret. They don’t want to pay worth a hoot. They think since they eliminate the broker the owner operator will run for peanuts.

 

I think hauling bagged mulch might pay more.

 

Using the term securing freight threw me off. Just so I understand, are you referring to getting direct customers, if you don't have a truck or have one truck and wanted to expand?

 

Here’s what happened in my family’s case back in the early ‘70’s hauling cattle. Around ‘72 my grandfather and uncle had 3 trucks. They ran from here and George West area up to Sikeston Missouri and Townsend, Montana. Mostly their own bulls for use to breed at various ranches. By luck they happened to get a chance to run 3 loads from the King Ranch to a huge buyers feed lot out in west New Mexico. They were running with a very well known and established west Texas cattle hauler company. 6 of their trucks and they were running hard. 85 mph and stop. 85 and stop. Back then they had stopping points along US 90 or IH 10 at ranches were you can back up a truck to a pinned in cattle ramp right off the hwy and let them out to stretch there legs. Running that route took a day or two if done right by the critters. Grandpa and Uncle being breeders themselves took it easy and got there a day after the others. When they got there and unloaded the old guy running the lot and the buyer came up to them and wanted them to be there new and only truckers. They said you guys brought them in all alive and pointed to a pit about 100 yards away and said we are tired of pulling dead ones out of these trailers on delivery. There were a couple dozen laying in the pit from the 6 other trucks. Because of this my uncle was able to buy 3 more brand new 359’s in 1974 and serviced the King Ranch for 20 more years. This also gave him first call with a lot of other high roller ranches at the time.

 

Usually an owner operator who wants to expand, asks the brokers who he is set up with if he gets more trucks, will the broker load them. If the broker is willing to do so, the owner operator will buy and or lease trucks on to him. Then once he as a few trucks, it will be easier to obtain direct freight. My friend has 15 trucks and that is pretty much how he did it.