Share what you know about dealing with brokers

Nah still do it today.. alot is done thru brokers and some companys.. usualy use it to get out of an area that might be slow on freight into a more higher freight traffic lane...

 

Makes sense you just don't hear about it like back in the day.

 

Most broker start at 50% when giveing a price. They look at the amount of trucks and frieght in the area and the trend. My brother in law took a job as a broker ( he hates it) he said a lot of O/O don't even try to get the rate up. As for the big company's they are not as cheap as most of you think. I have a customer that I have hauled direct for for 12 years and about a year ago the owner had the secretary put out the loads I and other O/O haul out of there ( in an effort to get us to cut our rates) and 3 big company's came in higher than us one was in the same area. I price all loads at $2.25-$2.50 a mile plus a fuel surcharge ( this week it is $ .51 per mile) and get paid on Friday for all paperwork in by weds day at noon. $ 100.00 per stop after first $75 per hour after 2 hours from appointment time for detention. If the big boys where so cheap why would any broker make a hundred calls to O/O's they could call on big company to cover their loads. It's the O/O's keeping the rates so low.

 

Go look at CHRW's stock profile they just raised their dividend to shareholders they are making so much money off of these O/O's who can't manage to run a business and end up being cheaper than a company driver. That's why 40 something percent go belly up in the first 3 years. And the rest of us have to fight to get the higher rate while they are running themselves into bankruptcy. And their will always be the revolving door of fools.

 

DHR has what they call TMC it something like 3PL. A real cheap bunch to deal with. I used to pull norwesco OD's for their prior 3PL and now they have OD loads done to less than 2.75 a mile. I told them NO thank you.

 

What I find of late is the big comapnies are charging in the 3.25-3.50 range a mile and trying to get carriers to haul it for 1.50 mile if they can.
I look at the stock market too CHR is the strongest of all the big brokers.
I wish some of these new ones would drive on into bankruptcy a little faster so I could get a little more money.

 

If they can get it why not. If i need to i will take 1.50 mile freight all day to get trucks back to my customers to move high dollar outbound freight, I will also bring drivers home empty 6-700 miles to pick up that freight. I guess I am part of the problem??

 

As far as what a brokers cut is, who cares? I have brokers I love and others I tolerate. We are a flatbed company and I get at least ten calls a day from major brokers who "need a load moved" and when they ask my rate I always get the same response that it is more than I have in it. I agree with some of you that it is better to look at the overall. Pick a per mile amount and go for it. I know owner operators who love running east to west and back. They get 2.50-2.75 per mile and get back on $1.25 or so. We run with a great broker from nc to pa all lumber, half tarp and half with no tarp. He is the only one we are dedicated to. He is not with a major company and we are paid with in 21 days. To maximize our money we tri haul. nc to pa to ga to nc. It works for us we dont back haul cheap out of md to nc for the 1.35 per mi average that most offer on first glance(not my style to make a driver go from about .61 a mile to .34 on the same miles esp if you are loading at a certain shingle company that holds you up half a day even when arriving before your appointment. )...what I am getting at is find what works for you. In the flatbed world texas and fl are suicide unless you are running specialty and it often has nothing to do with the brokers.

 

What shingle company is that? Hey! I have decent freight outta Texas!

 

I need some of them decent freight outta Texas!!!!