Trying the Pre-Plan experiment

Quick question for you: When you're hunting freight, are you relying strictly on posted rates?

 

That does help. Just want to make sure you're looking at the whole picture. If I've got a rate posted for instance, that doesn't necessarily mean that that's the only rate I'm offering, or that I don't have flexibilty. I like to have a starting point on a negotiation.

 

Just WOW.

 

Do you know why Microsoft beat IBM in the computer market back in the day?

IBM was (is) a behemoth, and MS was nimble. You are supposed to be nimble (& smarter)

Planning ahead that "far" as you are trying to, is only doable if you can land contracts. Right now, polish your negotiations skills (I know I am) and break down your cost as precisely as possible, so you know WHAT to take, WHEN, and WHERE.

Sometimes you may have to do a loss-run/break-even run, to re-position, but KNOW WHY you are doing this, and if possible, factor that into the next load's pricing.

disclaimer: This is coming from someone who is not a "classic" trucker...take it for what's its worth.

 

Plenty of folks out there making a decent living on the spot market. I think the biggest issue you're running into here is your pre-planning. You're committing your drivers too far in advance to rates that aren't that great. You're better served by lining up loads around the time your driver is arriving. There's certainly some anxiety, here, but there's two things this is going to do for you: You're not going to fall off a load two steps out because the middle load blew up, and you're going to have more time to find the better paying freight instead of committing to something that's not great because it fits your plan.

 

There's a reason DAT's triangular load planning is looked down upon by experienced players.

It's great in theory (hence your hypothesizing), but in actuality, kinda hard to do.