what happens when you brokers fail at getting loads covered?

Alot of good info here. Thanks.
As for the guys that show up with the wrong equipment when it is clearly stated. I was very green in flatbed early on. Went to work for a guy nice truck and trailer. Didn't know the guy well. Sent me to pickup a load of steel. When I arrived at the shipper they wanted a 53' with no head board. I show up with a 48' with a headboard... didn't take me long to realize this dude knew less than I did!! Needless to say I was told by the shipper we wouldn't be invited back! I explained to the guy how green I was...and just to pour a little salt in the wound he showed me what it would have paid! I'm curious what a broker would do to that "carrier"? I didn't wait around to see the out come.

 

I can't speak for everyone, but I look at it like this- it's a matter of risk versus payoff for us, as much as it is for you. Say for instance, I'm paying you $4000 to accomplish a partocular shipment. The parameters that go into that said shipment tend to have a few things going for it. Could be that it's a long run with hit times. Could be that it requires specialized equipment. Could have a pretty tight timeline. Say you're happy with the $4000 for whatever the shipment ends up being. Now, the $400-$600 I charge the customer on top of that goes into paying me a reasonable rate for the effort spent in acquiring your services, arranging for you to be there, and managing the other side of it, as well as keeping the shipper and receiver off your back. It's also payout for the probably no less than ten to thirty cold calls I'd made to this shipper to get this freight.

Of that 10-15% I made the company on that shipment, I see a smaller percentage of that. The rest goes into salaries and upkeep as well as operating capital. It's not that I don't want you guys to get as much as you can on a load. It's just that I want and need to make money too.

 

Not much I can really do, except not use the guy again. It's not a personal thing- I just can't risk jeopardizing my good name with people I'm supposed to pay making me look like a fool.

Edit: That's not to say I wasn't mad. I'm still a little steamed about it, right now if I'm completely honest. I don't know how I could've made it sny clearer, between telling the dispatcher three times on the call, putting it in the email, and on the rate confirmation which they signed and returned. I guess some folks really just don't read what they're signing.

 

That is a shipper cheating on freight rates. The shippment is oversized and the shipper wants cheap regular freight rates on oversized.

They don't pay extra for an oversized trailer(53 feet) because a 48 and even a 45 foot trailer will move 95 percent of all freight weighing up to 48k.

Crooks!

 

Here is the reason I was asking. Because I pay broker too but not a freight broker though.

I buy used cars at auctions most of the time for less than $800.
I then turn around and sell them for sometimes $3000. And there is some work done to with that

 

Don't necessarily disagree with that. Soms shippers get weird about that. I don't like working with those weirdos.

Sure, and there's work on our end of it, too. I have to have convinced the paying customer to take a chance on letting me move their freight. That takes on average at least ten phone calls, unless you catch the right guy at the right time, OR you stumble on someone who's just going to add your email to a big heaping pile of other emails for soliciting quotes. The latter guy will always go with the cheapest party he can find, which does not work with my business model. I sell a service, which is finding good carriers to do good work. So, off the bat I have to verify that a carrier is solid, ensure that they know what they're getting into, and ensure that I have a finger on the pulse of thd market rates for any given area that I'm running freight from.

After all that, I then have to ensure that I'm able to find a carrier who is willing to provide the service I've promised to my customer, and do everything I can to ensure that it picks up and delivers smoothly, all from an office that is
~300ish miles from my closest customer.

I also make myself available on off hours and weekends to both the customer and the carrier, in case there are issues on either end. Bad news doesn't get better with age, and consequently, I have to keep all parties informed of what's going on, or at least manage expectations.

 

Please don’t get bent out of shape reading my comment. This goes for any working man or woman. I don’t feel pity for people like your friend. If people do something w/o a gun held to their head oh well it is their choice. Be happy for them that they make good money. They are getting rewarded for their work. Leave it at that.

I am enjoying this thread because I always like to learn the other side. I really appreciate what everyone is laying out there.

Now I want to ask: This is for multiple loads (as in several hundred). Actual rate is $67 or $70 per ton depending on which carrier hauls the product. Then add 20 percent fsc. 600 miles. Loads fast. Unloads in anywhere from 45 minutes at rare absolute best. Can take 4 hours to get off. I know what the broker is paying. If I feel I can reveal the rate w/o creating a poop storm for myself I will at the end. What would all or any of you consider to be a fair rate paid through the broker? BTW These loads get shipped 3 ways. Carrier A, carrier B or the broker.

 

Needs more info. General markets at the minimum, commodity, equipment required, how it's loaded, any special requirements, etc. Wouldn't care to speculate on a rate at this point.

 

Will send a pm.

 

Sorry about the delay. Phone has been acting up, wouldn’t load a second message so I powered it off and went to bed. I forgot about no pming brokers. Too much info given on a public forum could create problems for me. I will need to get creative to get more info out which may take some time.