What Is Considered Cheap Freight ?

I see it as: whoever is doing it will tell you it's something other than cheap freight-but if they are telling you about someone else doing it: it's cheap freight.

It's all cheap freight to someone. @RGN you're on the money-it's all about how much is in your bank/how much you keep.

 

And half of that 99% will be further in debt a year after the raise!!

 

You guys can defend yourself taking the cheap crap all you want but the truth is that YOU are the problem with this industry. YOU are driving down the rates.

 

But what is the cheap freight. If one guy needs 5/mile to cover his costs, but another guy needs 1.20/mile to cover the SAME costs. They both want to make 2/mile profit. He can drive for 3.20/mile,while another guy that needs 7/mile is crying about low rate.. That's cheap freight TO HIM. It's all about what you walk away with from a load. Now the same guy that needs 3.20 on his miles is crying CHEAP FREIGHT because a guy that has .60 in operating cost, can take the loads for $2.60 a mile. Still make the same profit as the 3.20 guys or the 7/mile guy. Then you add a first time owner operator, who only did fleeces before for $1,300 a week. His operating cost is 1.25, but he hopes to see $2,500 in his pocket. This means he can take loads for 1.80 and run 3,600 miles, and see around $2,500. Suddenly the $2.60/mile load guy is screaming cheap freight with the 3.20/mile load and 7/mile load guy...this is ALL the same freight. Chances are the customer doesn't even know what the load is paying. Broker gets to pocket a lot of money in some cases.

So a term like cheap freight can't fit all shoes.

 

Well speaking of general dry van freight at least $2/mi for at least 500 mi is my low number. And that's going to an area where I can reload at that rate or more

 

Even going direct a lot of shippers are as bad as (some) brokers & getting worse the more capacity there is out there- some are finding they can get "cheap" rates AND save on the brokers cut. Now that is scary! I know of one outfit (started with a "shipper direct" loadboard) that is offering a software suite and support that enables shippers to go direct to carriers.

Not to sound like a broken record, but I quit saying a long time ago "nobody will take it for that".

 

Aint that the truth.

 

There was a shipper about 3 months ago, who called on my truck in Arkansas at 4:30ish. The truck just got empty. He had about 6 pallets that some guy didn't pick up that had to go for about 250 miles to it's destination. Pick was somewhere in MO. All in all with my deadhead it came close to 600 miles. He told me he was a direct shipper, and to name my price since he needs it moved and can't get a truck. I quoted him $1700, which I was on the low end since most of the miles were empty, and it was a late night load. I Understand for 6 pallets on a 250 mile trip $1,700 sounds a lot, but It's a 600 mile run for the truck, over night basically. The guy choked on the phone and said he was looking to be at $800. LOL . What I'm assuming is he wanted to cut the broker out, and doesn't know how to find a truck so he called on the first truck that popped up (me posting once the truck was empty at 4:30ish).

Another thing that occurs is here you are with a nice little fleet running for nice money for a direct customer. After numerous phone calls of brokers telling them they are paying too much, and can save them money, they give it a shot, and some carriers takes it for cheap, and the customer will ask you to drop YOUR prices to keep hauling direct. After they get used to a low price it's hard for them to come with more money. So next carrier that thinks direct freight will be nice without the brokers cut get's the customer's rate without the extra money he includes for brokers so it becomes worse. Sure, there are few customers that care about quality, and what not, but majority is just looking to save money just as they should.

 

Over supply of trucks chasing too little freight is driving the price down. No individual can affect the price.

 

You do get that you are the one with the truck right? If everyone said no then the crap would sit on the docks until they came up on price