Why pull cheap freight.

I'm still trying to figure out this "skimming" thing, considering that I read and freely signed an agreement that LS and I would split the revenue at mutually agreed upon percentages and for proof, I have access to the actual freight bill, sent to the customer. Unlike a rate conformation, from a broker, that throws out a rate that may or may not have anything to do with what they are charging the customer.

Which one is more prone to skimming? The one, where I have open access to the total transaction, from start to finish, or the one where there is no clarity?

 

I loaded it up Thursday afternoon and could deliver it firday or monday. My house is 1/2 between the shipper and consignee so I will deliver it Monday morning, taking 3 days off at home. then i am going to reload 10 miles away going 600 miles and deliver that Tuesday morning for $2.89 mile to the truck.

I've gotte into the mindset of booking my truck on a per-day basis then mileage rates. Basically, I look to see how many days it will take to move a load and then base my rate on a set figure I use. The only time I don't base my judgement on this is when the load goes over a weekend (load friday-deliver monday) then you just have to get the mileage rate as a daily rate will not make sense.

 

getting to that point here too.

I had one guy offer a load at $500 for 150 miles. Told him that won't work. Had to get at least $850 for it. Gave him the explanation of the fact he's tying my truck up for 24 hours anyway and I would be loosing money otherwise.

he agreed to my rate at that point. I think I was low....

I bid this last project figuring I'd have 3 loads a day. I wanted $900 revenue. I got $1000 and I am only driving all of 120 miles a day.

 

@ SHC,

I'm curious about how the LS board works, is there a rate listed on the board you see ? Or when you call the brokers are they usually firm on the BCO rate ? Or is everything negotiated like any other broker ? It sounds to me like you would have a tough time matching the rates you are getting TO THE TRUCK under your own authority, regardless of LS 27% or not.

My impression of LS has been that the guys that have been there awhile get cozy with a few brokers and grab up all the good stuff. Or that you have to really form connections and play politics to get the decent loads. Would you say that is true, or are good loads available to any BCO ?

 

Everything on the board can be Negotiated.Times,Pick ups,Delivery's and Rates.

Right now it is hell finding good solid rates.The best i can do out of St.Louis is $2.00 going back to the Northeast.Last Year it was well over $3.00 everyday going to NY or Northeast.

Yes we have our ''chosen few'' who have been here forever and get all the ''good stuff''..Many times it sucks for the new kid on the block because all the ''good stuff'' is locked up.

Good loads are available to BCO's at times depending on were your at.Again most of the ''good stuff'' is locked up and never reaches the boards.

 

I will send you a PM with explaniation to help keep this thread on topic.... and there is also this section of TTR specifically for LS.

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/landstar/

Also, i am not saying Ls is the greatest thing ever, nor am I going recruit more drivers (that's not good for my bottom line) lest anyone thing I am preaching propaganda here.

 

Yes, the rates are posted. Some can be negotiated, some are firm. Some, even though the gross rate is firm, how it is split up can be negotiated. While many of the "good" loads never see the board, the board will still have quite a bit of good ones available. I've pulled off of the board and I've also been called by Agents, for loads that never hit it. Many BCOs get really good loads, without ever forming relationships with any Agents. BTW, LS does offer free classes, to us, on how to identify the Agents with good freight and form those relationships.

Here is an example of how, even though the gross rate was solid, I was able to negotiate a larger split of the revenue, to me, on a load I booked for Monday. This particular load is machinery, for a flatbed, not oversize or over dimensional, 40,000 pounds, requiring tarps. The gross rate is $1800.00 on 525 computer miles. Of that $1800, $262.50 is fuel surcharge, using 50 cents per mile, leaving $1537.50. Only those figures, alone, my truck pay would be $1537.50 X .735 = $1130.06 + $262.50, for a total of $1392.56. However, from that $1537.50, I had the Agent agree to pull $200.00 for a tarp charge, of which I get 100%. So now it works out to the following, $1800.00 - $262.50 - $200.00 leaving $1337.50 for the linehaul rate. $1337.50 X .735 = $983.06 + $262.50 + $200.00 for a total of $1445.56 on the same 525 computer miles. A difference of $53.00, not a lot, but I would rather have that 53 buck, than not have it. BTW, that $1445.56 comes out to 80.3% of the gross rate, not my 73.5%. .3% more than an Authorized Broker Carrier would get, for the same load brokered from the same Agent.

 

In my experience it's not so much where, but when, you are.... Like MNdriver said above, it's supply and demand.

I was leased to a carrier that paid 87% of the gross, and paid it within 24 hrs of receiving the POD, and they were good negotiators, they knew how to approach the broker with the call, how to politely but firmly set their terms, and how to gauge whether they could get their rate, sit and wait, or grab and go and move on... I learned a lot from them, and when I went to the spot market boards on my own they would discuss tactics and strategies with me..... we played good cop, bad cop, with brokers... dumb driver with brokers, and other fun games....the point of all of it was to work together to get what we needed, and to figure out when we could get more than we wanted.... two people calling from the same place, but with different area codes can really work a broker over, and this is why a lot of times the first thing a broker asks for is the mc#...but all this only works when the broker can't move the load.... the worst thing in the world is when you call and hear, "it's been covered", and every call is, "sorry, but that loads been covered"...

Look, the thing with LS is they have the network and they have a system that allows drivers to secure their next load before they deliver the load they're hauling, I'm sure that a smart, savvy, o/o can generate income. It could be worthwhile if, and this is a big if, if they have consistently high rates and lots of them. I've looked at BCO LS boards with wide search radius' and just haven't been that impressed...

Yes, they are

Actually, when you look at who's actually moving the load, financing the equipment, paying the maintenance, absorbing the costs, facing the risks... those numbers should be higher than that.... 87%, 88%... that's more where it should be... but LS is leveraging their market share, they're using their "muscle", the vast amount of freight within their network, and they're the ones who are negotiating fiercely with their own BCO's... that's the point I was making in my earlier post with the $1.60 illustration.

 

And when I say, "negotiating fiercely", I'm not talking about tone, I'm talking about flexibility.... how much do they move from their starting point, if at all....

 

And one other thing, it's really hard to "know" how you did in the market at any particular time without sharing information with others...

Do you want to be alone in the wilderness, or do you want to want to have friends??

Hard specifics should probably not be discussed in an open forum, but among friends, privately, they can be.