What is the point of Loan confirmation?

ZoCNX

Active Member
10
Typical Carrier/ Typical Broker day to day situation.

Typical dry load from A to B 500 miles hauled by small carrier

#1.
2 hours before pick up appointment
Truck: 15 minutes away waiting for appointment time to go in (or on his way to pick it up)
"A" - Broker: Load just got canceled for bla-bla-bla reason
or "B" - Broker: today's load not ready until tomorrow, so either Carrier ok with it or it would be covered with someone else

#2
4 hours before pick up appointment
Truck: on schedule for his pick up
"A" - Broker: Load just got canceled for bla-bla-bla reason
or "B" - Broker: today's load should be delivered 1 day later from original day, so either Carrier ok with it or it would be covered with someone else

#3
1 day before pick up appointment
Truck: on schedule for tomorrow pick up
"A" - Broker: Load just got canceled for bla-bla-bla reason
or "B" - Broker: Same pick up day but delivery is 1 day later from original day, (OR Load will not be ready to until the day after tomorrow), so either Carrier ok with it or it would be covered with someone else

I KNOW it all dependence on the actual situation, relationship between Carrier and Broker, and so on...BUT... let's keep it simple and peaceful


TONU - is paid only once truck checked in, so my question is ... Does the Load confirmation reserve a right for Carrier to charge Broker for "reservation cancellation"? and/or for "delay Fee"?

"B" situation leaves small Carrier with less money just because the pick up/delivery date changed after the fact (he would have to use 2 trucks instead of 1 as originally planed and/or losing 1 day of work (if same truck doing delivery), OR if Carrier says NO, it leaves him with $0.00, plus numerous phone calls to recover this lane, and etc. AND if this line is not re-covered with any other load/truck(s), it is effecting THE NEXT scheduled load and this "NEXT BROKER" is angry at the carrier despite the reason of cancellation.

Bottom line is Why carrier has to loss money and NOT be reimbursed for costumer delay? and What is the point of Loan confirmation then?
 

MikeJr

Moderator
Staff member
30
In summary,
Take loads from brokers that know their customers/shippers/consignees. Take loads from brokers that book pickup and delivery apts for you, it ensures they are communicating with shippers and consignees. Take loads from a small selection of good brokers with available freight on the lanes you run. Things will happen, for sure they will. Carriers and brokers need to work together when they do.

Conversely (carriers cancelling on a broker in advance or last minute):
How often does it happen that a carrier cancels on a broker 2 hours before pickup, at the time they are supposed to pick up and/or after the scheduled pickup time? Should that carrier pay the brokers increased cost to recover with another provider? Why do missed pickups actually cost money but a carrier cancelling incurs no penalty? My question is rhetorical, the answers are similar to your situation: Know what carriers you are working with, high cancellation frequency means they are not reliable and require further discussion, penalty box or dissolution of the relationship.

I agree, everyone should play nice in the sandbox and it's too bad that some people don't!!

Keep well,
Mike
 

chica123

Site Supporter
30
ZoCNX. You will get to know the brokers you work with. Work with the ones you trust. Like Mike said, a cancellation here and there is inevitable in this business, but the good brokers you can trust will not be lying to you at least. And the good brokers will also understand when you have to cancel due to reasons out of your control. But you must prove to them first that you are trustworthy. If you do, they will know that you are cancelling for a legitimate reason, because you have done countless other loads for them without a hitch in the past. :) If the broker is not giving you a good feeling, then just stay with the ones that you can trust. There are lots of great brokers out there, actually.
 

Igor Galanter

Well-Known Member
20
It's a two way street with a multiple lanes each direction.. Move by rules, keep your eyes and ears open and you will be fine...
 

JNS-Shawn

Active Member
10
my 2 cents..

It's not a daily occurrence but it is often enough that a truck is running late, asking if the warehouse can stay open an extra hour or 3. It saves the truck time and money but I've never once been offered by a carrier to reduce the rate to compensate the shipper/receiver for their monetary loss, production delays etc. Why shouldn't the carrier be held responsible?

This industry truly is a give and take and that's why relationships are important still (to some of us). Maybe the shipper wasn't ready when the truck arrived, but maybe later on they waited the extra time for the truck to show up. Or maybe the truck was a day late to deliver, but maybe next time the truck held the load to deliver a day later per customer's request. Give n take keeps it peaceful.
 

ZoCNX

Active Member
10
At 1st I want to say, all wording below are just my opinion...

As a small carrier, my competition is "truth and quality service". Sample:I would pay triple price for the road repair for the load being delivered ON TIME. It's me and my way of work, and I guess it's the main reason why people love to work with me. And if I, my truck(s), late for his appointment, I'm already losing money (day of work and/or on road service and etc.). I'm already penalized myself and you think is not enough... well...

I hate spending time on rearranging/cancellation of all my prescheduled trip(s) and losing money because of someone else mistake. I'm paying for my mistake, so why other's should not pay for their mistake or mess.

Way waaaay back when my family was on other site of this coin: If we were not able to have truck on ordered day, we would pay for it. 48 hours rule would apply (some had 24 hours window), any significant changes to the order and/or cancellation of the order was penalized. I know, this rule still applicable here and there, so just don't be shocked or feel offended when Carrier is asking for it.

I think, Load confirmation should not be "for your information only". It is a legal document that should be treated as one by ALL parties involved in there. HOWEVER. As long as we, Carriers AND Brokers, treating it as toilet paper, that can be thrown away any time without any downside to it, we all will have this
problem. This industry is a mess because we (Carriers AND Brokers) let it be a mess.

My point is:
I'm ok to pay for my mistake but if "you" (or your customer) messed up, pay for it! simple as is!

Anyway, nothing personal, I don't mean to offend anybody and start a war in here. I do respect all people that I work with as well as all opinions of members in here. And I do play by all "non-official" and messy rules of this industry, even though I don't like most of them.
 
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