New member, looking for some guidance...

[Sharan]

Hi Everyone,

Short story:
Single truck carrier with option for team service looking for work.

Long story:
I am a one woman owner operator with my own authorities. I do have a second driver. We both have been driving for 15 years. Have moved up through the ranks from company drivers, to owner operators with the big trucking companies and now run independently. Long story short is that we are 100% reliable and trust worthy. I don't think the load boards are the best way of finding loads for a one truck operation. I would prefer to build a long term relationship with a few reputable brokers. Any help to point me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. This is the next step in my trucking story. Sorry for the long ramble but I hope to get some good input from the knowledgeable folks on this board.

Thanks,
Sharan Virk
Progressive Transportation Solutions
905-782-3385

 

[Sharan]

Pretty sure I posted this thread in the wrong area but not sure how to delete and re post. Therefore I will leave it here. But definitely didn't mean to put it in "moan&groan", lol.

 

[RochLogist]

lol, I saw it anyways

what lanes do you run? do you have a shipper who gives you inbound or outbound?

 

[chica123]

Yes, I agree with GRoch. Post the lanes you are going to run and maybe some members will send you a private message or recommend the brokers that are strong in that particular area

 

[Sharan]

Good morning,

Right now I have been running California/Nevada as a team through two different carriers. Not looking to run super hard. Prefer to run single or super-single. Texas would be a option. Or the Toronto to Quebec corridor if it was paying decent. Really I am open to looking at running anywhere if it was somewhat regular and pays a good rate.

Any advice on load boards... my impression has been that is where the low paying freight is posted. Loadlink seems like a high cost option for a single owner operator. I was thinking of trying out Truckstop.com instead. But with the price difference between the two not sure if there is a difference in the quality and quantity of loads posted?

 

[Freight Broker]

I'm inclined to pay more for a posted load. I generally send my offerings out to my carrier base first; and then, if I don't get any bites, I will post it on Truckstop. So posted loads aren't always the cheapest. They are if they're cattle call loads, but you can pick those out easily enough when you see 20 brokers posting the same load. When you see a single load posted by one broker then you can be more assured that the load is exclusive to that broker, and that broker might be more inclined to pay a little more to get it moved and keep his customer happy. One can make money with the boards, but you have to know what to look for and how to do it.

 

[Sharan]

Thanks for the info regarding the load boards. I will try Truckstop first and see how that goes.

What's your opinion on Loadlink versus Truckstop, will I see a big difference between the number of loads posted? I just can't understand the large price discrepancy between the two boards.

As far as getting on preferred carrier lists, do I just cold call a lot of brokers or is there a more streamlined way to get set up with multiple brokers? How does one find a honest and reputable broker versus the shady brokers?

 

[Rob]

Sharan, Even though link is more money they are the only way to go for Canadian carriers. 99% of what is on truckstop is cheaper than cheap or that was our experience when we tried it. That was 10 years ago and for the most part any Canadian load was junk. In 6 months we found one load and dropped it.

 

[whatiship]

Sharan, unfortunately most larger brokers are not going to want to deal with a "one truck carrier" who is not always in the place that they need them. The first thing you need to do is pick a lane and stick to it.
If you chose Dallas for example then you may have more luck calling some larger carriers who specialize in Dallas, introduce yourself and ask if you can get set up in their system for any overflow loads they may have. The carrier is more likely to offer a better rate since their main concern is protecting service as opposed to profiting from the move. Plus, big carriers would rather deal with a little carrier as opposed to another big one who they may be concerned about back solicitation.
I hate to say it, but if you are planning on getting both your outbound and inbound loads off a load board you are setting yourself up for problems with both low paying loads and collections. As a one truck operation you will have difficulty in choosing who to deal with and may find yourself grabbing any load that looks okay without the benefit of due diligence.
If I was going into business with one truck and me at the wheel I would find myself a good carrier who offers steady work at a fair rate and put myself on with them as an owner operator.
You may have had a bad experience in the past, however there are still some good carriers out there who offer what you are looking for.
Same job, but fewer worries about steady work, no accounts receivable concerns, better pricing for fuel, insurance, tires ect, and minimal accounting work for you.
It sounds great to be an "independent" but in today's environment I would take the road that offers less risk. Good luck in whatever path you chose!

 

[Salma]

Rob is right. As far as a load board for Canadian carriers, Load Link has a monopoly in that market.

When investigating shady vs. legit brokers, this site is an excellent place to start.
Read through the following thread from this site and it will give you some very good information:
http://insidetransport.com/index.php?forums/report-a-non-paying-freight-broker.8/

Also, the search function in the top right corner is very helpful.

As a small carrier, the best initial advice I can give to you regarding load brokers is to make sure you ALWAYS do your due diligence. ALWAYS check their MC# on the SAFER site: http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/CompanySnapshot.aspx
If they deal in cross-border freight, they are required by law to have a valid MC# as well as a freight broker bond of $75,000. Check if their authority has ever been revoked, expired insurance, etc.
ALWAYS get their "credit package", meaning basically they need to give you their company information regarding their owners, company address (PHYSICAL address, NOT a P.O. box address), their bank name & address and bank account number, all bond numbers, MC number, credit REFERENCES that you MUST check to make sure they are paying their bills.
The list goes on and on and I'm sure I have left a lot out of this brief list.

And remember that "too good to be true" is just that so don't be greedy or in a rush. Take your time, do your research and due diligence and you should be okay.

 

[Freight Broker]

Thanks for the info regarding the load boards. I will try Truckstop first and see how that goes.

What's your opinion on Loadlink versus Truckstop, will I see a big difference between the number of loads posted? I just can't understand the large price discrepancy between the two boards.

As far as getting on preferred carrier lists, do I just cold call a lot of brokers or is there a more streamlined way to get set up with multiple brokers? How does one find a honest and reputable broker versus the shady brokers?

I've never used Loadlink, so I can't compare the two. Truckstop works well for me, but 90% of my loads are intra US.

If I were you I'd start by looking at the big publicly traded brokers like CH Robinson. One can learn ALOT about them and how they operate by simply reading over their quarterly and annual reports. And they also offer research on market trends which they too put into those reports, and all is available to you at absolutely no charge by simply going to their website and reading.

Days to pay and length of time in business are usually good indicators also. Obviously, you'd want a broker who pays his/her bills in 15 days or less and has been in business for at least five years. I wouldn't necessarily discount newer brokers, but I would certainly check them out a little more closely.

I'm not sure there are that many shady brokers out there... in my experience I've found that most people try to be honest and try to do right by others. The much bigger issue is capability. Freight brokerage is an easy entry business.. lots of well intentioned people come in, get themselves into a lot of trouble and the carrier/shipper/ receiver end up holding the bag. So again, if I were you, I'd be checking about the broker's level of competence, as lack thereof has been the cause of more pain and loss then just about everything else in this industry combined. You can do that by calling them and asking them a few pointed questions about a load they may have posted. A good broker will have all the details at his fingertips.. does the load need to be tarped?.. what kind of tarp?... what are the receiver's hours etc. The devil really is in the details. And I can't stress that enough.

Lastly, when you completed the above you've just got to try them out. sometimes it all looks good but the relationship just doesn't work out. It's just the way it is sometimes with people. But if you keep at it you will eventually have a small group of people who you can trust and count on to keep you moving!

 

[Salma]

Freight Broker's point about "details" is bang on. If the broker can't give you any specific information about the load then just move on. They are either double-brokering a load or just trying to get a rate from you when, in fact, they do not have a load at all.

 

[Sharan]

Sharan, unfortunately most larger brokers are not going to want to deal with a "one truck carrier" who is not always in the place that they need them. The first thing you need to do is pick a lane and stick to it.
If you chose Dallas for example then you may have more luck calling some larger carriers who specialize in Dallas, introduce yourself and ask if you can get set up in their system for any overflow loads they may have. The carrier is more likely to offer a better rate since their main concern is protecting service as opposed to profiting from the move. Plus, big carriers would rather deal with a little carrier as opposed to another big one who they may be concerned about back solicitation.
I hate to say it, but if you are planning on getting both your outbound and inbound loads off a load board you are setting yourself up for problems with both low paying loads and collections. As a one truck operation you will have difficulty in choosing who to deal with and may find yourself grabbing any load that looks okay without the benefit of due diligence.
If I was going into business with one truck and me at the wheel I would find myself a good carrier who offers steady work at a fair rate and put myself on with them as an owner operator.
You may have had a bad experience in the past, however there are still some good carriers out there who offer what you are looking for.
Same job, but fewer worries about steady work, no accounts receivable concerns, better pricing for fuel, insurance, tires ect, and minimal accounting work for you.
It sounds great to be an "independent" but in today's environment I would take the road that offers less risk. Good luck in whatever path you chose!

Whatiship, Yes that is my main concern in regards to the load boards... low paying freight and not getting paid in a timely manner.

The two carriers I deal with are great as far as I get paid within 15 days and they supply me with fuel cards. My main concern with them is rates, always decent to start but then they slowly want to reduce. Right now the reason is diesel is less expensive so they need to pay less.

Who do you suggest as good carriers to be an owner operator with? Last time i looked the pay packages were not paying enough. I don't see how those owner operators are surviving. I've never had a super bad experience with any of the carriers I've worked for previously. It's always been a matter of trying to increase the profits and work smarter not harder.

The accounting and paperwork definitely is much increased, there's always something that needs my attention. Thanks for the input, I definitely will chew on it.

 

[Sharan]

Rob is right. As far as a load board for Canadian carriers, Load Link has a monopoly in that market.

When investigating shady vs. legit brokers, this site is an excellent place to start.
Read through the following thread from this site and it will give you some very good information:
http://insidetransport.com/index.php?forums/report-a-non-paying-freight-broker.8/

Also, the search function in the top right corner is very helpful.

As a small carrier, the best initial advice I can give to you regarding load brokers is to make sure you ALWAYS do your due diligence. ALWAYS check their MC# on the SAFER site: http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/CompanySnapshot.aspx
If they deal in cross-border freight, they are required by law to have a valid MC# as well as a freight broker bond of $75,000. Check if their authority has ever been revoked, expired insurance, etc.
ALWAYS get their "credit package", meaning basically they need to give you their company information regarding their owners, company address (PHYSICAL address, NOT a P.O. box address), their bank name & address and bank account number, all bond numbers, MC number, credit REFERENCES that you MUST check to make sure they are paying their bills.
The list goes on and on and I'm sure I have left a lot out of this brief list.

And remember that "too good to be true" is just that so don't be greedy or in a rush. Take your time, do your research and due diligence and you should be okay.

Salma, Yes I have been using the search function for last few days, very interesting reading. And I have been going through a lot of the older threads as well to glean any information I can.

Learned about the SAFER site from my reading here on the forum. Definitely will put that in my tool box of things to use.

Never knew about requesting a credit package, thanks for the heads up. Much appreciated!

 

[Sharan]

I've never used Loadlink, so I can't compare the two. Truckstop works well for me, but 90% of my loads are intra US.

If I were you I'd start by looking at the big publicly traded brokers like CH Robinson. One can learn ALOT about them and how they operate by simply reading over their quarterly and annual reports. And they also offer research on market trends which they too put into those reports, and all is available to you at absolutely no charge by simply going to their website and reading.

Days to pay and length of time in business are usually good indicators also. Obviously, you'd want a broker who pays his/her bills in 15 days or less and has been in business for at least five years. I wouldn't necessarily discount newer brokers, but I would certainly check them out a little more closely.

I'm not sure there are that many shady brokers out there... in my experience I've found that most people try to be honest and try to do right by others. The much bigger issue is capability. Freight brokerage is an easy entry business.. lots of well intentioned people come in, get themselves into a lot of trouble and the carrier/shipper/ receiver end up holding the bag. So again, if I were you, I'd be checking about the broker's level of competence, as lack thereof has been the cause of more pain and loss then just about everything else in this industry combined. You can do that by calling them and asking them a few pointed questions about a load they may have posted. A good broker will have all the details at his fingertips.. does the load need to be tarped?.. what kind of tarp?... what are the receiver's hours etc. The devil really is in the details. And I can't stress that enough.

Lastly, when you completed the above you've just got to try them out. sometimes it all looks good but the relationship just doesn't work out. It's just the way it is sometimes with people. But if you keep at it you will eventually have a small group of people who you can trust and count on to keep you moving!

Freight Broker, I have actually requested packages from CH Robinson, TQL, Hub Group, etc., but have not followed through due to all the negative comments I've read on the internet. Not sure if I am just reading the comments from U.S. based owner operators who are dealing with poor agents or are not great carriers themselves.

As far as shady brokers, once again I keep reading comments from owner operators crying about how the brokers are ripping them off at any opportunity. I guess since I've never dealt with a broker directly I am letting my reading form my opinion.

Definitely I will be asking all the pertinent questions when trying to book a load. Are the load boards the only way to know which brokers pay in 15 days or less and how long they've been in business? Any other resources?

Ideally that is the ideal situation, have a few good people in my circle that I can build long term business relationships with. Thanks for the pointers.

 

[Salma]

......Never knew about requesting a credit package, thanks for the heads up. Much appreciated!

You're very welcome!
Also, look out for the "shady" brokers that will call you at 6pm, desperate for you to pick up their load the next morning. This gives you no opportunity to check references because the people you need to talk to have already gone home for the day.
From my experience, these brokers are either double-brokering a load or their credit is so crappy that they can only come out at night and hunt for unsuspecting carriers.
Also, I have found a lot of information about a company by simply googling their owner/principal names, address, phone number, fax number, and domain name ownership information (you'd be surprised what you can find with domain name searches....).
Good luck!

 

[martinetav]

Sharan, you might try going and signing up to load boards of the different companies also. CH Robinson is one that is mentioned. There is also Landstar, TQL, ABF, ECHO, BEAR just to name a few. They have you pre-approved to carry for them and if necessary they will work to have you pre-approved for loads that go to Lowes, Home Depot, Menards, Walmart etc. I would think that this would be a great option for you. It's a little work filling out the different packages but once you get that out of the way ...

 

[whatiship]

Whatiship, Yes that is my main concern in regards to the load boards... low paying freight and not getting paid in a timely manner.

The two carriers I deal with are great as far as I get paid within 15 days and they supply me with fuel cards. My main concern with them is rates, always decent to start but then they slowly want to reduce. Right now the reason is diesel is less expensive so they need to pay less.

Who do you suggest as good carriers to be an owner operator with? Last time i looked the pay packages were not paying enough. I don't see how those owner operators are surviving. I've never had a super bad experience with any of the carriers I've worked for previously. It's always been a matter of trying to increase the profits and work smarter not harder.

The accounting and paperwork definitely is much increased, there's always something that needs my attention. Thanks for the input, I definitely will chew on it.

I guess it depends on where you want to run. If you look at some of the ad's in the trade magazines many carriers look pretty decent, but looks can be deceiving. I think the best way to find out how a carrier is to work with is to narrow it down to 2 or 3 major outfits who are growing and looking for owner operators. Then look for their trucks every time you are at a truck stop and ask the driver to tell you how he/she gets treated. Current owner op's will normally give you the straight goods. If you sit down with a carrier, write down all the things that you are concerned about and write down their answers. Also, try to sneak a look at the "drivers room" at the terminal, that will give you a pretty good indication of how they feel about their people. If the carrier is always looking for owner operators and their fleet size is not growing you gotta wonder why?

 

[Freight Broker]

I wouldn't pay too much attention to the negative commentary. Outfits like TQL and CH are big for a reason... they're able to get a lot of people to haul for them. That says a lot. You don't get to a billion plus in sales by pissing off your carrier base. Sure, not all of their agents are great or even good, but as soon as you start employing people your quality takes a hit... doesn't matter if you're a carrier or a broker or a baker for that matter.

About shady brokers, I can't say too much as I don't work with other brokers, but brokers are representative of the population at large, and some are going to better and more honest than others. I've run into shady carriers also, and there's usually no way to tell they're shady until after the fact. If they all had horns or fangs it would be so much easier. But often they're smiley and polite and confident looking... until you loan them money to help them out of a fix and then they're gone.

Sounds like Landstar or Jones or Admiral Merchants might be more along the lines of what your looking for, but you've probably already thought of that.

 

[crosgre]

Great points freight broker.
My advice for working with the larger brokers is; call in, ask to meet with a capacity rep and start to build a relationship with that person or their smaller team. Having up front conversations about your expectations and goals versus their expectation and goals will help you decide if this is a good fit. Ideally, the relationship should be mutually beneficial and you will want to achieve growth together. Then I would continue to call that person daily and show them that you want to work together. It can be difficult to 'break in' to their top carriers call list. Trust is key and once you build that trust, it gets easier, day-by-day. Then I would try to stick to working for that person or smaller team and have them work to move you around (look for round trips, or additional opportunities). I always tell people that if they were to do 100 loads with 100 different people in a larger brokerage firm and they mess up 1 of those 100 loads, that person could potentially 'flip out', and look to remove the carrier from any future load with their company as there may be a lack of strength in relationship. However, if they moved 100 loads with the same person (or small group) in that same brokerage firm and they messed up one load, the result would probably be completely different. The strength of the relationship would be weighed, there would be an opportunity for learning (what went wrong? why? what should have happened? and how to avoid in the future?) and as long as the trend didn't continue overtime in the future, the relationship would grow stronger via communication. I work for CHR and if you would like to contact me, I would be happy to direct you to capacity rep looking to grow their portfolio and willing/wanting to sit with you and discuss where you and CHR may align. We are always looking to match freight on both sides of the border. Do we always have round trips? NO, but we work diligently to match freight as best we can to provide additional opportunities for our carrier base, while looking to increase efficiencies.

Greg Cross
greg.cross@chrobinson.com
CH Robinson - Toronto, ON