How to review a Trucking Company

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Casey

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Oct 11, 2018
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I posted this question in the middle of another post and felt it would be interesting to hear from those who come across this. With the closing of Terra Nova Transport and the bankruptcy protection of VA Transport recently, I was wondering how other freight broker go about deciding on regular carriers.

- What due diligence/research do you do to review the health of a transport company?
- I realize carriers are more concerned about us and we provide credit references, bank information etc and Dunn & Brad. Do you ever request this information from carriers?
- I have a series of questions I ask for one load etc and my ability to judge people is exceptional, but how can we review where they are financially?
- have you ever had them fill out your credit application so you could review them?


KC
 
How about us carrier's all start sending out our customer list and rates to you just to make your life a little better?


Credit app to wait to get paid. I do believe that is a new one good for you that has to be the best one I have heard in awhile. LMAO!!

I can just about bet that most of the staff at Terra Nova did not know they where going down until VA told them.
 
Casey, trying to structure your carrier review policies based on the bankruptcy and closure of Terra Nova and VA would be a mistake, or at best, misguided. From a freight brokers perspective, it is virtually impossible to predict when a carrier might suffer catastrophic, financial collapse. Instead, brokers should concentrate their review based on a carriers service and performance and adherence to applicable rules and regulations. There is no question, that as your strategic partners, the carriers you deal with should be financially viable and hopefully profitable. If you are placing a great deal of your business with one carrier, it would be in your best interest to develop a more personal relationship with them so that you might see problems develop before before disaster strikes, but even that is no guarantee.
 
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@Casey This site is a great place to start when vetting carriers. As others have already mentioned, quality of service and safety rating is critical. Checking all references and online reviews is extremely important as well. Like I have said in other posts, look at Google reviews, Facebook comments, and any other social media you can find. I think you got a good scare with the whole Terra Nova / VA Transport situation. In my opinion, they handled that irresponsibly and left many people in a panic.
 
Rob said:
How about us carrier's all start sending out our customer list and rates to you just to make your life a little better?


Credit app to wait to get paid. I do believe that is a new one good for you that has to be the best one I have heard in awhile. LMAO!!

I can just about bet that most of the staff at Terra Nova did not know they where going down until VA told them.
Click to expand...

Why on earth would you even bother providing a reply with absolutely no value whatsoever? Last thing I need is someone who obviously wants to start an argument on the internet for no apparent reason other than his hatred for freight brokers? Let me form a reply worthy of yours:

1) Why would I want your customer list when it likely consists of all freight brokers.

2) If you hate freight brokers so much, why would you continue to deal with them? You obviously have an incredible gift for sales and with that positive outlook on life you possess you should have no problem persuading new customers to use your services.

3) of course we'd love to see your rates, oh wait, we're already your client so we have your rates.

4) What would a credit application tell me about a carrier? The same thing it tells you about a customer:

- For example if I was considering Terra Nova 2 months ago I may have seen that they had stopped paying their bills and their average payment was 120 days. Red Flag.
- I may have called some references to find out they had not paid their bills or their service started great and was no longer as efficient
- I'm sure there is a reason I fill out credit applications over and over again.

Please let me assure you, some freight brokers aren't that bad. Some even pay within 30 days. Some freight brokers even deal with carriers that are grateful for the business that we bring to them. So grateful they take us to lunch, they send gifts at Christmas because after all, we really are the sales reps that they aren't willing to pay for aren't we.

Sorry, I had a crappy day dealing with another carrier who is lying to me over and over about where my freight is. LOL


KC
 
loaders said:
Casey, trying to structure your carrier review policies based on the bankruptcy and closure of Terra Nova and VA would be a mistake, or at best, misguided. From a freight brokers perspective, it is virtually impossible to predict when a carrier might suffer catastrophic, financial collapse. Instead, brokers should concentrate their review based on a carriers service and performance and adherence to applicable rules and regulations. There is no question, that as your strategic partners, the carriers you deal with should be financially viable and hopefully profitable. If you are placing a great deal of your business with one carrier, it would be in your best interest to develop a more personal relationship with them so that you might see problems develop before before disaster strikes, but even that is no guarantee.
Click to expand...

Excellent reply, I do believe however that many mistakes could be avoided if we had a method of checking into a carriers services and financials, payment history. Some will provide references of course, but like brokers, they would only provide the ones they treat the best.
 
Salma said:
@Casey This site is a great place to start when vetting carriers. As others have already mentioned, quality of service and safety rating is critical. Checking all references and online reviews is extremely important as well. Like I have said in other posts, look at Google reviews, Facebook comments, and any other social media you can find. I think you got a good scare with the whole Terra Nova / VA Transport situation. In my opinion, they handled that irresponsibly and left many people in a panic.
Click to expand...

This site has already been excellent and I definitely need to donate to it. The value of having people in the same industry who aren't looking at each other as competition and who aren't here to troll the internet looking for a fight is invaluable. There have also been some online reviews, one that seems to come up often is the employee reviews for trucking companies on a popular job board. Then again how many people choose to write a review about a company treating you well or a product that actually does what it is supposed to. We expect to be treated well and we expect to get what we pay for, but sometimes, you do hear an employee that has heard something.
 
I understand your interest in finding out more about a carriers financials especially after your recent, unfortunate experience. However in the majority of cases it really isn’t an issue. If a carrier is a slow payer to his suppliers but still provides an acceptable level of service to his customers, should we be overly concerned? Certainly if the financing company seizes his trucks, or if his insurance gets revoked, we should take notice and make alternate arrangements. However I must return to my previous comment about developing relationships, especially with the carriers you give the bulk of your freight to. When vetting any potential new carrier partners we always ask for service references, but would never consider asking for a credit application or a copy of their financial statements.
 
Buy into credit insurance (not from me I don’t know enough about it). I do know, when you provide them with a list of people you lend credit to, they input them into their system and the minute there is any financial issue, they will alert you. Having said that - could be too late by that time. Co-face is the most prominent in this field.

If I could refer a competitor; Cory Breed at Magnes Insurance in Oakville/Mississauga. He worked for Co-Face and is now a broker.
 
I check my carriers by looking at whatever servce information is available, along with any available information on safety that is available through the various government agencies. I don't check for financial viability as even in the worst case, there's a winding down of the business that would ensure that my freight is delivered or is rerouted some other way to a successful conclusion. Bankrupcy is a financial instrument that allows a person or a business that is in distress to reorganize by providing some relief from creditors, or, worst case, that the business can be wound down in an orderly manner. Without the financials its very hard to determine what you're dealing with.. Terra Nova had been in business for many years, had a fairly decent reputation.. no red flags that might suggest to the casual outside observer that things weren't going well. I went through similar situations over the years.. Jevic.. Truckers Express.. Arrow Transportation.. plus a few smaller ones. In each case I had loads in transit, but everything was delivered eventually albeit late but damage free. Short of asking for financials there's no way of assessing a carrier's/broker's true financial situation. And even then, unless you're an accountant, you'd have a hard time getting the true picture. Best we can do is to roll with it, and when it happens we deal with it on a case by case basis.
 
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Sometimes it's hard to stay on topic, I'll try.

When 'checking out' a new carrier, look at all the documents:
Are there 30 different addresses? It's a potential sign of instability.
Are the liability and cargo coverages high enough that you are comfortable?
Check out they CVOR, have they been audited, was it satisfactory?
Run the SAFER scores. Are they at or below average, what if there are 0 inspections?
Verify they have active WSIB (or coverage in the province they operate).
Did they provide you with a cover letter, did it look professional?
Do they have a website? Does it say they are a CARRIER?
This site and several others will have areas where members/users can submit feedback about the quality of service a carrier provides or fails to provide.
This is a basic list anyone with a little experience can come up with, the exact details of who/where/what to check and what associations to be a member of that have their own complaint database is property of my employer.

Not directed at any single person,
Regarding people getting their backs up and insulting each other either directly or passive aggressively, lets all grow up a little. We're all after the same thing, service the client, make some profit, avoid the crooks. Lets work together on these 3 things as active members of this great community.

Keep well,
Mike
 
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I would add to your excellent list Mikejr, an address check on google earth. I know, some carriers operate out of their residence and have a rented/shared yard somewhere else, but the more information you can gather about the entity your are entrusting your customers freight to, the better. In spite of all these efforts, we can all provide examples of a “bad apple” slipping through our defences! In short, you can never perform too much due diligence.
 
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Agreed!
If all addressed are UPS stores and PO Boxes... Where do I show up if you stop answering the phone? I want a fixed address. Good call loaders.

Keep well,
Mike
 
loaders said:
I understand your interest in finding out more about a carriers financials especially after your recent, unfortunate experience. However in the majority of cases it really isn’t an issue. If a carrier is a slow payer to his suppliers but still provides an acceptable level of service to his customers, should we be overly concerned? Certainly if the financing company seizes his trucks, or if his insurance gets revoked, we should take notice and make alternate arrangements. However I must return to my previous comment about developing relationships, especially with the carriers you give the bulk of your freight to. When vetting any potential new carrier partners we always ask for service references, but would never consider asking for a credit application or a copy of their financial statements.
Click to expand...

I agree it is not usually an issue. With some recent closures we have all seen, I have a feeling we are going to be seeing more. I guess vetting our suppliers will have to continue to be getting their best references provided by them, internet searches, building relationships with people who often have no idea how the company is doing and maybe a bit of praying. It is true that in 16 years of being in business it has only happened twice. The first time we waited 3 weeks to get our hands on our clients freight and almost lost our biggest client. After all, to the client we are the carrier. This time around I had no intention of waiting 3 weeks and since their timing was over Christmas, it still took far too long to get our freight back, and once again another client may be leaving. The constant hindsight of "didn't you see it coming" was some ignorance on my part. When VA bought Terra Nova some changes were made that were obvious red flags I chose to ignore as the operations people assured me it was business as usual.
 
MikeJr said:
Sometimes it's hard to stay on topic, I'll try.

When 'checking out' a new carrier, look at all the documents:
Are there 30 different addresses? It's a potential sign of instability.
Are the liability and cargo coverages high enough that you are comfortable?
Check out they CVOR, have they been audited, was it satisfactory?
Run the SAFER scores. Are they at or below average, what if there are 0 inspections?
Verify they have active WSIB (or coverage in the province they operate).
Did they provide you with a cover letter, did it look professional?
Do they have a website? Does it say they are a CARRIER?
This site and several others will have areas where members/users can submit feedback about the quality of service a carrier provides or fails to provide.
This is a basic list anyone with a little experience can come up with, the exact details of who/where/what to check and what associations to be a member of that have their own complaint database is property of my employer.

Not directed at any single person,
Regarding people getting their backs up and insulting each other either directly or passive aggressively, lets all grow up a little. We're all after the same thing, service the client, make some profit, avoid the crooks. Lets work together on these 3 things as active members of this great community.membership.

Keep well,
Mike
Click to expand...

Thanks Mike, that is an excellent list and after many years of doing this, some things I hadn't considered. Much appreciated.

I'm also sorry for reacting rather than ignoring a previous post. one thing about arguing on the internet, you may think you won, but nobody really cares. LOL



KC
 
We can all appreciate your frustration Casey, even if we haven’t experienced the exact same situation. I don’t mind learning a lesson from a bad experience, but like yourself, if it involves loosing a major client (or even the threat of them leaving) that is a pretty steep price to pay for any type of schooling. Perhaps something we should all pay attention to, are reports on this site about carriers we use, being slow payers when they broker their freight. Obviously I am referring to reports of real negligent payments, 90+ stuff, not 40-45 days. Maybe a sign of financial instability? Or perhaps they adhere to the theory of “don’t pay until you see the whites of their eyes!”
 
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Twice in 16 years, consider yourself lucky with those odds!
The last 'major' issue we had was a load that was stolen. The criminal entity purchased a perfectly good carrier operation (small carrier in QC). No one knew what was going on until there were 30 missing TL across North America, all goods that were sold on the black market.
Carrier passed all checks and balances, and for good reason, they were a decent carrier before the new ownership.

Keep well,
Mike
 
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MikeJr said:
Twice in 16 years, consider yourself lucky with those odds!
The last 'major' issue we had was a load that was stolen. The criminal entity purchased a perfectly good carrier operation (small carrier in QC). No one knew what was going on until there were 30 missing TL across North America, all goods that were sold on the black market.
Carrier passed all checks and balances, and for good reason, they were a decent carrier before the new ownership.

Keep well,
Mike
Click to expand...

Whoa that's a crazy one. How would one settle that with their client? It's not my business but that story needs to be told.

My favorite was I am 3 months in business, a Winnipeg carrier picks up an LTL load in Houston to Calgary. I pay extra for a delivery date. All tracing makes sense only to find out a day before delivery in Calgary, his truck is still doing LTL pickups in Dallas. I tell him I need to drop at an agent and fly it out. The guy demands I wire him the money for the LTL load. Holds my freight hostage until he receives it. Let me tell you, freight brokers are not the only problem in this business.

I also love load boards that let freight brokers post as carriers. That is frustrating and adds a new level of challenge to our business.

I loved the post about carriers working from home. My other greatest moments have been carriers stop responding to requests about your freight and you have no idea where they are or who they are. I find their address, drive out there and knock on the door only to intimidate the poor wife (not intentionally) who is ignorant of her husbands shady business. Oh what a business we are in. I keep saying, retirement in two years. I've been saying that for 10 years. LOL
 
The Criminal Enterprise:
http://www.insidetransport.com/index.php?threads/rad-bull-transport-montreal.16322/

In the end the insurance company actually advised they were not in fact covering all the losses, as the policy became null and void as soon as the carrier intentionally stole all the loads. The policy does not cover 'loss due to the client being a criminal enterprise'.

Your Houston to Calgary - frustrating for sure, we've all had those LTL's that take much longer than we'd expect and find out later than is reasonable. The hostage situation is never good. If they are still open, post their name.

The companies that purchase a straight truck that is parked in the back so that they can post trucks and see freight... How long can that business model survive? They don't scare me as legitimate competition, they shouldn't scare you either!

I'll never retire. Lets be realistic about dual income with kids, the price of homes (and maintaining that home), food, etc... Unless people of my generation inherit a substantial amount of money from their elders we will literally work until we die at our desk. I can't even imagine how my kid will ever buy a detached home, he'll have to inherit mine!! Good thing vacations, evenings and weekends are so memorable and special with the family! Hoping your two year plan comes together, tell your customers to call me should you decide to close and remember to pay all your carriers first! :)

Keep well,
Mike
 
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