Arkquin Transport

We're Thankful For The Brokers That Do Actually Pay A Half Decent Rate To Move There Freight Or At Least Have A Rate In Mind, Rather Than Like "arkquin" Look For A "deal" Every Single Shipment.
Imagine If Every Freight Broker Just Posted A Load And Waited Till He Got The Cheapeast Of The Cheap Rate, What A Wonderful Industry This Would Be.
 
I can't speak for all brokers, but lately we have noticed a real big spread in the rates we are receiving from different carriers quoting on the same lane. Usually there is anywhere from $100-$200 difference, but now that spread can be up to $500.00 between the lowest and the highest quote. Obviously, price is not the only factor - service levels and dependability will always determine who gets the load. My concern is that as this economy begins to tighten for everyone, will there be some companies that lower their prices just to keep equipment moving? We all know that rates do vary somewhat depending on supply/demand, fuel costs, etc., but I hope we do not see "desperation" pricing. It distorts the real market for everyone, brokers, carriers and especially shippers who sometimes use these artificial rates as if they were the norm.
 
Yesterday CH posted a load Toronto to Chicago for $500 it lasted a minute and was gone. Trouble ahead for carriers taking this freight moving is one thing but losing every single mile you drive is another.
 
Sign of the DOUBLE-BROKERING blues - Snap up a cheap Chicago load,
rebroker for more money....WATCH OUT !
NOBODY can run Chicago at $500 and SURVIVE !!
 
it's not the brokers like arkquin who are looking for the cheapest rates,it's the customers who have five brokers working on the same freight,sci,your pretty quick to put arkquin down,and you don't even understand there side of the industry.
 
I don't know how other broker's view this, but if I find out another broker is working the same load(s) that we are, we immediately contact our customer and inform them that we have stopped working on it. This has been met with incredulity from some of them, but after explaining our motive of not wanting to be a freight auctioneer and the risks of having their product stolen by a double brokering bottom feeder. We will patiently explain all the risks involved in this practice and how it could cost them their customer and or product, as well as the possibility of incurring large legal bills and the like.

Indeed, this has cost us a few customers here and there, but it's business that we can do well without. We intend to be in business for a long time and this is just not possible unless our carriers earn a reasonable profit.
 
You are correct Activet. We should all strive to deal only with well financed, professional carriers. If the "double broker/carriers" have no where to feed, hopefully they will starve and dissappear. You cannot have a successful brokerage operation without the active participation of successful carriers.
 
Good for you!
It is like the email request for quotes that go out to "undisclosed recipients".
When I see these we don't even bother to quote. When the customer calls looking for our reply, I tell them that they must be confusing us with "EBay"
Too many times you call a carrier who has had 5 calls about the same freight.
If the only way we are going to move it is by being $10.00 less than the next guy, we don't want it.
 
Reasonable Profit

I have been on both sides of this barrel. As a carrier I used to have to fight for a decent rate to keep the trucks moving, now as a broker I have to fight to try to get the best rate for my customer with a reputable carrier. I have heard incredulous things, throughout my carreer. As a broker I could easily sell loads for less than what I'm paying, but I know that the quality of the carrier will reflect the price that I pay. I do walk the razor blade many times with customers advising that they get what they pay for at the risk of losing my job, but in the long run customer satisfaction is the bottom line. I have gone as far as using a gypsy to satisfy the customer, and in turn proving my point of you get what you pay for. What the good carriers out there need to realize though is that smaller brokers out here need to compete with the bottom feeders as well. It is just as stressful in a broker's seat these days as a carrier's, if the broker is honest and reputable. It seems there are too many fly-by-nighters in the stream choking the life out of reputable brokers. Just as there are too many gypsy carriers bleeding the market rates to the point of running for broke to compete. As a broker I refuse to deal with the gypsies at all costs. I have had companies offer to run full loads from Montreal to Toronto for $375, but I won't use them due to the fact that a-they will try to double broker the freight to some sap that's desperate or b- they will hold the freight ransom for more cash in order to deliver or c- they will show up after getting paid for the load to back solicit my customer. Any way you look at it not a good deal. Carriers need to do similar, and not deal with the jerk-offs that double broker or the fly-by-nighters or the cheap ass big boys out there...
 
Arkquin

Arkquin was always good to me as a carrier. He would tell me if my rate was out to lunch or not. I think that's because he was one of the honest brokers I dealt with. When he would call me I would say Brian, here's what I need because I had a brutal rate going down. He would actually work with me when he could. Let's see C.H. or T.T. do that. There are real brokers that the carriers should work with such as Arkquin, then there are the others that have pulled the wool over many people's eyes by buying drinks at the dispatch parties...Those drinks are bought with the money they should have paid you in the first place so you could afford to buy a watered down drink at the dispatch parties!!!!!!! WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!