Cheap Freight of the day

[Rob]

Freight Waves - Canadian Drivers not paid

Sorry boys but every one of you that has walked in my door or even called has demanded to be paid Driver Inc and that is why they do not work here. You got what you asked for only difference is you planned on screwing the government etc buy no taxes etc and the big bad rip off outfit screwed you first. Maybe sign up with legal companies next time you know us that pay what we are supposed too.

 

[Igor Galanter]

Canada have to know their "heros", eh...

 

[JACKBURTON]

Sorry boys but every one of you that has walked in my door or even called has demanded to be paid Driver Inc and that is why they do not work here. You got what you asked for only difference is you planned on screwing the government etc buy no taxes etc and the big bad rip off outfit screwed you first. Maybe sign up with legal companies next time you know us that pay what we are supposed too.

 

[BPOVFB]

Fucked around and found out. No sympathy here.

 

[Shakey]

Freight Waves - Canadian Drivers not paid

Little surprised no press on these events up here unless we all missed it

 

[JACKBURTON]

Little surprised no press on these events up here unless we all missed it

If they report that Driver Inc isn't working, then people will find out about it. Cheap labor will become less plentiful, and the government might have to do more to eliminate Drivers Inc.

 

[artmax]

imagine your cost per mile:

• if you have farming fuel -
• a 1988 graveyard truck & 48+5 welded-on trailer
• park on a plaza
• you don't pay your drivers anything.

Add LMIA certificates and you can even deduct for housing and daily food allowance and what-not (hearsay)

• here's another one - you grab a 2004 VNL highway build - and you make it haul quad axle freight on the 400 in the right lane at 65km/h with the emergency lights on.

 

[JACKBURTON]

imagine your cost per mile:

• if you have farming fuel -
• a 1988 graveyard truck & 48+5 welded-on trailer
• park on a plaza
• you don't pay your drivers anything.

Add LMIA certificates and you can even deduct for housing and daily food allowance and what-not (hearsay)

Sounds good I'll run it by the owner see if he likes it. He'd save a fortune not paying drivers jeez.

 

[tasuinam]

How does any shipper feel comfortable with knowing their freight is at the mercy of a carrier that cannot be breaking even at the rate they have agreed on .....
Yet they take a chance .... then complain when things go south

 

[Michael Ludwig]

How does any shipper feel comfortable with knowing their freight is at the mercy of a carrier that cannot be breaking even at the rate they have agreed on .....
Yet they take a chance .... then complain when things go south

Simple ... They roll the dice. Really, what do they have to lose in this economy?
1) It gets delivered cheaper than what they figured on.
2) It doesn't get delivered at all.
a) It gets claimed for and paid by the carrier's insurance.
b) The carrier has no insurance so they take the loss and write it off on their taxes.
Whatever happens they get paid for the goods one way or another.

 

[Freight Broker]

How does any shipper feel comfortable with knowing their freight is at the mercy of a carrier that cannot be breaking even at the rate they have agreed on .....
Yet they take a chance .... then complain when things go south

It's the modern way of doing business: whore your work out to the lowest bidder... put up a flashy website proclaiming your core values are "taking care of your people and your suppliers"..

 

[JACKBURTON]

"taking care of your people and your suppliers"..

This is missing at least 2 grammatical errors/spelling mistakes.

 

[MikeJr]

It can depend on the item being shipped.
For example: bailed used clothing, recycle plastics, etc. - 100% falls under Michael's sequence above.
However, something like.... let's say a water purification system for a hospital opening...
Do you want that traveling on a truck that shouldn't pass safety, with no insurance, a driver with 3 beers, 2 log books and a partridge in a pear tree?
People frequently ask for lower prices, I get it. But sometimes (as a broker) you've just got to remind your client how important their business is to you, how important the safe passage of their goods to their customer requires a reputable, quality carrier and that your honest pick of the correct carrier to handle the job is at a price in between the basement and premium. You've selected the best carrier for this job at a fair price for the project. Been there, done that 1000 times and the answer is usually 'yes'. If they trust you.

Keep well,
Mike

 

[Freight Broker]

Same here... I've got a good following of accounts that pay me fair and "more than fair rates"..its the other guys that I'm talking about. And we all have them regardless of how much they trust you. Usually they're the huge accounts... they make you feel as if they've done you a huge favour just speaking to you.. Over the years, as slow as I am on most days, I've picked up on a few things.. I try to avoid the biggies and go for the smaller accounts where the the owner is reachable and better yet, involved in the pricing process. The trouble with the bigger accounts is that the people making the decisions aren't really accountable.. and don't forget.. companies don't know you. When the faces around the table change its like starting all over again with new people.. you're an unknown to them even though you've been servicing their account for 20 plus years maybe. But not to sound like a grouchy old guy, some things are better today..but things are more transactional now, thanks in large part to the pervasiveness of the internet, bidding platforms and the consequent commoditisation of so many industries, including transportation.

 

[loaders]

We too have had our fair share of the “biggie” accounts. Yes, they provide lots of freight, but are hell to deal with when it comes to billing. You can send them 20, identical freight bills for the same movement and 30 -60 days later, they will pay half of them, claiming there is something missing or not right with the others. In spite of providing great service and suffering through their chaotic payables process, if someone else comes knocking and can reduce your freight rate by $50, they bolt and are gone. Or, the most aggravating for me, is the ”freight consultant company” promising to magically re-invent their traffic department and save thousands of dollars in the process. HA! 6 months later they are calling for rates! Yes, definitely, smaller, mid sized, owner operated companies are the best type of loyal, cooperative customer you can ever have.

 

[LrgCar]

We too have had our fair share of the “biggie” accounts. Yes, they provide lots of freight, but are hell to deal with when it comes to billing. You can send them 20, identical freight bills for the same movement and 30 -60 days later, they will pay half of them, claiming there is something missing or not right with the others. In spite of providing great service and suffering through their chaotic payables process, if someone else comes knocking and can reduce your freight rate by $50, they bolt and are gone. Or, the most aggravating for me, is the ”freight consultant company” promising to magically re-invent their traffic department and save thousands of dollars in the process. HA! 6 months later they are calling for rates! Yes, definitely, smaller, mid sized, owner operated companies are the best type of loyal, cooperative customer you can ever have.

Just reading this makes me aggravated, I absolutely hate the billing process of a couple of customers of ours, dealing with it at this moment. You'd think the bigger they are they would have a streamlined process for freight bills but nope, gotta follow up with them 5 times a week, never advise upfront if there are issues, you have to email them and ask to which they respond 3 days later UGHHHHH

 

[theman]

I actually preferred the bigger accounts. Just a matter of filling the right role, a large shipper will have no problem finding someone to give them asset based service on dry consistent Chicago to Toronto for instance. Bigger accounts won't micromanage, once you have them you do your thing and be fair and they're fair back. It's just a matter of getting in.

 

[loaders]

I actually preferred the bigger accounts. Just a matter of filling the right role, a large shipper will have no problem finding someone to give them asset based service on dry consistent Chicago to Toronto for instance. Bigger accounts won't micromanage, once you have them you do your thing and be fair and they're fair back. It's just a matter of getting in.

I would like to be able to agree with that, but our experience has shown the opposite to be true. In our 30+ years of operation we have had many large accounts. Most of them stuck around for 5 years or so, occasionally longer, and I have to admit we never lost one of them because of bad service. Our experience has been that larger accounts have the least amount of loyalty and will gladly turf you out for as little as a $50 per load difference. Again, once a “freight consultant “ knocks on upper management’s door singing their siren song of savings through lower freight costs, you are on borrowed time regardless of how tight you may think you are with the transportation people. We have had most, if not all of our success by handling transportation projects for our customers as opposed to on going, repeat lanes. I believe that is where freight brokers can make a real positive difference for a shipper.

 

[theman]

I would like to be able to agree with that, but our experience has shown the opposite to be true. In our 30+ years of operation we have had many large accounts. Most of them stuck around for 5 years or so, occasionally longer, and I have to admit we never lost one of them because of bad service. Our experience has been that larger accounts have the least amount of loyalty and will gladly turf you out for as little as a $50 per load difference. Again, once a “freight consultant “ knocks on upper management’s door singing their siren song of savings through lower freight costs, you are on borrowed time regardless of how tight you may think you are with the transportation people. We have had most, if not all of our success by handling transportation projects for our customers as opposed to on going, repeat lanes. I believe that is where freight brokers can make a real positive difference for a shipper.

I respectfully disagree. The freight bids favour the incumbents actually, so long as the job is being done right. The freight bids really serve to keep everyone honest, so you're not going to get rich on every load, but for the most part they are relatively low maintenance once you land them. Smaller shippers tend to micromanage.

 

[LrgCar]

I respectfully disagree. The freight bids favour the incumbents actually, so long as the job is being done right. The freight bids really serve to keep everyone honest, so you're not going to get rich on every load, but for the most part they are relatively low maintenance once you land them. Smaller shippers tend to micromanage.

I'll take the small-medium accounts any day, good knowing that I'm not 1 145,000 lane RFQ away from being replaced at any given time.