Cheap Freight of the day

LrgCar said:
but these folks think this is realistic and what freight should be moving for
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Couldn't have said it better, @Rob agree with the argument as well but here's the problem, Not one Broker I have come across knows how to quote freight at a rate a trucker would need....There's no bottom line rate, no standard. And before we get our pistols out, I know its not the job of a broker to know what rates should cost to move freight on a particular lane, every carriers costs are different. But there's a bottom where anything less than that you are getting lucky finding a carrier to move the freight. To illustrate: broker has 5 skids to move, carriers call and give a rate of $275, then 1 carrier calls in who's got the space and can pick this up and deliver on his trucks route and offers $125....Brokers in almost every case think this is the going market rate, and confidently slap their 12% (good brokers lol) or 40% (you scourge of the earth) on that to the customer and move the freight. 2 days later customer wants another 5 moved, and the broker goes by their $125 rate and thinks that's the market rate since they covered it for the same before. Its confirmation bias, to the fullest and has made the industry what it is. And don't forget shippers look at what's given to them on a RFQ they don't realize why their last shipment moved for X amount and why this one today isn't moving for the same.

we are both to blame to let things get this ugly, but having an understanding of what a bottom line cost would be for a trucker would make things a lot better for all parties involved. Cause best believe its not hard to figure out what a broker needs to make for them to stay in business. And its a win-win you quote your customer at a decent rate, and you find a carrier that can do it a lot less, great keep those profits you earned it. But if you bid pennies on the dollar, and you want to take advantage of a over supplied market, you deserve to loose a client when their freight it rotting on the dock when things change.
 
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Listen, you can dissect this topic, analyze it, review it….whatever. As Rob, myself and many others have said time and time before, if the rate is too cheap, simply say no! Maybe the broker offering the shipment is naive, stupid or greedy, or all three, it really doesn’t matter. The guys (or girls) who own the trucks call the shots in this game, not the other way around. If a broker is offering the same cheap rate on a shipment that a carrier agreed to last week, whose fault is that? There always has been and always will be cheap rates thrown around, nothing will change that as long as there is just one carrier who says “yes”.
 
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CT-Watercliff said:
American truckers. Flat bed rates in the states go for $1.10/mile on the HIGH end... and they are tickled pink to run it.

While I was typing this reply: "Nolan Transportation" offered a 2 pick, 2 drop from Toronto to Stow OH for a whopping $425! Full tarping, 1 hr per pick-up.
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This really has nothing to do with the American Truckers.... How many American trucks do you see on Ontario roads these days? ZERO almost. So, it just shows how desperate the Ontario outbound rates are more or less... Nolan guys are not stupid and try to take a full advantage or this. In my experience, almost 100% of the US tucks deadheads back. As a matter of fact, I have one heading from Halifax to ME as I type this.
 
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Here is a story of how the market little by little is being taken over by lower rates. We have a friend working for a long-standing, high quality construction company in the GTA. He has driven a dump truck for the same company for the past 30 years and makes a good wage and likes working for them. Dump trucks aren't the same as general freight trucking, ok, I know. However, he told us the other day, the company charges $150 an hour for the dump trucks. A competitor came in at $130 an hour for the first nine trucks and the 10th truck is free to get their foot in the door. Now that same discount company has discounted their rate to $90 an hour per truck. Look at the price of a new dump truck and you will see that there is no way the discount company is running newer trucks for $90 an hour. It is sad that our industry is going down the toilet. We have seen it happen before our eyes over the past 10-20 years. You can't tell these folks to stop taking cheap paying freight, because they are not looking at the bigger picture. I don't know what the solution is.
 
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"
Chica said:
Here is a story of how the market little by little is being taken over by lower rates. We have a friend working for a long-standing, high quality construction company in the GTA. He has driven a dump truck for the same company for the past 30 years and makes a good wage and likes working for them. Dump trucks aren't the same as general freight trucking, ok, I know. However, he told us the other day, the company charges $150 an hour for the dump trucks. A competitor came in at $130 an hour for the first nine trucks and the 10th truck is free to get their foot in the door. Now that same discount company has discounted their rate to $90 an hour per truck. Look at the price of a new dump truck and you will see that there is no way the discount company is running newer trucks for $90 an hour. It is sad that our industry is going down the toilet. We have seen it happen before our eyes over the past 10-20 years. You can't tell these folks to stop taking cheap paying freight, because they are not looking at the bigger picture. I don't know what the solution is.
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"It is sad that our industry is going down the toilet. "
I am afraid more than just our industry is going down the toilet!
 
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Chica said:
Here is a story of how the market little by little is being taken over by lower rates. We have a friend working for a long-standing, high quality construction company in the GTA. He has driven a dump truck for the same company for the past 30 years and makes a good wage and likes working for them. Dump trucks aren't the same as general freight trucking, ok, I know. However, he told us the other day, the company charges $150 an hour for the dump trucks. A competitor came in at $130 an hour for the first nine trucks and the 10th truck is free to get their foot in the door. Now that same discount company has discounted their rate to $90 an hour per truck. Look at the price of a new dump truck and you will see that there is no way the discount company is running newer trucks for $90 an hour. It is sad that our industry is going down the toilet. We have seen it happen before our eyes over the past 10-20 years. You can't tell these folks to stop taking cheap paying freight, because they are not looking at the bigger picture. I don't know what the solution is.
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This has been a common practice for years with the Dump trucks. Take the work cheap, get rid of your competition and then go back to the customer and demand more or you will shut them down.
 
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By all means, freight rates can fluctuate as a result of trade imbalances, inflation, and foreign exchange swings. However, like so many other industries, ours is governed by the simple rules of supply and demand. To a certain extent, we are still feeling the effects of the COVID epidemic. As soon as restrictions were lifted and the global economy began to regain its traction, there was an immediate demand for transportation. Unfortunately, many carriers had downsized or even closed their doors. Drivers either left the industry altogether or decided to stay closer to home and drive locally. Lastly, trucks and trailers were almost impossible to obtain. A classic “storm” of high demand and very low supply to service it. This created a “gold rush” atmosphere where people bought equipment at whatever price was being asked. This frenzy was also fueled by record low interest rates. The personnel needed to operate these vehicles became anyone who could walk and had a pulse. In the meanwhile, rates soared to unheard of levels and those who had the drivers and equipment to service this demand reaped the rewards. However, just like the “gold rush”, eventually there were more prospectors than there was gold to be found, and that era came to a crashing end. A slowing demand for transportation and an over abundance of supply have left us in the situation we find today. This over supply is slowly correcting itself but when faced with closing the doors versus operating at a break even or worse position, many operators choose the latter so it will take more time before we find the correct balance.
 
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loaders said:
By all means, freight rates can fluctuate as a result of trade imbalances, inflation, and foreign exchange swings. However, like so many other industries, ours is governed by the simple rules of supply and demand. To a certain extent, we are still feeling the effects of the COVID epidemic. As soon as restrictions were lifted and the global economy began to regain its traction, there was an immediate demand for transportation. Unfortunately, many carriers had downsized or even closed their doors. Drivers either left the industry altogether or decided to stay closer to home and drive locally. Lastly, trucks and trailers were almost impossible to obtain. A classic “storm” of high demand and very low supply to service it. This created a “gold rush” atmosphere where people bought equipment at whatever price was being asked. This frenzy was also fueled by record low interest rates. The personnel needed to operate these vehicles became anyone who could walk and had a pulse. In the meanwhile, rates soared to unheard of levels and those who had the drivers and equipment to service this demand reaped the rewards. However, just like the “gold rush”, eventually there were more prospectors than there was gold to be found, and that era came to a crashing end. A slowing demand for transportation and an over abundance of supply have left us in the situation we find today. This over supply is slowly correcting itself but when faced with closing the doors versus operating at a break even or worse position, many operators choose the latter so it will take more time before we find the correct balance.
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Spot on, I couldn't have said it better myself.
 
Mario said:
This has been a common practice for years with the Dump trucks. Take the work cheap, get rid of your competition and then go back to the customer and demand more or you will shut them down.
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Success in dump trucking is very heavily dependent on who you know..much more so than freight is. If you have the right connections you’re on your way… if you have the wrong connections or no connections you could be the best operator in town but it won't matter.
 
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