Crazy rate but I booked it anyway because I had to
- Thread starter MikeJr
- Start date
Igor Galanter
Well-Known Member
20
15
3600.00 Montreal to Lancaster, PA - when it was around 1400 about 6 month ago.
We do a lot of GTA to GMA - usually pay 700.00 - 750.00 for a tandem dry - being asked 950-1000.
PA to ON - being asked 1300.00 USD
Montreal to MA - used to be 1400-1500. Now 2000-2200-2400
Customers don't want to pay that much unless it's critical.
Let's see how many weeks it will take until we have to buy toothpaste or paper towel at 3x the price...shouldn't be too long.
We do a lot of GTA to GMA - usually pay 700.00 - 750.00 for a tandem dry - being asked 950-1000.
PA to ON - being asked 1300.00 USD
Montreal to MA - used to be 1400-1500. Now 2000-2200-2400
Customers don't want to pay that much unless it's critical.
Let's see how many weeks it will take until we have to buy toothpaste or paper towel at 3x the price...shouldn't be too long.
30
Igor Galanter
Well-Known Member
20
30
Don't get me wrong; I think rates have needed to go up for some time now. But, the worry I have is that larger companies are just going to start seriously looking at ways to automate their business. If they can't find a truck with a driver for a reasonable price, there are going to be more and more orders for Elon Musk's "driverless trucks". It will take the unknown factor of price highs and lows out of the equation and we will be finding it happen sooner rather than later. Having said that, I do hope things will sort of work themselves out during the course of the year. Have a great day, all!
20
The fully autonomous truck is a foregone conclusion. It's already on the road today, every day, hauling a load of beer between Nevada and New Mexico.
When you sit back and really think about a driver's life, you have to ask yourself "Why would anyone want to do a job like that?".
Young people today have asked themselves that question. That's why we can't find truck drivers anymore. Enter the autonomous truck. One kid, at a computer console, will control 4 to 6 trucks at a time from the comfort of his office or even his couch at home. Just like wampin' mud rats in your T-6 back home on Tatooine.
He simply sends the truck its instructions and lets it go about it's work while he monitors it for exception errors. The kid clocks in at 8:00 AM, and clocks out a 5:00 PM when the afternoon shift takes over.
In ours and our children's lifetimes we won't see the driverless truck making deliveries in NYC, but will will see it transiting long distances doing terminal to terminal operations.
And while we're at it, let's give credit where credit is due ... Daimler Benz brought the autonomous truck to life. Elon Musk perfected the electric truck
When you sit back and really think about a driver's life, you have to ask yourself "Why would anyone want to do a job like that?".
Young people today have asked themselves that question. That's why we can't find truck drivers anymore. Enter the autonomous truck. One kid, at a computer console, will control 4 to 6 trucks at a time from the comfort of his office or even his couch at home. Just like wampin' mud rats in your T-6 back home on Tatooine.
He simply sends the truck its instructions and lets it go about it's work while he monitors it for exception errors. The kid clocks in at 8:00 AM, and clocks out a 5:00 PM when the afternoon shift takes over.
In ours and our children's lifetimes we won't see the driverless truck making deliveries in NYC, but will will see it transiting long distances doing terminal to terminal operations.
And while we're at it, let's give credit where credit is due ... Daimler Benz brought the autonomous truck to life. Elon Musk perfected the electric truck
10
times like these make you realize who your loyal carriers are, and I tell you there is not many!
Shakey
Site Supporter
30
Pay increase announcements are everywhere for drivers and it is about time, but I worry about where inflation will go and how high and quickly interest rates will rise.
Way to many have purchased homes based on low interest rates so we could have our own housing bubble burst.
Way to many have purchased homes based on low interest rates so we could have our own housing bubble burst.
10
I can see both sides of the coin on this topic but let's think sensible. I am a carrier that also moves freight and I agree with price increases, within reason, but come on... this is bordering on price gouging. I get it that the carriers are using this time to re-coup some of the revenue from those brokers that, for far way too long, offered their $1.20-1.50 per mile loads outbound. Many carriers would take those loads because they had to keep trucks rolling and drivers moving. Believe me, the carrier were taking notes and making lists on those brokers that were taking advantage of the market. Now on the flip side, brokers too are making lists of those carriers that are naming unrealistic rates and when all this levels out...and it will... some of those carriers are going to wishing they had of done things differently, the same way some of those brokers are thinking right now. Maybe it's Karma? lol!
No one is thinking long term. They can't see past the dollars signs right now. When I ask about rates "Wow, why so high now?" I have heard "Because I can..." more times than I would care to. Yes freight rates needed to go up and it has been a long time coming. Those that are doubling their rates should enjoy the ride now because it will level out sooner than later.
I can't wait to see everyone up in arms when their grocery bill, next vehicle purchase or even the next shopping trip costs twice as much as it did 6 months ago.
No one is thinking long term. They can't see past the dollars signs right now. When I ask about rates "Wow, why so high now?" I have heard "Because I can..." more times than I would care to. Yes freight rates needed to go up and it has been a long time coming. Those that are doubling their rates should enjoy the ride now because it will level out sooner than later.
I can't wait to see everyone up in arms when their grocery bill, next vehicle purchase or even the next shopping trip costs twice as much as it did 6 months ago.
30
Partly my own opinion, and based on previous experience, I feel that anytime rates move either up or down so rapidly, it rarely sticks. Yes, there are a number of factors, not just ELDs, driving this current crazy environment, but as in the past, there will be a return to stability. Yes, rates will remain higher than they were last year but the spikes will eventually disappear. And not a moment too soon! This might be a good topic for a survey. How long will this last? Will rates stay up or retreat? Might be interesting, except Michael Ludwig has to be excluded. He has been right enough already! Lol.
30
Rates have to stay up or carriers will be exiting like flies. All of our costs are up. Will some of the craziness subside, I believe the answer to that is yes but the days of $1.20 -$1.50 outbound and less than $2 inbound I do believe are gone.
As an afterthought I am just wondering why all my broker buddies are not saying how this is okay and our customers understand and are raising rates because of supply and demand like they did when rates went in the toilet. Just thinking outloud.
PS the price gouging some of my carrier brethren are demanding is uncalled for. 20-30% maybe even 40% increases I can understand on some of the softer markets but 100% or more that I am hearing is gouging
One thing that is helping is this round it's all over the media and customers are aware. When rates were down we would try a rate increase, the customer would call a carrier and move it for 1.60 and tell us to get real ... This increase is long overdue and I am hoping a good portion makes it way to the drivers but agreed, don't like to see the doubling of the rates, hurts all of us.
20
Not necessarily Rob. I've had to jack some of mine 100% because I can't get outbound to where, and more importantly when, I need to be.
For a lot of the work I do, my outbound needs to meet very specific parameters. In many cases shippers and brokers are not guaranteeing that I can be loaded and unloaded in a reasonable time, and without that assurance, I just leave their loads right where they are ... on the dock. As I mentioned in another post, if you can't make a commitment for my time, I can't make a commitment for your load.
As a carrier group our time has become extremely valuable. You personally know who I work for. You would not believe the pressure they are putting on their customers to turn trucks quickly, efficiently, and on time. They aren't just waiting time charges ... I think one could safely call them waiting time penalties.
In the same vein though, I am also being held to a higher standard than what would have been considered acceptable as little as 6 months ago. I don't have any trouble meeting the new standard. I exceed it anyways as a normal course of business, but I am aware of more than a few carriers, and not all small carriers either, that are finding themselves displaced because they can't make the grade.
I was asked today what my expansion plans are for the upcoming year, and for the long term. What was clear, but unsaid was that my services are supported by my customer. In short, they are guaranteeing my survival, no matter what.
Anyways, higher rates translate into higher consumer prices. Higher consumer prices will translate into innovation. All these higher rates, and they will stay high albeit not a spike levels, will drive ever expanding research and development in moving goods farther, faster, and cheaper.
The next 12 months are going to be very interesting in this industry indeed. Stay tuned folks .
For a lot of the work I do, my outbound needs to meet very specific parameters. In many cases shippers and brokers are not guaranteeing that I can be loaded and unloaded in a reasonable time, and without that assurance, I just leave their loads right where they are ... on the dock. As I mentioned in another post, if you can't make a commitment for my time, I can't make a commitment for your load.
As a carrier group our time has become extremely valuable. You personally know who I work for. You would not believe the pressure they are putting on their customers to turn trucks quickly, efficiently, and on time. They aren't just waiting time charges ... I think one could safely call them waiting time penalties.
In the same vein though, I am also being held to a higher standard than what would have been considered acceptable as little as 6 months ago. I don't have any trouble meeting the new standard. I exceed it anyways as a normal course of business, but I am aware of more than a few carriers, and not all small carriers either, that are finding themselves displaced because they can't make the grade.
I was asked today what my expansion plans are for the upcoming year, and for the long term. What was clear, but unsaid was that my services are supported by my customer. In short, they are guaranteeing my survival, no matter what.
Anyways, higher rates translate into higher consumer prices. Higher consumer prices will translate into innovation. All these higher rates, and they will stay high albeit not a spike levels, will drive ever expanding research and development in moving goods farther, faster, and cheaper.
The next 12 months are going to be very interesting in this industry indeed. Stay tuned folks
.
2
I am wondering when some common sense will enter into the market place, these high rates can't continue, I understand that there will have to be a moderate increase but these rates that I am seeing are simply carriers gouging everyone, time to wake up and start looking to the future not just the next 2 minutes!
20
Define a moderate increase. Define gouging.
By the sounds of it, you are a broker. It well known around here that I am all for brokers.
That being said, if you are broker and you have been used to flogging loads out for $1.20 a mile, and carriers now want $3.00 a mile, you're going to consider that gouging. What you are not taking into account is that you (and I don't necessarily mean you personally) have been gouging the carrier base for as long as you have been offering the $1.20/mile loads. Depending on the carrier's structure, cost is somewhere between $2.25 and $2.45 a mile.
So, moderate increases and gouging are a matter of perspective.
Maybe a case could be made that common sense has already returned.
By the sounds of it, you are a broker. It well known around here that I am all for brokers.
That being said, if you are broker and you have been used to flogging loads out for $1.20 a mile, and carriers now want $3.00 a mile, you're going to consider that gouging. What you are not taking into account is that you (and I don't necessarily mean you personally) have been gouging the carrier base for as long as you have been offering the $1.20/mile loads. Depending on the carrier's structure, cost is somewhere between $2.25 and $2.45 a mile.
So, moderate increases and gouging are a matter of perspective.
Maybe a case could be made that common sense has already returned.
30
Hey Rob,
I've been vocal about customers being understanding. I can count on one hand the number who have said 'no' when we've provided a reasonable increase, sent them information about capacity, eLogs and suggested that if they went to market (and I'm sure many have), that the carrier we have located/contracted for the job is asking for a reasonable rate due to current market conditions. They simply agree as they trust we are acting in their best interest and we sure try to.
It's under 1%, and guess what? Some of those come back a day later and ask if we still have the truck. Then, we start all over again.
I would expect everyone else is having the same success, right?
Happy Friday sir!
Mike
30
Without getting into a discussion about where rates should or should not be, why don't we examine why carriers have been accepting the low rates described by Rob and Michael above? There is no excuse for any broker to purposely offer a ridiculously low rate if they could afford to pay more. But is there any excuse for a carrier to willingly accept such a low number? My point is, who is to blame here? The person offering, or the person accepting?
if the broker is offering an extremely low rate because that is reflective of the rate he quoted his customer than he is out of touch with the market. If a carrier accept the extremely low rate than he is out of touch with his costs. Neither of them will survive if they continue to run their business's this way.