P
phantom 309
Guest
This something that never happens.
As for the great salt hauling debate,.it,s impossible to keep working and argue with the broker about fsc or rates, then you are simply black listed, and your services are used only if the amount of salt to be moved exceeds the amount of available iron to move it.
There is a whole world out there where the o/o with specialised equipment is held to ransom by unscrupulous brokers who realise they have cornered an exclusive market. The o/o cannot easily find work elsewhere. In a seasonal market there is not enough iron
If the load shipper would deal directly with the o/o they would likely save money and sometimes get better service. Brokers by and large spend their time dictating to the customer and the o/o what rates are or should be,.and said brokers are generally quite careful not to give money back to customers or pass money onto o/o above what they deem to be fair compensation.
There have been situations in my career of 35 some years where I as the o/o have had talks with the shipper and both parties were amazed at the difference between monies paid for the haulage, and monies paid
to the contractor.
It,s a complex problem,. brokers are needed to do the legwork, marketing and sales,. O/O's are needed to complete the job and give good service. The tricky part is making sure that both parties get what they want, more than what they need. Profit is a dirty word when referring to o/o's, more and more it seems that the calculators are turbocharcharged and everyone (other than the o/o) seems to dictate how much money the o/o will be 'allowed' to make.
I have been told to my face on more than 1 occasion, "that's more than enough for you to do that job"
I,ve seen trucks on mileage only remuneration pulling loads that were actually paying 6 times what the truck was getting,.
I,ve yet to find a company that will allow o/o's to make more money than they deem 'fair', "good" or "great" or even "fantastic" are not part of their vocabulary,.
Fuel surcharge is another tricky slope, i,m pleasantly surprised to see members here actually trying to make sure the truck is getting the whole FSC, and not a percentage of it.
I enquired just the other day about a regional local haul,. i was told the rate, and then the fuel surcharge. I was amazed as the rate was based on a truck travelling 22-2500 miles a week,. yet the local haul was barely 350miles a day,.and time constraints limited the truck to those miles per day, i was told "thats the rate we pay all our trucks, and we won't pay anymore than that regardless" Just for your info the rate worked out to 1.54 per mile, with the o/o on the hook monthly for plates, ins, and specialised unloading equipment.
This post is written without malice to any broker in particular or brokers in general.
JM2c
Nick