I have now seen it all.

Houston-Calgary is a great lane... @Freight Broker I thought you meant backwoods cities like Port Arthur TX which is 90 miles from Houston, so running 90 empty to get there every time
 
GTA to Colorado or vice versa... LTL .. Service Star in Bradford is a classic example if you only take on 1 lane...

We've tried a number of difference carriers for CO, and guess what Service Star always seems to have the best pricing and most reliable service, at this point why would we even consider anyone else, let alone why a GTA carrier would consider running up against Service Star on that lane.
 
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Houston-Calgary is a core lane for Alberta based carriers. Case in point.
Ok.. try GTA to Fredericton, NB then.. I've got someone who does that one well too.. He defies Day & Ross, Midland, M-O, Armour, and all the others by sticking to that one lane.
 
Cheap freight rate is offering NJ to Toronto for 700.00, she seemed confused why the carrier didn't pick it up as planned today.
 
@ Freightbroker --My guess is that the carrier is either based in Fredericton or has some family ties there. Also, one can do it if they are on a very small scale.

@EricG -- agree with you regarding Service Star, from an LTL service perspective they have that lane nailed down pretty good. But it's not their only lane contrary to beliefs. For truckload, a lot of people run it but on outbound they use it as a via point to go somewhere else (usually to California) or when you look at inbound, the rate per mile from Denver to the GTA is lower than most lanes inbound to Toronto due to guess what ... freight balance! I know years ago if I had a truck empty in Denver or Salt Lake I was likely deadheading it 500 miles, I just made sure that the total revenue for the trip justified it. If I didn't get the right money to go there, I really didn't care if someone else undercut it. But that's just one example.

But the bottom line is this ... if you run trucks to an area where there is strong demand for your equipment and good predictable revenue on the return trip, it will be taken into account when rating the outbound trip. When it's not the case, one has to put in an error factor of sorts to manage the risk. It is usually the small carriers in particular who aren't very well capitalized that can't necessarily afford to take these risks.

The lane that started this debate (Waco TX to Glace Bay NS) is a lane that would probably need some deadhead to get to the point of origin and almost definitely would have a deadhead from destination to either home terminal or next pick-up. Not to mention that even though it's 3 loads this week, it's not likely a steady lane with this kind of volume.

GTA-Chicago lane would probably not have more than 50 miles of repositioning on either leg, and because those cities are huge metropolises even those miles are within general city limits unless repositioning results in a money making opportunity.

As much as I can, I try to think of the sustainability of any solution that I offer to a customer because as intermediaries we need to do our best to make sure that every deal is win-win-win.
 
Freightbroker - she told me that she had a truck booked on it to pickup this afternoon at 230pm. Pardon me for finding it funny that she was suddenly scrambling to cover the load again at that rate.
 
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Transport Memphre is another one... Magog, QC-Montreal-GTA..
Guess where they're based ... Magog, QC.

I don't want you to take it as an attack. I'm just saying that the average revenue per mile on certain traffic lanes is lower or higher than others based on the likelihood of a predictable revenue for its round trip. I personally believe that there is opportunity for more profit to run lanes outside the box ... but with that opportunity comes risk, and not everyone is prepared for it or has the appetite for it. That's all.
 
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Guess where they're based ... Magog, QC.

I don't want you to take it as an attack. I'm just saying that the average revenue per mile on certain traffic lanes is lower or higher than others based on the likelihood of a predictable revenue for its round trip. I personally believe that there is opportunity for more profit to run lanes outside the box ... but with that opportunity comes risk, and not everyone is prepared for it or has the appetite for it. That's all.
Agreed... but risk that can be mitigated through effective marketing. I'll back off now, pissed off the inlaws last night, fought with the wife this morning.. in the doghouse now with no more fight left in me, at least not today.
 
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I'll back off now, pissed off the inlaws last night, fought with the wife this morning.. in the doghouse now with no more fight left in me, at least not today.

Really Freight Broker? You pissed off your inlaws and your wife?? I am SO surprised - BAHAHAHAHAHA!

No nastiness intended. You always challenge me to think.

Suggest dinner out with the wife - that'll work. :)
 
Agreed... but risk that can be mitigated through effective marketing. I'll back off now, pissed off the inlaws last night, fought with the wife this morning.. in the doghouse now with no more fight left in me, at least not today.
My first thought was that your wife and inlaws work for carriers.................... (sorry couldn't resist)