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PackRat

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May 26, 2008
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Morning all,

I'm trying to wrap my head around this one but can't seem to get there! :) have a years long regular lane with a carrier for LTL shipments. average rate was 475 for 1 skid and 550 for two skids (fuel in). Lane is US to Canada on approx 1200mile lane. This week the 2 skid rate is 1050 fuel in. so....I know rates are a mess right now...but even if they applied a FSC of 60-70% that would still put it at 935....so any thoughts?
PR
 
PackRat said:
Morning all,

I'm trying to wrap my head around this one but can't seem to get there! :) have a years long regular lane with a carrier for LTL shipments. average rate was 475 for 1 skid and 550 for two skids (fuel in). Lane is US to Canada on approx 1200mile lane. This week the 2 skid rate is 1050 fuel in. so....I know rates are a mess right now...but even if they applied a FSC of 60-70% that would still put it at 935....so any thoughts?
PR
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They are getting while the getting is good is my guess. While i am happily accepting what brokers are offering on inbound right now I had found up until the last week or so that ltl was moving at fairly steady rates it seems to not be the case anymore with it either. Truckload rates are crazy in my favor right now and as stated we are not giving out rates letting the brokers hang themselves with the numbers they are throwing out.
 
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My guess is most LTL carriers still have other equipment to keep moving with the flow of freight i.e Straight trucks, vans etc, that are part of the fleet. From previous experience working at 2 different LTL carriers they look more at volume of freight (Revenue) rather than the individual stops (cost). As OP put it, when you charge for 2 skids at 550, and lets say the tractor trailer makes 13 stops (pick up 2 skids per stop) in a 50 to 80 mile radius, the gross on that trailer is $7150.00 over a span of 1200 miles. (I am aware this is wishful thinking and most certainly the truck would have to layover, and this is all depending if each stop has the freight ready and loaded onto the truck in a f1 pitstop pace) but none the less I have seen some LTL trailers hit 12 to 14K Gross Rev on a good day and under 1500 miles. Shared a building with minimax before, and their warehouse and trailers were always loaded to the roof...and it was non-stop.
LTL is very profitable, a beast of a operation and challenging to get right, but profitable.
 
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Melroy75 said:
LTL is very profitable, a beast of a operation and challenging to get right, but profitable.
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Yes, you're absolutely right but most don't do LTL very well because it is challenging. Most of the time they are primarily truckload fleets who would have a couple trucks doing LTL in areas that didn't offer a good price for truckload which has since changed.
In my experience you have a hard time getting 4 pickups in a day - no matter how close you are, especially after COVID hit and some people open at 9am and others close at 3pm. You have to have a very good driver who likes doing LTL and reward them well for it which eats into the profit. You can't have a driver who talks to the shipper about last weeks football game. Then you have multiple customs brokers and if one holds you up (LIVINGSTON) then you have to pay the driver to wait. To do it right you need access to a dock and forklift to re-arrange the freight so it can be delivered in the right order. Finally you have to deliver it all - another day where you're lucky if you can get 4 deliveries off in a day in the GTA. Then, at the end of week all you have a driver and equipment who has completed 2400 miles, a bunch of LTL and you compare it to the opportunity to do a truckload in 4 days with a lot less headaches and costs - well you get the picture. I think those primarily truckload fleets have just chosen to do more truckloads and less LTL simply because the price is there, the loads are available and it is a ton less work.

We are also seeing some customers who would normally ship freight as LTL require the shipment to move quicker and pay truckload for it or they wait until they have a truckload. Customers with 12 skids is usually the base to start an LTL trailer so with those being less prevalent you may have a harder time finding enough 1-2 skids to make it worth your while and hence why the costs for those shipments - especially from the US has risen.
 
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Jim L said:
You have to have a very good driver who likes doing LTL and reward them well for it which eats into the profit. You can't have a driver who talks to the shipper about last weeks football game.
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couldn't agree more with this statement LOL
Jim L said:
Then you have multiple customs brokers and if one holds you up (LIVINGSTON) then you have to pay the driver to wait.
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this was always a pain in the but and it would be the 3 boxes on one skid that held up the whole trailer... I don't miss the LTL world one bit lol
 
Melroy75 said:
couldn't agree more with this statement LOL

this was always a pain in the but and it would be the 3 boxes on one skid that held up the whole trailer... I don't miss the LTL world one bit lol
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or the same broker (livingston) who processed the two LTL on the SAME trailer for two diff ports of entry!!!! go figure the logic on that one
 
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This whole new world of rates has even sent spot quoting on its head! I would be really interested in hearing some “estimates” as to what a 4’ X 6’ X 12” H skid weighing 822 lbs from Toronto to Richmond BC would cost. From what I have heard so far, nothing will surprise me. Thanks!
 
loaders said:
This whole new world of rates has even sent spot quoting on its head! I would be really interested in hearing some “estimates” as to what a 4’ X 6’ X 12” H skid weighing 822 lbs from Toronto to Richmond BC would cost. From what I have heard so far, nothing will surprise me. Thanks!
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Costs one of my shippers $1250 Hamilton to BC reefer ltl with driver assist unload and receiver is a home based set up. He was here this morning and told us that.
 
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