NoBrokerFreight.com

[martinetav]

Received a fax today from a company called NoBrokerFreight.com. Just wondering if anyone know anything about this. They want all company information when you sign up. Just thinking that if someone wanted to steal a company's identity this could be an easy way to go about it. Just thought I'd see if anyone else has an opinion on this or knows anything about it...

 

[theman]

I don't think it's a scam. There are other models like it and it's something that is gaining traction on LTL/small parcel especially. I think that whoever it is that owns it may be using a strategy that is off-putting though. A lot of what the independent carrier community calls 'load brokers' use freight brokerage as an avenue to revenue, but the value is in more than just simply finding trucks.

I think this type of thing may work for smaller shippers to get access to trucks over the longer term, but a more complex organization wouldn't be interested in dealing with something like this.

 

[Jim L]

Received a fax today from a company called NoBrokerFreight.com. Just wondering if anyone know anything about this. They want all company information when you sign up. Just thinking that if someone wanted to steal a company's identity this could be an easy way to go about it. Just thought I'd see if anyone else has an opinion on this or knows anything about it...

I called and inquired about it in June. Its a company who tried a similar model a couple years ago and failed. Their challenge is to find a way to keep brokers out of the system. Apparently a couple brokers got on the system and found all the customers shipping freight and contacted them directly.

I have stayed away for fear that they cannot get critical mass on the shippers part. I also believe it is the same model as the now defunct Freightopolis and history shows that that didn't get anywhere.

 

[Michael Ludwig]

There doesn't seem to be any logic in keeping brokers out of the transportation system. At the end of the day, they keep overall costs down for shippers in general. However, there does seem to be considerable logic in keeping the scumbag brokers out of the system ... something LoadLink seems to fail at epically.

 

[MikeJr]

Mike and Jim are on the right track here. I may have a biased opinion as we are exclusively 3rd party (thankfully), but I'll revert back to my "everyone should stick to their piece of the puzzle", specialize and do it better than anyone else...

If you make widgets, make an amazing widget. Why spend your time online finding the 'cheapest' carrier who will damage your freight and not have insurance to call upon when there is an issue? Not to mention all the time, money, resources and man/woman hours put in to making the best widget possible. Then to trust someone you don't know from Adam to transport those widgets to your customer... It doesn't make sense. Let the transportation professionals handle the transportation piece.

If you are a carrier, service the hell out of your lanes, charge what you need to retain good drivers, maintain your fleet, etc... Don't forget about profit, you need that too.

If you are a broker, be sure you are a value to both your customer and carrier - I'd expand on this but I'd be leaking company info.

My rant for the day, keep well,
Mike

 

[martinetav]

That is all very nice but, for the most part (please take this in the proper context) Many freight brokers don't really care about anything except how much they can keep for themselves... The good ones are very far and few between. The trend over the past few years is to have us drop our rates. We are now getting paid less for loads than we were getting 10 years ago. I'm sure you are all aware, or should be, of how much more it costs us to put a truck on the road today as compared to 10 years ago. Almost everyone is treating loads as returns, thus putting down the rates, again... We can't all be going home on all loads... If you take into consideration that it is estimated that we need $1.65/mile just to cover expenses, then what we are getting offered at $1.40 to 1.60 a mile is no longer covering expenses. We keep being asked to make the effort to keep the loads. If this keeps up the spot market will be in big trouble. The small independents are becoming more than ever, close to extinction because of this trend. We deserve to make a profit also... Everyone wants the cheapest even if it means paying to work... that just doesn't make any sense. I would just like to end this by saying How many truck operator / owners do you see driving a porch. Those are reserved for the sales guys...

 

[Michael Ludwig]

Very well said.
One of the things I get quite often is "You get better fuel mileage now, so you should be able to work cheaper". While it's true that we do get better fuel mileage now than we did 10 years ago, that in no way reflects costs like the average person on the sidelines would expect it to. For one thing, trucks that cost us $90,000.00 ten years ago, now cost us $180,000.00, and they don't last any longer than the old ones. Another added expense is diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), which costs us fifty-odd cents a litre. New reefers are now costing close to $100,000.00, and I even heard that new 5-axle decks with roll kits are $120,000.00 each. In short, all the better fuel mileage did was help us mitigate other costs. Sorry to say, but the cost of trucking didn't get any cheaper.

 

[martinetav]

and I think that if I hear one more person tell me 'well, fuel is cheaper than last year' I'm going to explode. Last year the canadian and us dollar were at par... Our dollar is now worth .75 at the pumps in the us

 

[klodashow]

I keep saying that since accountant have become shippers, Price just went down. (let's try to cut operating cost)

Plus if people would rely on service that rate would stay up. Some do understand that it is Worth paying that 100$ more on a shipment and not have worry about what is going to happen.

A Customer did tell me: ''I don't know how you guys do it, I give you a load and I have no phone calls, no e-mails with issues''

It's simple you pay the proper rate to have PROFESSIONAL handle you load.

Yes broker do have their part of the business as well. Good brokers charge the right amount to the Customer and pay the right amount to the carrier, no BS