RATES what is going on

[chica123]

One thing I can say during this time of chaos is the following; do not take a load from a questionable broker out of desperation. There are a ton of them posting loads now and it might be tempting to move your truck, but find some other way of doing it. Take something from someone you know and trust, even if they have had to lower their rates too. I feel like there are predators out there right now waiting to pounce on desperate carriers.

 

[Freight Broker]

The good ones always do. Any broker who decides to quote rates without consulting/confirming with a carrier, is not only a fool, but he is also likely doomed to failure. The cost of diesel fuel, new commercial vehicles, truck insurance or any other component of my suppliers overhead isn’t my concern, nor should it be. How effectively he manages those costs and how efficiently he operates his business certainly is. A professional operator who has a firm grasp on his expenses is a freight brokers most valuable business partner.

Consulting with the marketplace.. most carriers I've met expect me to offer a price which they either accept or reject with a counteroffer... at least for truckload. LTL carriers which tend to be larger companies usually quote it and you take it or leave it.

I have customers who expect spot quotes quickly.. i.e. 8 ft of flatbed.. 1200 lbs.. tarp.. Sacramento, CA to Woodstock, ON. They expect a rate in 30 minutes. There's just not enough time to call people for a rate so I either pass on it or quote a high rate which is usually a waste of time anyway.

And some carriers are hostile to brokers calling for pricing.. they're viewed as price shoppers and comments like "you should know the market" are bandied about. My strategy... deal in lanes where you know the prevailing rates and cost structure and/or quote it high... seems to work.

 

[JACKBURTON]

And some carriers are hostile to brokers calling for pricing.. they're viewed as price shoppers and comments like "you should know the market" are bandied about. My strategy... deal in lanes where you know the prevailing rates and cost structure and/or quote it high... seems to work.

Between this, and posting fake loads to get rates, it does get a bit frustrating.

 

[MLCAR]

they're viewed as price shoppers and comments like "you should know the market" are bandied about

and frankly speaking a broker should know the market. From Market research and analysis, considering fuel prices, toll routes etc etc. So when a carrier comes at you with a rate you know whether it's reasonable or way outta bounds. Often times I deal with people with "logistics Co-ordinator" in the title just looking for a rate to move the freight, no idea of what equipment is needed, what the freight is, what the receiver situation is like, can a 53ft'er get in there on both ends? will it be loose freight or skidded. Case in point was tendered to pick up a "FTL skided, DOCK TO DOCK" with a 53ft DV, LC said "we'ev picked up with dock high's and 53fts before. turned out, only drive in dock, had to be loaded with a forklift and pump trucked to the nose all for a chair and couple boxes less than quarter TL. Mind you this is one of the good medium size brokers too.

 

[Freight Broker]

That's why I stick to certain lanes and freight for the most part. The market is BIG.. quote me Fussen, Germany to Baltimore, MD.. locomotive axles.. 8000 lbs..Smart brokers and carriers stick to key lanes as no one can possibly be up to speed on all lanes or even a small number of lanes. also very much depends on the shipper and on how they operate. If they're reasonable with their timelines alot more can be accomplished..i.e. the Germany load above I got, but they gave me lots of time to figure the rate and to plan the move. Would have been impossible had they told me "we need a price in 30 minutes".. or pickup the following day.

 

[loaders]

Providing an accurate, market based quote quickly is not that difficult. Calling the carrier who performed a similar move recently is step one. After being in this business for over thirty years, knowing “the market” isn’t the problem. If I need to give my customer a quote, they expect and I demand that it be accurate and current. If that involves calling a couple of our carrier partners (key word…”partners”) so be it. I would never expect them to regard our inquiries as frivolous “price shopping”, after all, aren’t we in the business of moving freight together? Stories of inexperienced freight brokers are as common as tales of inefficient, bumbling carriers, they exist, we know about them….move on.

 

[Freight Broker]

ok, so what would you charge for my Fussen, Germany to Baltimore, MD above? I have another one coming up in October..also have identical load to Indianapolis, IN.

 

[loaders]

ok, so what would you charge for my Fussen, Germany to Baltimore, MD above? I have another one coming up in October..

As you said…..”not my lane, but thanks for the opportunity”.

 

[Freight Broker]

We're often hamstrung by our own customers.. had one recently wanting a quote.. no commodity given.. no weight.. no dimensions.. only origin and destination. .. "give me a rate for Springfield, OH to Winnipeg, MB".. .. but I look at the glass as half full..at least their giving me the city AND state and province.. i.e. not going to door 50, Newfoundland.

 

[loaders]

I suppose my point is only to suggest that if a broker doesn’t want to look like a stupid, greenhorn in the eyes of his carrier suppliers, don’t guess at what any rate should be. This site is constantly filled with comments like…”you won’t believe what such and such broker just offered me!” Sure, sometimes it is an experienced, although somewhat sleazy broker, trying a carrier “on for size”by low balling his first offer, but it just as likely is a fresh faced dispatcher charged with moving a load without the benefit of an accurate, current, market rate in front of them. Repeat, steady lanes….easy, same rate applies until the carrier asks for more. Anything else, why not protect yourself and your reputation by simply asking your “buddies” on the asset side of our business, what their rate is today? The good ones, who appreciate your continued business won’t mind, it is in their best interests as well.

 

[Freight Broker]

Agreed.. and probably the load boards, as valuable as they are, have made many of us a little lazy about developing and maintaining a carrier base. Just post the load and go. Without a loadboard we would be forced to educate ourselves about what carriers do what and where they go and what equipment they run. Pros and cons of load boards I guess.

 

[XPORTIN]

Agreed.. and probably the load boards, as valuable as they are, have made many of us a little lazy about developing and maintaining a carrier base. Just post the load and go. Without a loadboard we would be forced to educate ourselves about what carriers do what and where they go and what equipment they run. Pros and cons of load boards I guess.

The way the prices are going up for load boards and all the double broker scammers seems like its more cons than pros lately unfortunately.

 

[MLCAR]

my point is only to suggest that if a broker doesn’t want to look like a stupid, greenhorn in the eyes of his carrier suppliers, don’t guess at what any rate should be.

this is my sentiment as well, a logistics professional should be a "professional" with at least moderate knowledge in all areas and wealth of knowledge in key areas pertaining to logistics. I have customers that request quotes for Air and Sea freight and I kindly refer them over to other companies we have rapport with. I wouldn't even kno where to start with that lol. But I do offer to move the freight once it touches land so thats a plus.

The trouble (although niche) with asking for quotes from carriers for certain lanes is that you never really know why they offer a rate that they do. Point A to B can either be a whole new lane for a carrier or an inbound/outbound for another carrier. Rates/quotes will affect that, but that is not the market rate. Thats why I have brokers asking for a quote and when I offer it, its followed by a "well XYZ transport does it for us for $X.00 but cant run it this week so we need help can you match that?" Um no I can't hence my price.

 

[Freight Broker]

I get that from shippers as well.. Shipper will ask for a quote. He responds.. "you're about 20% higher than the other guy", perhaps expecting me to lower or at least match his rate. Instead I suggest he continue using his current provider. Often they'll respond with.. "well, they never seem to have trucks available". I then respond with an ungodly low rate.. adding.. "for that rate I never have trucks available either". But if you want to actually MOVE your load then my original primo rate is what it is.

 

[bigt]

PRE COVID, one of the bigger broker call in and ask for rate. from LA to BC and i quoted and she said your rate is bit too high ABC company quoted so and so. i said use them. she said they don't have trucks available. And she calls me back again after few minutes with $200 added on the offer she made. i still said can't do it. She calls back again after some times and this time offer extra $500 what she was quoted by other carrier. i was still firm with my rate and she call back 4th time and said tell me what is the best rate you can do for. i added $200 extra on top of my original quote. i end up doing that load and she was, you quoted me so and so why $200 extra. i said going back and forth and wasting my time when you knew my rates were in align with market and if some dumb guy quoted you low, you should know. and she agreed with it.

 

[XPORTIN]

I love working with brokers don't get me wrong but the arrogance they have sometimes when I tell them I cant send my trucks for that low makes me laugh at times. I get it you are stuck with a low rate load but you can't make me feel bad for not helping you when the rate doesn't make sense to our business model.

 

[loaders]

I love working with brokers don't get me wrong but the arrogance they have sometimes when I tell them I cant send my trucks for that low makes me laugh at times. I get it you are stuck with a low rate load but you can't make me feel bad for not helping you when the rate doesn't make sense to our business model.

A classic example of where a broker guessed at a rate and to his dismay, guessed wrong! From time to time, no matter how hard we try to avoid it, we are all saddled with a rate that is below current market value and scramble to get it covered. Having some solid, long term relationships with a select group of partner carriers can certainly help. Knowing that if they “give” a little bit on this load it will be more than made up for on any number of loads coming their way in the future. Treating your suppliers fairly and with respect can go a long way in helping to get yourself out of a self made jam!

 

[theman]

I always found a data driven approach was what worked best most of the time. So if at a brokerage with some good volume, you can usually see what rates one is normally selling at and trend and go from there. Once in a while one 'takes a flyer', I cannot say that when I was in the business that there weren't transactions that we actually lost money on. It just needs to be looked at from 'big picture' if your client is 'big picture'. If it's purely a spot customer not so much ...

 

[Freight Broker]

Markets can also shift suddenly.. A rate the was good this morning may not be any good this afternoon. Had a shipper cancel a truck on me last Friday. Too bad for me.. had him deadhead out of Jacksonville to Marietta, GA, and he was well underway when the shipper called to cancel. She matter of factly told me they found a cheaper truck and "that's competition". At 5:05 pm on Friday she called me back to ask if my truck was still available.. her voice quavering as her cheaper truck had bailed on her. After checking I replied that indeed the truck was still available... but my rate would be $1000.00 over what I had quoted before.. She asked why.. I told her it was after 5:00 pm on a Friday and most of my competitors had closed for the day.. I fed her own words back to her too.. "that's competition!"

 

[theman]

Markets can also shift suddenly.. A rate the was good this morning may not be any good this afternoon. Had a shipper cancel a truck on me last Friday. Too bad for me.. had him deadhead out of Jacksonville to Marietta, GA, and he was well underway when the shipper called to cancel. She matter of factly told me they found a cheaper truck and "that's competition". At 5:05 pm on Friday she called me back to ask if my truck was still available.. her voice quavering as her cheaper truck had bailed on her. After checking I replied that indeed the truck was still available... but my rate would be $1000.00 over what I had quoted before.. She asked why.. I told her it was after 5:00 pm on a Friday and most of my competitors had closed for the day.. I fed her own words back to her too.. "that's competition!"

Again, if it's one-shot spot quotes it isn't a big picture thing.