Seeking advice for expanding father's company in the GTA/ON region

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Trucker17

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Jan 16, 2024
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Hey everyone,

I hope you're all hanging in there during these challenging times. I'm reaching out for some advice on how to help my father's company expand. I've been actively engaging in cold calling and visiting warehouses to connect directly with shippers, but it's been tough navigating through a market that seems to be unstable and saturated with underbidding.

Initially, my goal is to secure one truck to operate within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) or Ontario, specifically within a range of 100km-150km from Mississauga. I'm considering joining Loadlink to leverage its network and hopefully establish steady freight connections.

For those of you who have experience with Loadlink, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Does it offer consistent work in this market, or would it be more of an investment without guaranteed returns? Any suggestions or alternative ideas for building connections and finding reliable freight in the GTA/ON area would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help and insights!
 
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I am a broker but it might be worth it to get it for a trial period or 1 month, then start posting and writing down all the potential customers information and letting know who you are and what you do. Just my 2 cents.
 
There are two sources of freight in our industry, direct shippers and freight brokers. Obviously having your own stable of direct shippers is your ultimate goal, but as you have experienced to date, it is very difficult to get a commitment. In the meanwhile, it might be to your advantage to work with a number of different freight brokers. Some could offer you a couple of loads a week, others maybe less, however if you can keep your one truck working at rates you can live with….who cares where the loads originate. Don’t give up your search for your own customers, you will need them to have any sort of longevity in this industry.
 
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Freight broker or shipper, money is money, and the bank doesn't care if the check comes from a freight broker, a shipper, or other. BTW, most shippers are middlemen too...they assemble stuff that comes in from Asia or elsewhere. You can’t get away from dealing with middlemen unless you work only with loggers and farmers, and even in those instances Mother Nature is really the shipper.
 
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Your best bet is to hire a salesperson. Direct customers is the best way to go and Loadlink doesn't have a whole lot of local freight. Also the local rates aren't the best.
 
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DBHill said:
Your best bet is to hire a salesperson. Direct customers is the best way to go and Loadlink doesn't have a whole lot of local freight. Also the local rates aren't the best.
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exactly this... the local GTA freight posted on the link is for dirt cheap rates, or crazy requirements, no detention paid, appt on both ends, with the del being 2am, and days to pay are 55....

I highly suggest you find direct clients and not to rely on the link for local GTA cartage work.
 
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Trucker17 said:
Hey everyone,

I hope you're all hanging in there during these challenging times. I'm reaching out for some advice on how to help my father's company expand. I've been actively engaging in cold calling and visiting warehouses to connect directly with shippers, but it's been tough navigating through a market that seems to be unstable and saturated with underbidding.

Initially, my goal is to secure one truck to operate within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) or Ontario, specifically within a range of 100km-150km from Mississauga. I'm considering joining Loadlink to leverage its network and hopefully establish steady freight connections.

For those of you who have experience with Loadlink, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Does it offer consistent work in this market, or would it be more of an investment without guaranteed returns? Any suggestions or alternative ideas for building connections and finding reliable freight in the GTA/ON area would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help and insights!
Click to expand...
Here is another idea for you. Log onto the National Transportation Brokers website. There you will find a list of all their current members. You will have to track down the addresses and contacts of these firms yourself. Send them all a mailing, or email describing your services and how to get in contact with you. As others have said, LoadLink is not a good source for local freight. Why any self respecting freight broker would use LL for local moves is beyond me. Most brokers, myself included, have a number of “go to” guys for their local stuff. What you want to do is become one of those “go to “ guys for as many brokers as you can.
 
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