Rates will be better if you run your own authority (usually) since you will keep the part they normally receive. No matter what you may hear, nearly all of the major carriers use the loadboards or brokers to some extent or another. Few carriers are able to use 100% of their own shippers. I know of Landstar trucks that have hauled CH Robinson, Schneider and JB Hunt loads. There are other carriers who do the same. This is not a new event. They have been doing this for many years. It isn't that the larger carriers don't have any of their own shippers or freight, but it is difficult for any of them to sufficiently service each shipper. Some of them only use a broker to get their trucks back to their shippers.
CH Robinson is a broker. They don't have any trucks running under their authority. Landstar and others are carriers who are also brokers. If you have your own authority then you can broker freight from any broker or haul for shippers direct.
I called about some van loads this morning. I had a few offer less than $1/mile going into Florida. If I booked this load as a carrier and put it on an owner operator truck then that owner operator would have less than $0.75/mile. That isn't enough to run the truck. Even a $1/mile is not enough. I would say on average that van rates are less than 1.20/mile running your authority. If you lease to a carrier you are likely to be running for $1/mile or less unless you can afford to do a lot of sitting. If you can wait for about a year then rates will be up considerably and capacity will be down. Rates should be very good next year. Thousands more owner operators and many more carriers will not be able to survive these low rates. Carriers will be in the drivers seat once again. Shippers and brokers are enjoying the current cheap rates. They will be begging for trucks next year and be forced to pay a premium to get them. At this point it is a matter of survival to get through this year.
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