load boards

[abc123]

when you get freight from the load boards, all the money goes to you, is this the best way to earn more money or is it not the best way? why?

[GMAN]

I assume you are talking about running your own authority as opposed to leasing to a carrier? The answer can be yes and no. Some loads on the load boards are cheap. Others pay well. It depends on where you are leased and if you are paid percentage or mileage. If you are paid mileage and the carrier has decent rates you could make more than if you ran your own authority if you take cheap loads. To get the best rates running your authority, you should be a good negotiator. I seem to do better running my own authority. I have known of some who make more leasing to a carrier. Ideally, you should make more running your own authority.

[abc123]

do you get better loads posting your truck on the boards or when you get the load yourself

[heavyhaulerss]

I'm not sure about the rest of you , but for flatbed freight coming out of the decatur/ birminham area.. it's dead for flatbed freight. ive heard cause the water is so low that the barges can not get thru. ??? hope it picks up soon. also g-am may be able to answer this... what month is it that flatbee freight is uually dead ? june or july ? every year it seems freight is slow around here one of those months. but we really have not picked up a lot since feb.. maybe just my leased to co ??//

[coastie]

It amazes me when I hear No freight coming out of a place.

484 Flatbed Loads posted
starting within 50 miles of DECATUR, AL

780 Flatbed Loads posted
starting within 50 miles of BIRMINGHAM, AL

So your right, No freight coming out of there...

[GMAN]

do you get better loads posting your truck on the boards or when you get the load yourself

I do both. I have some of my own shippers and use the load boards to get back to my shippers. If my customers are slow, I may continue to use brokers. There are pros and cons to both.

[GMAN]

I'm not sure about the rest of you , but for flatbed freight coming out of the decatur/ birminham area.. it's dead for flatbed freight. ive heard cause the water is so low that the barges can not get thru. ??? hope it picks up soon. also g-am may be able to answer this... what month is it that flatbee freight is uually dead ? june or july ? every year it seems freight is slow around here one of those months. but we really have not picked up a lot since feb.. maybe just my leased to co ??//

I haven't been hauling much out of Alabama, lately, but I have been getting calls for freight in that area. It may just be the company where you are leased. I haven't heard anything about barges not being able to get through. I have been very busy the last several weeks. Rates and freight seem to be up considerably, at least for me. The first quarter was the pits for freight. Things tend to slow during the week of July 4th. Many companies close during that week.

do you get better loads posting your truck on the boards or when you get the load yourself

I've never had a problem getting a flatbed load no matter where I am. The most I've sat is 2 days over a weekend. I don't believe there are any slow times. I've been in blizzards in Denver and people calling for a flatbed.

I tend to post my truck and just wait for my phone to ring. I usually have a rate in mind and if they offer less I tell them what I'll do it for. If they like it, great, if not I wait. Most times they call back and I'm on my way.

Some times I'll get on the boards and start calling about loads but not normally. It seems that most loads are gone when I call. I'll sometimes send them email and that works too but the best thing for me is to wait for the phone to ring.

[abc123]

once the load board have all your information do you still need to send your information for every load you take?

[heavyhaulerss]

well coastie. i dont have a load board . i have a dispatcher. & ourrr freight lanes are dead. the runs that we usually run. from one particulair area to another particuliar area. i wish my dispatcher would look at your load board with all those loads on it.. but i wonder how many are good paying & how many are listed several times for one load. ive heard of brokers posting 1 load 15 times....

once the load board have all your information do you still need to send your information for every load you take?

If you haven't hauled a load for a particular broker then you need to do all the paperwork again. Once you've hauled a load for someone they just send you the rate agreement and your on your way.

I have an email address for some brokers like TMC and if I see a load I just send an email that says I'll take it. I get a contract a few minutes later and I'm off.

well coastie. i dont have a load board . i have a dispatcher. & ourrr freight lanes are dead. the runs that we usually run. from one particulair area to another particuliar area. i wish my dispatcher would look at your load board with all those loads on it.. but i wonder how many are good paying & how many are listed several times for one load. ive heard of brokers posting 1 load 15 times....

That's because your dispatcher is probably only dealing with the shippers they have. The load boards represent brokers and shippers and are not restricted to just what your company deals with.

That's one good thing about having your own authority. You get to deal with any broker and shipper you feel like, not just the contacts your company has.

[GMAN]

Finding a load most places is usually not much of a problem. Getting a load which is profitable may be another situation. There are area's where freight tends to be slow, such as in South Florida. If you pull a reefer, South Florida may not be quite so bad. Pulling a flat bed may not be so good in that area. It is up to the owner to know in advance what is going on in an area before he takes a load. There are some carriers who may only solicit freight from their own shippers. Others may use outside brokers in areas where they don't have much representation. You may check with your dispatcher to see whether you can find your own load. Carriers have different policies concerning dealing with outside brokers. If you cannot get your own loads and your carrier doesn't have anything for you to haul, you may want to change carriers. Birmingham is usually a good area for flat bed freight. I have also done well out of the North Alabama area you mentioned.

[abc123]

question?, when on the load board and lets say for 1000 miles they pay $1,500, the driver gets paid the $1,500 or does some of that go to a broker?

[Kintama]

question?, when on the load board and lets say for 1000 miles they pay $1,500, the driver gets paid the $1,500 or does some of that go to a broker?

A broker is going to want 10% of that $1500.

question?, when on the load board and lets say for 1000 miles they pay $1,500, the driver gets paid the $1,500 or does some of that go to a broker?

Yes, you get the whole $1,500.

[mike3fan]

Yes, you get the whole $1,500.

Can't beat that can ya.

question?, when on the load board and lets say for 1000 miles they pay $1,500, the driver gets paid the $1,500 or does some of that go to a broker?

A broker is going to want 10% of that $1500.

No, that's not right. The broker is posting what he/she is willing to pay. They already took there cut. You could call and say I'll take the load but I want $1,700 instead. Then the broker has to decide if they want to take a cut in there pay. A lot of times I think they go for it because if they don't then some other broker will get the load. Sometimes it's better for the broker to make $300 instead of $500 than nothing at all.

[abc123]

just browsing through the load boards, most loads pay more then $1.50 a mile, and yet i see many posts that say you cant make it as an o/o just using the boards? but most companies only pay you a $1 a mile.

[brian]

if you have to hunt every day for a load on a board then somethings wrong and i`d doubt you`d make it, but after a while of cruising a load board and pulling loads your gonna make contacts and their gonna go to you when they have a load if you prove to be reliable.


I started out as on O/O and used the boards exclusively, I had a couple of contacts from working on trucks but I had to get to their areas first, I also factored alot of my first loads not only for the cushion but for the peace of mind, yeah I gave up a couple of points to factor them but I could see who paid the factoring companies quickly and who took their sweet time and base my decisions on who`d I haul for from there.