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Originally Posted by kblickster
Do you run freight at low rates just to establish yourself with a Broker?
CH Robinson and other companies have freight - but do I need to run it cheap just to get my foot in the door?
When you guys say you knock on doors - How do you sell yourself? Not a stranger to cold calls or sales in general but who do you contact?
I want to run - need to run - have funds put back - but can't sit still forever. I have a few contacts - but obviously need way more. I read these boards for a long time before starting this venture and understood that it is hard starting out - but geez - this is crazy.
Who is running all this cheap freight and why? How the heck is anyone staying in business?
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You do not need to take cheap freight to get in with these brokers. Unless you keep your rates high enough, you won't be in business very long. Every business MUST make a profit to continue to exist.
If you want to find your own shippers you will need to get out and make some sales calls. You must find the one who can make a decision. The shipping manager is a good place to start. Some shippers have logistics companies to handle their shipping needs. You can use the telephone, direct mail or personal sales calls. Any or all of them can result in gaining new business.
This is a time of year when rates tend to soften. The key is to remain flexible. During winter months some won't run in the cold and snow. That usually results in rates being higher in those areas and lower in the warmer climate. I see no need to haul freight unless I can make a fair profit. It doesn't make any sense to haul freight just to keep the truck moving. Unless someone is willing to pay me enough to make a fair profit then I won't waste my time with them. Apparently, there are plenty of owner operators and carriers who are willing to run for $1/mile on some loads. I would prefer sitting or deadhead out than take one of those cheap loads. A friend of mine is in the Northwest. He wound up deadheading over to his brother in Idaho rather than hauling a heavy load of lumber for $1/or so. He feels like me about hauling for fuel money. Fuel costs are approaching $0.70/mile in the far Northwest. Rates should be going up rather than down. The problem is that there are too many people who get into this business, buy a truck and don't have enough money to run their business. They run scared. They are so afraid of losing everything that they take this cheap freight to try and out run the bill collectors. Of course, in the end, they wind up losing everything anyway. You can't run for FREE forever. If we had more business people in this business rates would be higher. What these people don't realize is that if enough people let this freight sit then rates come up. Rates will come up until someone takes it.
Rates are somewhat artificially low right now. The building and automobile industries are slow. Those are two areas where trucking rely heavily on freight. Those who usually haul this type of freight must look for other avenues until these industries begin to recover. That throws an excess capacity into the mix during a slow time of year. The result is more trucks for the available freight. Last year during this time there wasn't as much freight. This year there seems to be plenty of freight but rates are lower, in part due to the excess capacity. One thing we seem to forget. Shippers MUST move their goods. They can only wait so long before shipping them. Unless they ship to their customers they cannot survive. It is a waiting game. I think some shippers are better at it than many in the trucking business.
