Do you take weight into account when you book a load?

[charged]

For example load A weighs 5K lbs and load B weighs 48K lbs.
Your tractor/trailer gets 20% better gas mileage unloaded than fully loaded on regular flat land.
Do you accept a lower than normal rate? Or do you demand the same rate as a heavy load?

[GMAN]

My experience has been that the lighter weight loads usually pay better than heavy loads.

[Doghouse]

Mine too Gman,...heavier loads almost always pay the lowest rates.
I take weight into consideration always. I have small HP and I get 7.2-7.5mpg loaded at 78,000lbs and then I get 8.5-8.9 loaded at 50,000lbs.
Not to mention wear and tear on the equip.
I just did two back to back at 50,000lbs 3,000 miles total @ $2.57per mile.
The lighter the better :wink: It works out to be about $200 more to my already swollen wallet than if I ran the heavy stuff.

[heavyhaulerss]

this depends... I do better at times with more weight. you have to do the math with each load. & I mean miles, weight, height ,terrain pay, fsc, & method of payment, i.e. flat rate mileage, percentage, e.t.c. my routine as follows.




$ 1.05 a hundred weight. 180 miles & of last week 40 % fsc paid on the gross (which is very important if hauling heavy) so lets say I have a choice 39,000 lbs vs 48,000 lbs.. 39000 x 1.05 = $409.50 x 40 % = $163.80 in my pay scale I get 80 % so 409.50 x 80 % = $ 327.60 +fsc of $ 163.80 = $491.40 to the truck.

2nd senario..

48,000 lbs x $1.05 = $504.00 x 40 % fsc = $201.60 so $504.00 x 80% = $403.20 +fsc of $201.60 = $604.80 to the truck.


$604.80
$491.40



$113.40 more on the heavier load. now my opinion is this... on my run.. it does not cost me $113.40 MORE to haul 9000 more lbs.


now if it's 45-49,000 lbs vs 18,000 lbs or 8,000 lbs then I would for sure go for the lighter weight. I am sure G-MAN has done these calculations many times & anyone hauling steel as I do.[/b][/i]

[GMAN]

You are right, heavyhaulerss. You need to look at the whole picture.

[b00m]

Lighter is BETTER ALWAYS!!!!Recently i had a load that where my gross weight was 45k with 3/4 of the trailer full.I couldn't believe my eyes as i weighted out of curiosity twice.First when i thought the scale was bad and secondly just to confirm it.Wished it could be like that ALWAYS!!!

[NotSteve]

For example load A weighs 5K lbs and load B weighs 48K lbs.
Your tractor/trailer gets 20% better gas mileage unloaded than fully loaded on regular flat land.
Do you accept a lower than normal rate? Or do you demand the same rate as a heavy load?

Doesn't matter what the weight is and you can bring up all the statistics you want about needing more money for the heavier load. The broker knows what they are going to pay and if you don't want it, they will move on to the next truck until they get desperate.

[coastie]

Also pending on what you haul. the local area here you make more with the more weight you carry since they pay by the LBS. 14.50 per hundred. But the load may take you a week to get off. I hauled up to 19 drops, all hard to get into places, Funneral homes, grave yards, and small biz. But that the Granite Bizz.

[charged]

For example load A weighs 5K lbs and load B weighs 48K lbs.
Your tractor/trailer gets 20% better gas mileage unloaded than fully loaded on regular flat land.
Do you accept a lower than normal rate? Or do you demand the same rate as a heavy load?

Doesn't matter what the weight is and you can bring up all the statistics you want about needing more money for the heavier load. The broker knows what they are going to pay and if you don't want it, they will move on to the next truck until they get desperate.

I've talked to lots and lots of brokers. I have never been able to get one to move on their. Most have a stated rate which is usually a per job rate. There are a few that don't have a rate and want you to give them a rate. I've only have one ever say their rate then in the same breath say she had more in it.
I've asked for more, but have never got it.
There is a lot that goes into it. Looking at maps to make sure the miles they are paying you for are not short miles on small highways through mountain ranges. Looking for toll roads that eat up your money. Making sure you can get a load going somewhere else once you get the destination. Endless calling for jobs that are already gone and the broker was too lazy to pull.
:rock:

[GMAN]

You need to change your attitude a little. I approach it at what I charge, not what the broker wants to pay. If a broker calls with a load for less than I want, I tell them that I get "X" for going to that area. Sometimes it throws them off when I give them my rate. There are too many people who will just take what is offered with no thought as to where it goes or the difficulty in getting out with a decent paying load. I have a minimum rate for which I will take a load. If the shipper or broker doesn't want to pay, then we move on.

Before I commit to a load there are a few things that I take into consideration. The first thing is checking the miles for accuracy. Landstar is notorious for quoting short miles. If I can't run miles on one of their loads, I usually add 10% to the miles to get a more accurate rate. I want to know where it picks up, where it delivers, the product, weight, size, delivery schedule, stops, extra services, etc.,

[Rev.Vassago]

I've talked to lots and lots of brokers. I have never been able to get one to move on their. Most have a stated rate which is usually a per job rate. There are a few that don't have a rate and want you to give them a rate. I've only have one ever say their rate then in the same breath say she had more in it.
I've asked for more, but have never got it

I hope your first question when calling on a load isn't "How much does it pay?" In fact, that question is completely irrelevant, but it is probably the one brokers hear the most. Brokers can only dictate the rate if you let them. If they don't meet your rate, then you can always move on to a different load. If you agree to their rate, then their rate becomes your rate and you failed the negotiation.

[NotSteve]

Your one to give advise. You don't have your authority and DO NOT deal with brokers on a daily basis. You deal with a pimp at Landstar, not the REAL world.

[Rev.Vassago]

Your one to give advise. You don't have your authority and DO NOT deal with brokers on a daily basis.

What exactly does the DOT number and company name on the door have to do with negotiating a load? Oh, that's right. Nothing. And you are quite wrong. I deal with brokers far more than you do, because the loads I haul are shorter runs.

You deal with a pimp at Landstar, not the REAL world.

Riiiiight. Because dealing with a broker and dealing with an agent are SOOOO much different. You do realize that LS agents are brokers, right? You're just bitter because you don't know how to negotiate, so my words hit home for you. But that's okay. I won't fault you for hauling $1.25 - $1.40 per mile freight because you choose to accept what a broker offers you.

[NotSteve]

You don't deal with brokers. You deal with agents who you work for and go onto cushy load boars that post what they pay.

Like I said, your not in the real world, period.

And all the other stuff you said is BS as usual.

[Rev.Vassago]

And all the other stuff you said is BS as usual.

Really? You deny hauling $1.25 - $1.40 per mile freight? You deny not being able to negotiate with brokers, to the point that you hired others to do it for you?

[NotSteve]

My average has been around $1.90. Sometimes I've gotten $3.00 on LTL's going coast to coast. Some times $1.70 and $1.80 but has averaged $1.90 for ALL miles.

You just pulled that figure out of your azz.

I hired others to do it but they couldn't do any better than myself in one case and the other case she was F****** mental.

You guys all spout off BS when in fact you don't and can't practice what you preach.

Here are some real numbers from another person on this board who boasts much more per mile then they actually do . Lets see if anyone can figure it out.

And yes, I have my name on the door and I'm damn proud of it.

Lets see some of you dispatch Charged father for $4.00 per mile. Not going to happen I assure you.

I'm just sick of you preaching BS to a crowd up on your soap box when you yourself and others can't do it!!!

=============================================

Here are a few of the loads we did with xxxxxxx...

DH from Denver CO to Farmington NM 434 miles

PU pumpkins in Farmington NM to Atlanta GA 1530 actual miles to a total of 1964 miles and the load paid $3300.00 that is 1.68 per mile not to bad.

from Atlanta DH to Choo Choo pick up a load going to Berber Springs AR paying $1361.00 actual miles were 446 + 107 DH total 553 miles 2.46 per mile BUT we didnt get loaded till 11pm on the 12th and we got down to AR next day 8PM so two days on a 446 mile run not that great.

The next load worked out good cause of the pumpkins we loaded out of the Little Rock area to Farmington NM for $3,000 DH was only 10 miles and actual miles were 1015. So that was 2.92 per mile.

Then loaded in Farmington NM pumpkins back to FL that load was 1890 actual miles and paid $3200.00 so 1.68 mile again GOING TO FL!!

We sat for 3 days in FL then DH to Savanna GA to load to Bluff City TN that was a load of pipe for TMC and it paid $950.00 for 369 miles BUT add a 310 mile DH onto that. Now you get 1.40 per mile.

That was the last load on the East coast. After we unloaded in TN there were NO loads in our area with any miles on them and we did not want to be stuck in a east coast truck stop for the weekend so I found a load to cornelius OR we had to DH 339 miles to go get it. The rate ended up at 1.60 per mile.

then we DH to Eugene and loaded to Phoenix AZ for 1.38 per mile.

We had two loads that paid over 2 bucks a mile. Both of those loads I found. We hauled for Munster for the flooding from the storms up in OR and WA last Dec.

So anyway that gives an idea of how we did while running for the XXXX!!

[Rev.Vassago]

My average has been around $1.90. Sometimes I've gotten $3.00 on LTL's going coast to coast. Some times $1.70 and $1.80 but has averaged $1.90 for ALL miles.

You just pulled that figure out of your azz.

Well, actually I didn't. I pulled that figure from someone else who you discussed your real rates with.

I hired others to do it but they couldn't do any better than myself in one case and the other case she was F****** mental.

You guys all spout off BS when in fact you don't and can't practice what you preach.

I'm really wondering where you are getting this information from, Steve, since I've never discussed my load negotiating process, and you wouldn't know what is involved with negotiating loads at Landstar, having never done it.

Here are some real numbers from another person on this board who boasts much more per mile then they actually do . Lets see if anyone can figure it out.

And yes, I have my name on the door and I'm damn proud of it.

Lets see some of you dispatch Charged father for $4.00 per mile. Not going to happen I assure you.

I'm wondering where you are pulling this "$4.00 per mile" from.

I'm just sick of you preaching BS to a crowd up on your soap box when you yourself and others can't do it!!!

FYI: Just yesterday I negotiated a dedicated run between Michigan and Wisconsin. That's right - negotiated. Even though, with your vast expertise of the inner workings at Landstar, you seem to know that doesn't happen. And before I even made the phone call, I knew exactly what I had to get out of the deal to make it work for me, and used that as a base line for negotiation, just as I stated was the proper way to do it in my initial post. I practiced what I preached.

BTW, I'm really curious why you chose to attack the poster rather than the post. Is there anything I said in my initial comment that was incorrect? If so, what? You seem awfully fixated on attacking me for some reason, rather than what I am saying. If you want to go after what I am saying, by all means do so - I'd love to debate it with you. But you can't seem to get past "well you don't have a right to comment because your name isn't on the door", and all that drivel.

[charged]

The way I do it when I call a broker is ask what the item being shipped is and what it pays. If it doesn't pay enough I'll say it doesn't pay enough and thank them for their time. It gives them a chance to up what they may pay, but I have never had a broker say they'll pay more.

So, no I just don't take what the broker is paying unless it is close to what my dad wants to haul for.

[Orangetxguy]

Back in 03-05, whenever I was rating a load, I was only concerned with product weight as it pertained to the GVW and bridge laws.

When rating, I always started out with "How much deck does the load require?" Then I would ask about weight. If the product weighed say 25,000 pounds and only tood up 25 feet of deck space, I knew that I could put something else on the trailer. If I was able to do so, I always did.

Sometimes though, we haued loads that only weighed 20,000 pounds, but required the entire deck. The load was rated accordingly. Usually those loads were multi-stop deliveries, and Irated each stop according to how much work was going to be involved getting the product off.

My favorite shippers were Pavestone Products, Metal Sales Inc., Johns Manville Corp, and Dexter Axles. Pave Stone was usually always heavy, but they paid same day direct deposit on a faxed BOL. The other companies were all light loads...especially JM. All had many multi-stop loads for us, that usually put the trucks into position to service one of the other companies.

[Rev.Vassago]

The way I do it when I call a broker is ask what the item being shipped is and what it pays. If it doesn't pay enough I'll say it doesn't pay enough and thank them for their time. It gives them a chance to up what they may pay, but I have never had a broker say they'll pay more.

So what you are doing is trying to get the brokers to negotiate with themselves. :wink:

A broker will never say they will pay more, and will always start low and work their way up. It is up to you to start the negotiations at a level where you actually have room to work with what you need, not what they want to give you....