[sjmay]

Originally Posted by b00m

Well,

To tell you the truth is that im really not looking for somebody else to get another cut/percentage of what comes out to me.This business is all about cost and it really doesn't excite me having an extra one.
For me the way i work is pretty simple.i post my truck on the load board with the different brokers or do a search of what i need to take me to a certain place.Most often i do this from my smartphone.Everything is done over email with brokers and i can even get faxes from them with the confirmation rates.I think anyone that has a little bit willingness can do it with no problem.On a fair rate,it really depends on day to day market activity.This is referring to reefer rates that vary from hour to hour.On the new brokers question,i just dont want to take a chance with somebody that has a problem paying his carriers.This kind of stuff happens constantly and simply cant afford it.

Agree with all of that except the first sentence heh, but seriously, I understand where you are coming from, I guess the market for what I am looking to do, is for guys who just want to drive but don't want the hassle of finding, negotiating, and the paperwork of the loads etc, and in general I have no idea how big that market is, which is why I am on here, trying to find information etc.

This question would go out for everyone I guess, what would "look for" in a broker, new to you or not? I am assuming the following, history of business, references, good credit check, integrity, fair. What am I missing there?

Thanks,
Sam

[GMAN]

I look for a broker who has been in business for a while. I don't do business with any broker who hasn't been in business for at least a year. I check credit and their rates. No matter how good the rate, I don't haul a load unless they have good credit. I have made an exception to the credit on a couple of situations where I am paid with a comcheck before the load comes off my truck. I rarely do a COD. It is a lot less hassle to do business with brokers who have good credit and a good track record. It is a good idea to periodically do a credit check on brokers whom you are doing business no matter how large the firm.

There has been a lot written lately about increasing the broker bond from $10,000 to $100,000. Increasing the bond won't insure that a carrier or owner operator gets paid. Personally, I could care less whether a broker even has a bond or not. They will either pay you or they won't. Those who complain about not getting paid by a broker either don't check the credit or don't do what they are supposed to do with the load. If you do the checks you are not likely to have many problems collecting your money.

Another critical factor is the rate. If the broker has cheap rates then I don't do business with them. When a broker has cheap rates is is often due to double or triple brokering. Some may call it "co-brokering." Schneider has arrangements with other brokers and they call it "co-brokering." It is still double brokering. Regardless, I don't take a load unless it has a rate that I can live with.

[sjmay]

Sounds about right, by comcheck, what do you mean there, I haven't heard that term before...

Would you do business with a new broker, who has say been in business for 4 months, but is willing to provide a "deposit" or something similar with that? Or is that a pretty strict guide that you go by?

As far as cheap rates, do you continually check with the brokers to see if rates increased, or is there a certain point where you just write them off?

Thanks,
Sam

[GMAN]

A comcheck is guaranteed funds, much like a bank cashier's check. There are several different types of checks such as comchesk, T-Check, EFS, TCH, etc., They are all basically the same thing issued by different companies. All of them are owned by major banks. We can use either an express code or check. A check MUST be registered in order to be valid.

As I previously stated, I will rarely do business with a broker who has not been in business for at least a year. If there was a load that I wanted to haul and nothing else that I could find from someone whom I have been doing business I might do business with a newer broker. It would need to be a load that paid an above average rate. I don't necessarily have an iron clad policy on that. Each situation is different. The thing is that when you do a COD there is always the chance that the money won't be available on the other end. That means that you will either need to extend credit on someone who is not credit worthy or take the load back to where you picked it up. I usually won't do a deposit on a load. It will either be prepaid before I leave the shipper or paid in full with guaranteed funds before I allow the load to be taken off my trailer. There are quite a few who don't bother checking credit or references on new brokers and are surprised when they don't get paid. I don't want to put myself in that situation.

I don't usually check with brokers just to check rates. Each load is a negotiation. You can haul a load to an area today and that rate could change next week or even the next day. It could go up or down. There are some brokers who always seem to have cheap rates. I am always polite, but won't haul their freight unless it is something they must move and they bring the rate up. There are a couple of brokers who come to mind who will take as much as 60% of the line haul. There rates are nearly ALWAYS cheap. Taking that much of the rate is equivalent to stealing as far as I am concerned. The two brokerages I am thinking about are very large. I rarely receive calls from them since they know that I won't haul their cheap freight. I won't say that I will automatically write any broker off, but when they continually offer me cheap freight they are not on the top of my list, especially when I know the cut that they are taking off the top. I may receive calls from them from time to time, but I never call them.

[sjmay]

60% Holy crap, I don't understand how anyone could do that with a straight face,

Like I said before, I was thinking about going into a brokerage as an agent etc, but decided I like the load planning, or dispatching side much much more so I want to focus on that, but even then, I was thinking, at most 15% and probably would have settled on a 12-13% of the rate, anything higher really never crossed my mind,

Amazing.

Quick newbie question, I see a lot of mention of dry vans etc, just want to make sure I have the definition right, vans isn't what I think it is, meaning an actual van, when someone says dry van they typically mean a trailer for hauling dry goods, right?

Thanks,
Sam

[GMAN]

Originally Posted by sjmay

60% Holy crap, I don't understand how anyone could do that with a straight face,

Like I said before, I was thinking about going into a brokerage as an agent etc, but decided I like the load planning, or dispatching side much much more so I want to focus on that, but even then, I was thinking, at most 15% and probably would have settled on a 12-13% of the rate, anything higher really never crossed my mind,

Amazing.

I think that you will find most brokers will keep somewhere between 10-30% with the majority falling somewhere in between. I would expect you will find most of them keeping about 15-20%. However, if something is double brokered then you could have 2 commissions of 20% coming out of the rate. That means that between the two brokers they are skimming about 40% off the rate so the truck is now only receiving 60% of what the shipper paid to move the load. That a major reason some rates are lower than one would expect. When you talk to the shipper you find that they are paying a fair rate to the first broker, but after it has been brokered a couple of times the rate is either fair or poor when it gets to the truck.

Quick newbie question, I see a lot of mention of dry vans etc, just want to make sure I have the definition right, vans isn't what I think it is, meaning an actual van, when someone says dry van they typically mean a trailer for hauling dry goods, right?

Thanks,
Sam

That is correct. A van can haul some produce, such as onions or water melons as long as it is vented, but for the most part you will load something on pallets into a van or box truck. They are completely covered and must be loaded from the rear. Most trucks you see on the road pull vans.

[sjmay]

Gman,

Appreciate all the help, I couldn't even imagine 20% let alone the 30% etc, I mean, yes, I would like to make a buck in the business just as the next guy, but at that cost I can't imagine they have much business or will have much business for long if they are that greedy, I don't mind charging a fair rate for anything for any work that I do, but man,

When you had your dispatch company, how many trucks did you dispatch, and how many do you think one person could do comfortably, assuming the following, A. they spend 40+ hours weekly working, B. they handle the contracts, and billing the broker/shipper so the driver really only has to focus on driving and their own records etc,

Thanks,
Sam

[sjmay]

Hey GMAN,

Can you PM Me, I am starting to pull all the information together and I wanted to run something by you before going further,

Thanks,

Sam

[GMAN]

It isn't just reefers that have rates than can sometimes change by the hour. Flats can sometimes be very volatile. It can often be like playing poker. The first guy to blink loses.

[Super 8]

What is the point in dealing with a broker when you could find your own load on a board via wireless internet for a flat monthly fee? It seems to me that brokers have become redundant. Drivers now have cell phones and laptops with internet access. The technology is there. The infrastructure which was once needed, when drivers needed to find a payphone somewhere to call-in, is no longer necessary. Drivers should be able to do it all themselves, right? I mean, that's what appeals to me about getting back into the game. I own the truck/trailer. I can find my own loads, and route my own trips. I don't need a company or a brokerage to do it for me and take a cut.

Am I wrong about this?