Hi all,


My name is Roxanne and I live in sunny Colorado!



I'm just joining this website and hoping to get to know the industry a little better and thinking what better way than through truckers themselves, right?

I've got no experience in this industry and am just barely getting my feet wet. I have a few questions for you guys upfront:


1. I'm interested in moving oversized loads but have no idea where to start there...

2. I'm also interested in moving automobiles for car dealerships and again not sure where to start.

3. I see O/O's occasionally pulling freight for companies who already have their own fleet. How does that happen, who would I need to contact to get that sort of a thing set up with those companies?


4. This has been my largest query of all. I have been calling people--a lot of people-- who say they don't deal with the carriers. Their customers choose who they are. Are these companies lying to me because they don't want me to call them again? How do I get a hold of these customer lists to set up shipping with them?



TIA


Roxanne

 

Your best bet would be to take a class on freight brokering. If you do a Google type search for it then you will find a lot of information on classes offered in your area. There are tons of rules and regulations that you must follow and it is not really something you can pick up by yourself.

 

thank you for your reply. I have looked into classes. I can not afford any classes or conferences at this time. I have been using google quite a bit in the past few weeks that I have been doing this. I just found some books that were available at the library and am waiting for those.


Other than referring me to a class or conference, do you happen to know the answers to my questions I posted originally?


TIA

R-

 

then how can you afford to be in business if you cant afford to get educated?

 

Freight brokering is not free. You need to be bonded and insured before anyone is going to allow you to broker their freight. Not to mention that finding trucks to haul your freight isn't necessarily free either.

 

Welcome to the site, Roxanne. I am curious as to who you are affiliated with as a freight agent? Or perhaps you mean freight broker? An agent is usually affiliated with a specific carrier and used their broker authority. A broker must have broker authority and a bond.

Unless you are affiliated with a broker you could be in violation of federal law unless you have your own broker authority. Broker authority costs $300 and you will need to post a $10,000 bond. If I were you I would get a job with a carrier or broker and learn the business. Your lack of experience could put you out of business before you get started. It is difficult to get started as a new broker. Other than the bond and authority many carriers will not do business with a new broker until they have a proven track record and/or have been in business for at least a year. You will need to have cash to pay those who haul your freight. They will expect payment whether you have been paid or not.

If you want to do over sized freight you need to start with legal loads. There is much more to over sized load than many people realize. Each state has their own laws when it comes to over sized loads. I won't go into all the details here, but it is much more involved than legal freight.

Automobiles are a different animal altogether. Most people who work with automobiles don't do other types of freight. There are different aspects of hauling cars such as dealers, auctions, manufacturer, POV's, etc.,

I am not sure what you mean in number 4. Some shippers prefer dealing with larger carriers or brokers. They may not be willing to deal with a new broker.

You are not ready to do what you want. This business is regulated by the federal government. There are certain laws which you need to be aware. From your post you may have already violated some by soliciting brokered business without having authority. You need to know whom to solicit, how to calculate rates, book loads and find carriers to haul them. You have much to learn and these shippers will chew you up. You will tell them that you are new and lack experience in your first sentence or two. Brokers should have some sales experience. You don't need a lot of tools, just a fax, computer and telephone. You will need money to fund your new venture but before you do anything you need to get some experience. Find a broker or agent for a carrier who needs some help and see if they are willing to train you. It may be difficult to find someone who is willing to take the time to train you with the current economy. It might be easier when things pick up. I am sure this is not what you want to hear but it will save you a lot of headaches to start with someone who is already in the business.

Whether you take a course or work for an established broker or agent you need to educate yourself, otherwise you may burn a lot of bridges.

 

G-man already did an excellent job of explaining the situation to you, as pertains to your questions. G operates his own trucks under his own authority...and is "Old Man of da woods" around here. I highlited in red, the sentence that most legitimate shippers and carriers will have a problem with.

In order to "Broker" freight properly, you ned to be exceptionally well funded. Five years ago, you could have started a brokerage with $100,000. Now, it would be a safe bet that to be adequately funded, $350,000 to $500,000 would be needed, before legitimate shippers and carriers will deal with you.

There are plenty of shippers and carriers out there, whom would use you, abuse you, then let you get thrown in jail, just because they could. Honesty has been in short supply among feight brokers the last few years. There are trucking companies that have failed, because they agreed to work with freight brokers, only to lose their shorts, shirts and *****et$.


What part of Colorado are you in?

 

I have been reading on this forum for a few weeks now and was hoping that since some of you really seem to know your stuff that I would casually ask a few things here, hoping that per chance you would know a little something about this side of the industry.

I understand it is a message board and that everything someone says is taken literally because you (the person reading it) don't know all the history about that person if they don't include it. However, I feel it is unnecessary to jump all over me with such limited knowledge of said history with blanket remarks like " you have no right being in business if you can't afford classes," and "you are operating illegally since you don't have a license." If you feel you don't have enough information please feel free to ask.


Since you didn't have all the information you needed before chastiseing me, let me clear some of the air for you all: A freight agent works under a Broker's authority. I am working with a Broker therefore I am not operating illegally. He has been functioning as a broker for less than a year himself and tries to answer my questions for me in the best way he knows how and I believe he does a good job.

I have purchased several books on the subject and spoken with other Brokers and Brokering organizations as well. One of the things that these people I have consulted with have told me is that most of those companies out there who offer "broker training classes" are scams. So until I am bringing in enough money to be able to absorb the costs of these scams, I really can't afford it. I just don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars floating around to chase down which schools are scams or not. I am working on a budget, does that make sense to you all?

Now seeing as you didn't know the difference between an agent or a broker, I will not bother you with questions about the industry anymore and will continue on my merry way.

Thank you for the time you did put in on this thread already.

 

^^^^ So there!


wonder why she isn't asking her broker these ???'s

 

Sounds like she's looking for sales leads.
You have to wonder about the broker that hires an agent that has no knowledge.
As to #4 has she ever heard of collect,prepaid,cod?