Bolt
- Thread starter canesman07
- Start date
Ya see Dave..some carriers strategy is let em sit for a week down there, because it doesn't cost them anything and then offer them a rope out and most will grab for it.....
and then they claim it "market forces".....Bull crap...I don't buy into it...
If they are offering .42 cents a mile for van freight, they ARE creating the 'market force" for cheap freight. At those rates they shouldn't be charging a fee for anything.
The guy beside me was 8 days down there and took one for .50 Dave....
That is my point Dave..the "market forces" are some of these carriers own doing, over the last while they have set up this "Market Force" scenerio.....The only way to stop this insanity is to stop cutting each others throat...it is doing no one any favors....it is far from competition..it is stupidity at its worse and harmful to the industry...
It would be a little different say a van got $1.50 going in....and say takes that.50 outbound....total $2.00 or $1.00 ALL miles...it is the only way to rationalize it.....
The cheapest load I was ever offered by Bolt was for 70 cents per mile. The load was coming right out of San Diego going back up to Milan Michigan. I got the load only 4 hours after coming back in service and you all know that the west coast is a very hard place to get out of with longer runs. They never offered me .42 cwnts per mile "not even when I almost had two loads out of Laredo!"
The lowest offer that I had out of Laredo was .70 cents per mile and from what i've seen coming out of there "it wasn't all that bad of a rate." The second load offer that I got out of Laredo was for .90 cents per mile but it never made it across the border and cancelled. Bolt got me out of California 4 out of 5 times home and most of those loads paid almost a dollar per mile.
I would recommend Bolt to anyone who wants to learn the business and make some money doing so. This is based on my personal experiences with the company. I can't speak for Paullud or anyone else for that matter. Good luck!
The lowest offer that I had out of Laredo was .70 cents per mile and from what i've seen coming out of there "it wasn't all that bad of a rate." The second load offer that I got out of Laredo was for .90 cents per mile but it never made it across the border and cancelled. Bolt got me out of California 4 out of 5 times home and most of those loads paid almost a dollar per mile.
I would recommend Bolt to anyone who wants to learn the business and make some money doing so. This is based on my personal experiences with the company. I can't speak for Paullud or anyone else for that matter. Good luck!
Things have continued the downhill spiral over the time....some get a better rate because it is their own customer and it does not hit the boards......the boards are a free for all....
paullud
Veteran Expediter
I really don't mean to just slam Bolt but I am disappointed because they could be a great company. I think they have lost their way and forgotten who they are and who will keep them going. They decided to focus on growth and are determined to become the size of Panther. They have the opportunity to grow by being loyal and taking care of their contractors so they can provide the best service and use it as a long term plan. Instead I think they focused on revenue only which is important but it will only work as a short term plan. In a time sensitive business you need quality contractors to build your reputation so you can get your own customers and build quantity. When companies run with these strategies it only serves as a detriment to the entire industry.
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PreacherRich
Seasoned Expediter
Amen, Preach it Brother!
Thank you Paul.....think Bolt..what comes to mind first?
chefdennis
Veteran Expediter
As i said, all of my experiences with Bolt are over a 1.5 old , Paul is ahead of the curve on the recent experiences then I am...Yes they are expanding, not only in numbers of contractors but they built a big new building /warehouse also....
It was the talk in Laredo last week that they are at times bidding on freight with NO FSC and the contractor has to eat that...and that wasn't just for Laredo, it was a "Sale" of such, to get business...That came from someone I trust with no doubt at all...
As I said and Blizzard said, Leasing to them, you will learn the business and if you work their system you can make money...people like RLENT are not going to stay where they are not making money..and that goes to GottaGo's point...turn down that cheap crap, but know what you will run a specific load for..if you know your buttom line, its a quick math problem to be able to tell them "no", not at that price..But "yes" for this price......
Do they pay the most or even close to the most in the industry? No..But you can make money there....From my personal experience...
It was the talk in Laredo last week that they are at times bidding on freight with NO FSC and the contractor has to eat that...and that wasn't just for Laredo, it was a "Sale" of such, to get business...That came from someone I trust with no doubt at all...
As I said and Blizzard said, Leasing to them, you will learn the business and if you work their system you can make money...people like RLENT are not going to stay where they are not making money..and that goes to GottaGo's point...turn down that cheap crap, but know what you will run a specific load for..if you know your buttom line, its a quick math problem to be able to tell them "no", not at that price..But "yes" for this price......
Do they pay the most or even close to the most in the industry? No..But you can make money there....From my personal experience...
I have been with bolt for 4 years ....its had its UPS and downs....in the last 1.5 years I can honestly say I can count on all my finger and toes how many times I have run under $1 p/m...then again I ripped Texas out of my atlas...and stay in the core area lately...and I have been running pretty good for a CV ..not defending..just stating the facts...
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Texas can tear you up man. Heck living in Los Angeles like I do can really put a dent in the wallet when you want home-time. I think texas is a good place to go if you already accept the fact that you might be doing a 1 way trip and plan for it accordingly. That means you have to charge enough money to go down there to cover your costs coming back out. Having the ability to book my own loads now, I will generally charge a dollar a mile in plus a 200 dollar surcharge on top of that to cover my deadhead back to Kansas City. That's just my way of doing business when it comes to the lone star state! How you been asjssl?
RLENT
Veteran Expediter
Seems like this is getting to be an annual event or something .....
Sure, I'll bite ....
Here's the numbers for the last full month (November) that I ran - so-so on the loaded miles, deadhead a little higher than I'd like, pretty decent on revenue:
Trips: 14
Total Deadhead Miles To Pickup: 1212
Total Loaded Miles: 5376
Total Revenue To The Truck: $7284.41
Rate Per Mile, Loaded Miles: $1.3549
Rate Per Mile, All Miles: $1.1057
One note: had some pretty good dead head on my last load of the month out of FL back up to GA that is not reflected in the DH miles figure (it fell in the month of December)
BTW, I can head down to the studio and Photoshop out the incriminating info on the Fleet-Vision Report and post it as proof for any doubters ...... if it's really necessary that is ....
As always: YMMV
And yeah: what Jeanie said ......
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Probably safer to say that some need to say no to load offers rather than condemn the company.
RLENT
Veteran Expediter
Either that or just suck it up and learn how to negotiate ....
paullud
Veteran Expediter
When you get to the point where it is that load or a negative paycheck because of the fees you have a tough call. I decided making some money was better than going in debt. I had 1 week where my check was $3.13 after the fees because I only had 1 short trip. My home time was limited to 3 weeks over more than 7 months so me being in service was not an issue. I would've liked to of been able to pick and chose my loads but that option was not available. When the company is the one pushing down prices and digging into contractor's pockets I believe they can be condemned.
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