Bottom Feeders!
- Thread starter MANIAC
- Start date
I thought this was gonna be a thread about recruiters.
Nothing wrong with no dot number since your not required to have them on a cargo van.
mcavoy33
Seasoned Expediter
Except next year, there will be a newbatch of laid off plumber, elictrician, contractor with a sparecargo van looking tomake a quick buck with their idle van.
In the long run, we are all better off if we can educaate those and convince them they can earn higher rates with the same equipment.
The more people refusing cheap freightwill allow supply & demand to do it's work.
There will always be a surplus of vans, better to educate the industry instead of watching them fail.
guido4475
Not a Member
greg334
Veteran Expediter
So, in other words, youre part of the problem, not the solution, right?
nope just the opposite.
I'm not crying over things I can't control, I am taking advantage of those things when I can as part of being in business.
Ever watch "They Drive by Night"?
That's right....I pulled out my 2008 book to add to my ammo box....and work to my addvange. Working out almost page by page. I haven't been up north in 2 1/2 months. Oh, one time to Mountain Top, PA...
guido4475
Not a Member
If it was intended towards me, no, I am not crying about it, but why add to the problem to begin with? Say no to cheap freight! If enough of us do this, maybe someone will get the hint! If enough people take crap rates, cheap rates, then the shippers are going to expect it next time around, right?
I agree No to cheep freight. The truck should support me-not me supporting the truck. Yes sometimes it helps to pay the bills-usually at a price-you go broke while the next truck gets the gravy load. It has to be a 3 way win -the co., customer and you.
Read post #12 & 13 in the thread below, maybe it will educate you better on how to make these things work out
----> http://www.expeditersonline.com/forum/newbies-paradise-forum/49668-new-owner.html
lir47942
Seasoned Expediter
When I called the federal DOT in Va they told me I had to have the DOT number and athority (sp) to haul any freight
All you need for a vehicle under 10k pounds is an MC number. Unless you are hauling more than 16 passengers or over 10k GVWR! In some instances you will need a DOT number if you are just going to be working in state, bit I think the MC is good for over the road. You can also go ahead and get a DOT number when you file for your MC number. It's free, as only the MC filing will cost you 300 dollars. but when the DOT performs an inspection on your company, they will want proof that you are not running anything over 10k "they will ask for your trucks registration" and you will have to have magnetic signs with your company's name on them as well as the DOT/MC number on them.
My friend did this and he had to show them his van in order to prove he was a smaller truck and they left him alone. You don't have to worry about IFTA filings or becoming part of the unified carrier registration program with your DOT unless you are running trucks over 10k. But even knowing that, there is so much crap to go through to figure out how to get loads, obtaining a "standard carrier alpha code" and so on! You can make it work as an independent, but I would suggest going into it with a group of friends and spreading the start up and fixed monthly expenses evenly! It can be very overwhelming to try and do all of this alone!
Make sure you have insurance ready to go and that you have a process agent to file you BOC-3 because you only have a certain amount of time before your DOT application is either approved or denied. I think if it is denied because you do not have all of your paperwork in order you will have to pay another 300 bucks. You should also read up on the differences between the two different trucking authorities. One is common carrier authority and the other is contract authority. Most carriers are common authority carriers and a few "who have direct contracts with shippers" are either contract carriers or both common and contract authority carriers.
Any how, good luck with the endeavor. If you have any questions or need any assistance, please send me a message, as I'm not going to give away my secrets in the public forum!
Commercial Insurance Solutions out of Akron Ohio is your best bet for a good rate and they will file your proof of insurance with the DOT electronically. It used to be that you did not have to have proof of cargo insurance on file to be a contract carrier but now you do not need cargo insurance to become either a common or contract carrier. All you need is something like 750 k in General Liability and 5k in property damage. But the norm that shippers and brokers are looking for is 1 million general liability and 1 million for property damage and 100k in cargo insurance. Don't quote me, I'm not DOT. Also, there is a third authority which is broker authority and I don't think you have to worry about that one right now!
Once again, good luck!
Once again, good luck!
mcavoy33
Seasoned Expediter
Yea but your putting downward pressure on those 3 load prices which affect the overall avg price. That is going to affect your single load rates.
I imagine a majority of the time you are carrying 1 load, so you might be doing more harm to yourself in the long run.
Now think about you refusing to haul cheap freight, we get more people to refuse, then down the road you can be hauling 3 loads at good rates and be making sick profits.
greg334
Veteran Expediter
Well who says there is a problem in the first place?
If the carrier can't load you to make you money, it is not my fault that I work the market to make the money I need to make to move my truck.
Don't blame me for keeping my truck moving, I need to make a profit and if others are so tied up with their flat rate or percentage rate that the carrier hands them, I can't be blamed for the carrier's lack of skills to secure freight for the contractor, can I?
Nope not at all, too many factors involved from the shippers who sit and look at prices and negotiate to the brokers to the carriers who pass on freight. The downward pressure usually starts with the shipped who is working within their budget to get things moved - not the owner who has a specific BEP to follow.
Those three pieces are revenue either captured by me or some other person so I want it on my truck. It really is a competitive market and to understand it, you need to actually work it and learn how to use the right tools to make money.
NOPE, the majority of the time I have two loads on my truck, it is a flat rate to a specific customer that is negotiated. I have the option to pick up another load (pallet or two) and have along the way which adds to my profit. IT IS all about my profit, and I have yet to harm myself in the way I operate this business and how I managed the fleet last year.
Two interesting things about that paragraph I have to tell you about.
Yesterday I was listening to Lockridge report. I don't usually listen to it but yesterday my XM receiver was giving me fits and it was stuck. Lockridge, who has a lot of good ideas and good guests (I think Lawrence is one of them), had on the show Tim Brady from Truckers U. He was presenting an article he wrote about BEP and dead heading - an argument against Dead Heading. Pretty interesting to hear about it and reading it was even more interesting. Well any who the point is that he put on paper what I had to learn - what are my costs and how can I leverage my truck to create more profit.
The second and pretty important point is the fact that Phil posted his numbers. I didn't beat him up like others did because I thought it was great he was doing well right from the start but he also pointed out that he didn't get a lot of "special" freight but dry box freight which means the idea that having qualifications and all that equipment may not lend itself to being an advantage - exception is security clearance. IT also means that my numbers are not BS as others pointed out and I have reached that level of "success" with my business practices that many claimed Phil has reached. IT is the same practices that a few others here do and what may be considered cheap freight to keep their truck moving.
But again that won't work, service end of things will work out for the shipper and a lot of people will sit and make no money.
In reality there is no unified force in this business because there is too much competition and with that not many understanding or even caring to learn basic business skills are here looking to make a quick and easy buck. The carrier feed off of those guys and hold their hands to make it look like it is easy while not returning much to them.
camper; said:
Quite true.