I ended last week with a 1,500 mi run from southern Cali to Houston - 1 pc - 1,000 lbs - .90 per mi.
My carriers know how much I'll do a run for because I've drawn a solid line in the sand. One that I haven't budged from. What most owner/ops can't wrap their silly, feeble minds around is that it honestly doesn't matter if there are 50 vehicles in my area or 500! If i'm the only vehicle my carriers have in that area ... then there's only 1 vehicle that matters! I'M IT!! If my carriers want a shot at that load then they will have to do whatever it takes on their end.
The reason why loads are sold so many times over is because owner/ops have dropped their rates soooo low. The margins are in each load to allow all of this behavior. It's not a broken corrupt system that allows this .... it's owner/ops selling a PREMIUM service for pennies instead of dollars!
My aha moment came during my first year of expediting, '12. I took my first load to Cali & was terrified of getting stuck out there indefinitely. I was out there for a week & I was miserable. I finally booked a load on a Thurs from LA to El Paso for $1 per mi & I was ecstatic! El Paso was the gateway east & there was no way I was heading west anytime soon. First thing Fri morning I get woken up to take 1 - 500 lb pallet to Nogales - pickup on Fri delivery on Mon. I passed on the load, I wasn't interested. Same carrier calls me back 2 min later, the offer for the load is $600 ... "Ya want it?" As much as it was a nice offer, it was Fri & I thought there might be better opportunities going east. I politely declined. A few minutes later carrier #2 calls me ... "Hey, there's a load to Nogales ..." I cut him off mid sentence .... "Yeah, I know .. $600 ... I'll pass ... I wanna head east." Carrier #2: "$600? ... no, the offer is $700..." Now I'm awake! As a knee jerk reaction, because I'm a wise ass ... I tell him I'll do it for $800. 3 minutes later I had the load. Monday I got loaded out of Phoenix for $1.10 & I was on my way.....
It was a good lesson. There's only 1 truck that matters in these equations .... yours!
My carriers know how much I'll do a run for because I've drawn a solid line in the sand. One that I haven't budged from. What most owner/ops can't wrap their silly, feeble minds around is that it honestly doesn't matter if there are 50 vehicles in my area or 500! If i'm the only vehicle my carriers have in that area ... then there's only 1 vehicle that matters! I'M IT!! If my carriers want a shot at that load then they will have to do whatever it takes on their end.
The reason why loads are sold so many times over is because owner/ops have dropped their rates soooo low. The margins are in each load to allow all of this behavior. It's not a broken corrupt system that allows this .... it's owner/ops selling a PREMIUM service for pennies instead of dollars!
My aha moment came during my first year of expediting, '12. I took my first load to Cali & was terrified of getting stuck out there indefinitely. I was out there for a week & I was miserable. I finally booked a load on a Thurs from LA to El Paso for $1 per mi & I was ecstatic! El Paso was the gateway east & there was no way I was heading west anytime soon. First thing Fri morning I get woken up to take 1 - 500 lb pallet to Nogales - pickup on Fri delivery on Mon. I passed on the load, I wasn't interested. Same carrier calls me back 2 min later, the offer for the load is $600 ... "Ya want it?" As much as it was a nice offer, it was Fri & I thought there might be better opportunities going east. I politely declined. A few minutes later carrier #2 calls me ... "Hey, there's a load to Nogales ..." I cut him off mid sentence .... "Yeah, I know .. $600 ... I'll pass ... I wanna head east." Carrier #2: "$600? ... no, the offer is $700..." Now I'm awake! As a knee jerk reaction, because I'm a wise ass ... I tell him I'll do it for $800. 3 minutes later I had the load. Monday I got loaded out of Phoenix for $1.10 & I was on my way.....
It was a good lesson. There's only 1 truck that matters in these equations .... yours!
