Wow....I forgot all about that. I really had to go to the well on those loads because of it being a weekend. Your right, they paid real well and it was a disappointment to have a bird in the hand and the Fed poo-pooed the whole thing. Just didn't have skilled management there that could book a load. Or that was the excuse given.
Certainly a shame no less.
The value is not only for hometime as Phil was implying. It gives you the flexibility to move on your own where you want and at your desired rate. It also eliminates all the stories of "I have been sitting for weeks without a load".
I will not disagree with anything you said. You have often boasted here in the Open Forum about your ability to get loads using extra-carrier resources. But let's tell the whole story, shall we?
If the freight was there in the first place, you would not have to "go to the well" would you? (like there is a source of freight out there that only you have access to and no one else wants).
Another reason I have never explored our carrier's backhaul system is we have enough carrier-dispatched freight to keep us running; or the loads pay well enough to deadhead long distances to pick them up.
We have never sat for weeks at a time waiting for freight. Sometimes we sit for a few days (usually including a weekend). Sometimes we deadhead on our own dime to get to a better freight center, but not often.
When deadheading, a good carrier load can be dispatched, and often is, before we get where we are going. With the money we make on the loads we haul, there simply has not been a need to look outside our carrier to find freight.
If there was, and if we wanted to expand our freight-finding abilities, and if our next carrier of choice did not have enough freight to keep us busy, how long do you think it would take Diane and me to reconfigure our business and develop outside-freight finding ability? A day? A week? A month?
We are by no means trapped at our carrier. No expediter is. We can change carriers and business methods any time we wish. Using load boards is not a secret skill. Developing business relationships with brokers is something we could do quickly and as easy as we breath. Getting our own authority and developing direct customer relationships is also well within our capabilities.
But we don't do any of that for two reasons: (1) We don't have to. Our carrier keeps us busy enough. (2) We don't want to. It would interfere with our personal goal of living a simple life. Been there, done that, when it comes to running a hectic business. Much better, we feel, to enjoy the simplicity and peace of waiting for the Qualcomm beep.
There are lots of expediters out there that do not book their own freight. I want newbies reading this to know that.
There is a third reason we have not explored outside freight. In the CR-unit we drive, our 16-foot box size limits us to 6 skids, or 12 if the freight can be decked (8 skids or 16 if we got rid of our equipment). Finding good-paying brokered loads that small on the short notice that is needed when you want to relocate is not easily done. People driving E and ER units have an advantage in this regard. So do straight-truck operators with 24 or 22 foot boxes.
We knew this when we spec'ed the truck. It was a tradeoff we chose. We chose the every-day, all-day creature comforts of a big sleeper over the flexibility of being able to book an occasional brokered load. With the benefit of hindsight, it has been a choice well made.
Relying on your carrier as your sole source for freight is not a shortcoming. It is a choice; and one well made as long as your carrier provides the freight you need to achieve what you want to achieve.
Using outside freight sources to get you home or to keep you busy when your carrier cannot is also a choice; and also one well made if your carrier's freight is insufficient to achieve what you want to achieve.
Becomming your own carrier (own authority) and relying on you alone to get freight is also a choice; and also one well made if you have the desire, drive and skills to make it work.
