uShip, a real value to expediting?

[davekc]

Broompilots post is right on target. One has to look at ALL of the costs and time before making a decision.
I personally use many brokers, so a service of this type may or may not be of use. I can assure you however, we aren't hauling anything cheap.
While it may not be suitable for my own operation, I could see it as a useful tool to develop some freight leads. If you don't have any, getting just one is better than where you started.

I agree with Teacel, at least EO has put the information out there. It is a members choice as to whether it is useful to them.

Davekc

 

[LDB]

I should expand on that. If a driver has internet access he can look at uship or any other loadboard for jobs near the destination point prior to leaving or when stopping for a mandatory 10 hour break. If the driver knows the odds say he will sit 2 days waiting on the company to get him a job and if he knows there's a job picking up 37 miles from the delivery point taking him to the freight lanes then he can decide if it's better to pick up right after delivery and get back in the lanes for expense money or wait 2 days longer for a job paying full rate. Alternately, he may need to go home after the current company job. If he finds a job online he can go home making at least some money to defray expenses or go home d/h totally out of his own pocket. Those were the scenarios, especially the getting home one, where I meant that a percentage of something is better than all of nothing. If it's finding a job online that has 273 miles d/h to sit and wait several hours before loading to make a run and then sit for 24 hours waiting on the consignee to open and accept delivery that's an entirely different situation. It all gets back to knowing your costs, knowing your business and working smart.

Leo Bricker
OOIDA 677319
truck 4958
73's K5LDB
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

 

[highway star]

Excellant point about backhaul Teacel! It seems to me the cost of operation does'nt go down just because you want to go home.

I know someone who used to work for a small trucking company that also brokered loads. She had a guy walk into her office one day looking for a "backhaul" to get home. Why would someone be stupid enough to announce right off the bat that they're willing to work for nothing? She had a load going where he needed that paid well. She was tempted to take advantage, but just could'nt do it.

Dave Sweetman wrote a good article on the subject. He was standing around a DAT board with a few guys and watched a guy take a load for 50 cents to get home. When he questioned the wisdom of that decision, the guy said something to the effect of people getting hurt when they don't mind their own business.

When someone finds they can get freight hauled that cheap, why would they ever pay a decent rate again?

 

[guest]

In reading the article, I thought it was amusing that the founder said he got the idea for the site from his own experience driving a rental truck a long distance and realizing that the truck had excess capacity that could be utilized if he had access to people who needed to ship something where he was already going with the truck.

I wonder if he thought no one had considered this problem before.

I appreciate his effort to fill half empty trucks, but I think the thrust of this thread is: "between the idea and the reality...falls the shadow." Of course, though, if it works for some I say do it.

 

[Lawrence]

It seems to be working well for this user:

http://www.uship.com/view_profile.aspx?UID=304880917


Lawrence,
Expediters Online.com


Sacred cows make the best burgers

"So tell me, are those cookies made with real Girl Scouts?"

Sometimes the squeaky wheel doesn't get the grease, it just gets replaced

You can't tell a book by its movie



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[teacel]

Notice in the profile: I offer "Released Value" or "Basic Liability" of $0.60 per pound for no additional charge to the shipper.
I offer "Full Value Protection" coverage for an additional charge.

This in itself increases the rate, most people know nothing about. Once someone is made aware of insurance they would more likely buy it. We (my company) carry 100k cargo, but will only cover up to $100 unless declared by the shipper. Once declared there is an additional charge to the customer according what the value is.

Okay, enough of the trade secrets. Glad to see Uship is working so well for some.