What is Cheap Freight, Really?

[Doggie Daddy]

WHOA KEN,don't get yourself all in an uproar.I think most would take that $1.15 if they had to get back home,sure beats nothing.

But when we are out here working,NO WAY would we accept that.I would just as soon sleep or watch TV than haul that cheap crap.DD.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

WHOA KEN,don't get yourself all in an uproar.I think most would take that $1.15 if they had to get back home,sure beats nothing.

But when we are out here working,NO WAY would we accept that.I would just as soon sleep or watch TV than haul that cheap crap.DD.

I don't know Doggie was hearing or thought I heard something else...like not under any circumstances.....If I am wrong at least ya'll know where I stand.

Guy in a Sprinter the other weel in Laredo was offered .48/m to get out of Laredo....he turned it down...He'd been there 6 days..I guess his carrier thought he was desparate!

 

[Turtle]

That's the problem with cheap crap, it's cheap crap right up to the point where it sure beats nothing. The "it sure beats nothing" freight is what keeps the freight rates low, as somebody'll take it 'cause it sure beats nothing. The right thing to do is deadhead on your own nickel and refuse the "it sure beats nothing" freight. But that's insane, too, cause if you refuse it somebody will run it 'cause it sure beats nothing, on ad infinitum. It's a catch-22.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Mt house is 400 miles still WEST of Souix Falls...Best thing we do is go tothe Beaverdams area and play for a Fargo or Gwinner out of Timken My dispatch will bid a Sprinter load to a CV load to get us out....and home. We see all you guys sitting in Walmart there!!

 

[davekc]

If I double dip the NLM loads that are 1.15 and take two for 2.30 plus a .40 cent FSC, am I running cheap?
Might depend on which end you are on?

 

[OntarioVanMan]

If I double dip the NLM loads that are 1.15 and take two for 2.30 plus a .40 cent FSC, am I running cheap?
Might depend on which end you are on?

Dave you know there are those that would say yes, because your supporting cheap freight and the end doesn't justify the means.
BUT then again there are the others that would say it's a good sound business decision...

 

[dieseldiva]

Being 'noble' for a good cause is all well and good but if the checkbook dictates, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Being 'noble' for a good cause is all well and good but if the checkbook dictates, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

No kidding..Banks don't discriminate they just take your money cheap or not.

 

[Jefferson3000]

Hey, if a large carrier (who shall remain nameless) can go and buy all of the loads out of Laredo on a Friday afternoon at $.90 per mile, just to stack them in their D and E units to get them the heck out of Dodge, why wouldn't they?

Of course, if you're with a small 2nd and 3rd tier carrier wondering why you ended up sitting at the border all weekend......

 

[Jefferson3000]

BTW, as long as NLM is in business, their rates will be dirt cheap. You probably won't be driving down all expedited rates just because you took an NLM.

 

[greg334]

Cheri, you have to ask? you know why.

How about LG loads, I know that many of you would call that really CHEAP. Taking some of those loads for $1.10 a mile is cheap but I wonder how many get those offers in the first place?

 

[Doggie Daddy]

We have hauled many LG loads,but never for $1.10-$1.20.DD.

 

[davekc]

We have hauled them as a brokered load for the Fed, but not at that rate. They were a 1.70 per mile with everything.

 

[wallytrucker1]

$1.75 all-inclusive is where I try to stay north of for my t/t, BUT....... it's those but's that make it a tough question..

 

[OntarioVanMan]

This question has come up so many times over the years...it's like the chicken and the egg....theres no right or wrong answer.
It's all so individual.

 

[davekc]

Yep...those "cheap" loads that some refuse to run can be the gravy train for others if they know what to do with them.
And your right.....the bank doesn't discriminate.

 

[ATeam]

OK, let's review. What is cheap freight, really? Here are the answers paraphrased:

1. jaminjim: Cheap freight is cheap freight.

2.x06col: freight priced below the minumum floor set by whoever, and the floors are "wild" for a variety of reasons.

3. dabluzman1: it goes baaaaaaa, and it is relative. Cheap for you may be great for me. Can be great freight if it gets you out of a bad area.

4. Moot: Cheap freight is like sissors, don't run with them.

5. arkjarhead: For an owner-operator, cheap freight is freight that pays less than what a company driver would make hauling it plus a reasonable profit.

6. nightcreacher: Cheap freight has to do with supply and demand.

7. cheri1122: Cheap freight is whatever you say it is.

8. Doggie Daddy: One person's cheap freight is another's primo load.

9. LDB: It depends on the details of the offer.

10. OntarioVanMan: If you can live with the price, it is not cheap freight. It is not up to others to say and it is not about principle.

Sure clears things up, doesn't it? This is a reflection of the larger debate in trucking. People talk about cheap freight as one of the causes of trucker ills, but you have a hard time finding two truckers agreeing what cheap freight is. Kinda takes the steam out of a complaint when listeners will never know exactly what the complainers are talking about.

What is cheap freight for me? Lately, as I have talked personally with truckers wanting me to buy their trucks, cheap freight is a cop out. It is a reason for failure cited by truckers, who can't tell you their own costs per mile. They say they are failing, not because of their own poor business practices, but because othe people are hauling cheap freight.

 

[Dynamite 1]

we do not want to haul really cheap freight. do we haul cheap freight, probably so if you consider what your company bids it for. i am 100 % positive everyone has hauled cheap freight. there is always the chance that your carrier will pick up something they quote very low to get you rolling, but pay a standard rate to you. some do not work this way. we never run below our contracted rate no matter what the carrier quotes the load for . before anything else is said i do mean never or atleast for the 13 mo. we have been here. so the problem with the cheap freight deal is more wide spread than just owners and drivers. as far as determining what is cheap to those that run on a % and not a rate per mile i would say it depends on a miriad of factors. any smart businessman has a budget and that is what determines a bottom of what they can run for. all this make for a wide base as all budgets are not equal. we all know that there are people who have way more stuff to pay for than they should therefor making their budget higher than lets say what mine is. we all know that the true money we make is whats left after all factors of paying for the business are met then we pay ourselves to keep our personal lives going. the trick is to pay yourself the business and put some extra in reserve toward both sides and it all is linked back to how high your budget is,which determines what is cheap or not. most ownners that can run for a contracted rate, and not have to deal with a reduced rate probably do not care as long as they are getting what they contracted for which bring to lite a whole other set of problems that affect this cheap freight thing. just our way of seeing this and it is as different as the type of people we all are, no two the same. seriously this is a problem that needs addressed but there are so many factors involved, the solution will be hard to get to. TNT

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Getting a flat rate per mile...we have no idea what the price of the frieght is...we have no clue did E-1 take thier standard mark-up or did they slice and dice to get us rollin and take less profit.....The only time we are involved is when a load comes up in the boonies...They wil call and ask us..We have an opportunity at a load but to win it we would have to bid at CV rate....wanna try it? At this point we can yea or nay.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Ateam wrote: "What is cheap freight for me? Lately, as I have talked personally with truckers wanting me to buy their trucks, cheap freight is a cop out. It is a reason for failure cited by truckers, who can't tell you their own costs per mile. They say they are failing, not because of their own poor business practices, but because othe people are hauling cheap freight."

And where did you come up with that conclusion? The same place that told you there's no such thing as luck?

Cheap freight, to me, is a state of mind of crossing a line where you believe the freight rate is dropping as a result.

If you take a load that you think is not a good rate, then you, my friend, are hauling cheap freight.