Would you use a Expedite Broker
- Thread starter Bruno
- Start date
letzrockexpress
Veteran Expediter
Oh Hellz yes....
Phil
You may think everyone would. I wanted to broker a load from LA to Ohio when we was at FedEx Custom Critical and was told no Six times. DaveKc found me the loads and was told no each time. I hope that has changed for you now, I don't know because we have been gone from FedEx for almost two years. I had to be to court and deadhead 2400 plus miles home to Akron, Ohio at the time.
You asked a simple question (Would you use an expedite broker?). My answer presumes that this hypothetical broker would have a supply of freight that is worth hauling. If that were so, it would be a no-brainer to use an expedite broker.
Shifting to the specifics of a past incident or the present state of FedEx Custom Critical's backhaul department is a different topic.
Diane and I have done "self-brokered" freight through our carrier's back haul department. It worked when we did it but there is a real problem. We drive a straight truck and there is a limited supply of straight truck loads to be found on short notice that go where you want to go.
If you give me enough time, load boards to view and brokers to talk to, I can find exactly the kind of freight anyone may need to go anywhere at a good price. It may take six years to find the load but if you stick with me, I could find it.
That's the problem with back-haul freight for a straight truck equipped as ours is. Time spent hauling cheap freight is time lost to hauling lucrative freight. Time spent doubling up cheap freight to create a multiple-stop, better paying run is time spent on that run and thus off our carrier's board where better freight might be dispatched.
There may be a real opportunity for you here, Bruno. I would love it if you offered a service where I could call and say, "Hey, Bruno! We're on our way to Los Angeles and need to be home in Minnesota after that. What do you have for us that pays well and we don't have to wait long to pick up?"
Of course, for that service to work, and for us to to call a second time, you would need to have something for us when we called the first time. And that, I believe, is what keeps the kind of expedite broker service you are talking about from rising in the marketplace.
I'd suggest if you'd only call once if the results were not satisfactory, you really are not looking for freight very intensively. What exactly do you do when you call fedup and they have no freight for you??
I think Phil may be stuck in that "purple haze". Based on that post, he and probably many others there have no real concept of how this is done. Mayfield was one of those doubters until he seen how it was actually done. Now he benefits by finding his own. Colonel has been doing this longer than I have.
This is far from self invention.
The conception that broker freight is all cheap couldn't be farther from the truth. A broker load from the Fed will pay higher than anything they will give there own contractors. Panther and others operate in the same fashion with partner carriers.
I agree if you call only once, that may be problematic. Might take a few times through the day if looking for something directional. May take two loads to get from LA to MN on short notice.
With regards to doubling of loads, most are using expedite freight to get into the 2.50 to 3.00 range per mile. Sometimes it is one good expedite load with a LTL. because of appointment times. It just depends. The idea you will miss lucrative loads isn't too likely. Larger truck is of benefit, but there are loads for pretty much any size.
The ones that are dancing in the isles on the prospect that they grossed over 200k with a high dollar reefer truck should realize those totals with less costs can be obtained in another fashion. It has been done time and time again by many including several here at EO. And before one thinks it. No I don't spend all day sitting and looking at load boards. It is not necessary unless you are trying to load a ton of trucks.
This is far from self invention.
The conception that broker freight is all cheap couldn't be farther from the truth. A broker load from the Fed will pay higher than anything they will give there own contractors. Panther and others operate in the same fashion with partner carriers.
I agree if you call only once, that may be problematic. Might take a few times through the day if looking for something directional. May take two loads to get from LA to MN on short notice.
With regards to doubling of loads, most are using expedite freight to get into the 2.50 to 3.00 range per mile. Sometimes it is one good expedite load with a LTL. because of appointment times. It just depends. The idea you will miss lucrative loads isn't too likely. Larger truck is of benefit, but there are loads for pretty much any size.
The ones that are dancing in the isles on the prospect that they grossed over 200k with a high dollar reefer truck should realize those totals with less costs can be obtained in another fashion. It has been done time and time again by many including several here at EO. And before one thinks it. No I don't spend all day sitting and looking at load boards. It is not necessary unless you are trying to load a ton of trucks.
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greg334
Veteran Expediter
Dave (Bruno),
If I could I would use it.
Phil showed me something, through all his research and studying means really nothing. Unless he uses someone’s services, he is assuming that brokered freight equates to cheap freight.
FedEx should not have any issues with freight. They cover the entire country and if they stick you out in Jackson hole Wyoming, then it shows the lack of intelligence on the management's part to use their resources to the fullest extent to produce revenue.
I have seen a lot of the $3 and $4 freight and even hauled some which worked out to $2.50 a mile for me but that wasn’t something I looked for, rather it came to me.
Cheap?
Doesn’t have to be.
DaveKC,
Well Said.
If I could I would use it.
Phil showed me something, through all his research and studying means really nothing. Unless he uses someone’s services, he is assuming that brokered freight equates to cheap freight.
FedEx should not have any issues with freight. They cover the entire country and if they stick you out in Jackson hole Wyoming, then it shows the lack of intelligence on the management's part to use their resources to the fullest extent to produce revenue.
I have seen a lot of the $3 and $4 freight and even hauled some which worked out to $2.50 a mile for me but that wasn’t something I looked for, rather it came to me.
Cheap?
Doesn’t have to be.
DaveKC,
Well Said.
Some place like the Fed will send a contractor out into the woods. Jackson Hole, WY would be such place. The Fed will use that resource of a contractor verses one of their own company trucks because they can't turn a profit on it when using their assets and paying a employee. Better off dumping it to a contractor and make something rather than running out at a profit only to return empty at a loss.
That is why you will see some expedite loads run out into the middle of no mans land.
Some think they are getting the grand apple with a $2.00 a mile special out to nowhere and then realize it isn't such a deal after Dhing back or sitting for days waiting on that beep.
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You are correct. Diane and I do not look for our own freight intensively. In fact, we almost never look for our own freight at all. Nor do we call our carrier to look for freight. For the most part, our freight finding strategy is to hang out and wait for the Qualcomm beep or cell phone call.
We tried the backhaul program one time mainly to see how it works. It worked such that it produced a load home for the price of fuel. It worked in that it exposed me to load boards and brokers for the first time, and that was enough to conclude that it was not worth doing again. It was not worth it because we do well enough waiting for the beep. Why pour your time into finding freight when our carrier finds it for us?
That is especially true now that freight is running strong. When the freight recession was in full swing, we had more time on our hands and perhaps could have used it to find freight. However, the recession was industry wide and freight volumes declined in all sectors from all sources, so maybe finding one's own freight during the recession would not have been the solution.
When I made my brief survey of the load boards and talked to brokers, I saw that if I wanted to apply myself, freight brokerage is a business that could be learned and mastered. Doing so does not appeal to me because I have little interest in developing the business relationships freight brokering would require.
Diane and I got into expediting and out of our old careers to be free of customer and business relationships, not to create them. While some relationships are necessary in running our one-truck, owner-operator business, the ease and simplicity of what we are doing now, compared to what we did before, is priceless.
What do we do when our carrier has no freight for us? I do this. This is a better alternative for me because the revenue potential is higher than freight brokerage and the number of business relationships is reduced to near zero (remember our desire for the simple life).
What do we do when our carrier has no freight for us and we want to get home? Generally, we decline loads that take us the wrong way and drive home on our own dime when the time draws near. If we wanted or needed to get home more often, it might make sense to explore freight brokerage more. But we don't, so we don't.
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I enjoy reading Phil's posts and some of his blog entry's. He is well written and insightful. I don't always agree with what he says. But isn't that the purpose of this sight. To share information and ideas.
Wouldn't it be nice if we were all as succesful in our endeavors as Phil?
I bet he makes money off of his property in Florida too.
Jefferson3000
Expert Expediter
I think the misnomer is that "broker freight" = an LTL found by subscribing to Getloaded. A lot of those WILL only pay the fuel to get home. There are lots of brokers that move expedite loads almost exclusively. Some are carriers as well. Some expedite brokers are "two ladies with laptops and cell phones."
Evidently, it's just too much work for some.
Evidently, it's just too much work for some.
Probably right on too much work or just no clue as to how it is done.
I always like the "we don't do that for lifestyle reasons and will always run cheaper because it is more fun". And yes, get loaded is not where I would be looking for expedited frieght.