Research brokers

snow chain requirements

We are getting into that part of the year where the north west states start having some great paying out bound loads, and we are only a few more weeks away from snow chain requirements.

Are you ready to go Pro

DAT Rate View is loaded with a lot of compelling information that has been a must for the larger fleets and brokers but more information than what most owner-operators were taking advantage of.

The new TruckersEdge Pro package now comes with the one most valuable piece of information for owner operators from Rate View, and that is the 15-day rate average paid by brokers.

I mostly negotiate based on supply and demand and try to coach owner operators the same but now having access to the 15-day average rates less knowledge is a need for negotiating.

Check out DAT Trend Lines, and you will see that rapid changes in rates do not happen in a 15-day period. Negotiation can now be done by anyone by just telling the broker what the 15-day average is. All legitimate known brokers use DAT, and most of them will see the same averages that you are seeing, so your rate never comes as a surprise making the deal likely to be a win for you and the agent.

Maximize your rate:

1. Research the best paying lanes and post your truck going to those lanes.
2. Another great tool that comes with Pro is TriHaul this will help you put a list of the top paying lanes to any market that you want to get to.
3. Ask the broker to pay for your deadhead miles. This is just being upfront about your rate and an easy negotiation.
4. It does not matter how good a lane is paying if you can't get a reload once you get there. I like to make sure where I want to go has more loads leaving then coming by doing a reverse search of the city.
5. If you have time while you're getting loaded try to pre-book your next load. When rates are justified and up front negotiating is quicker, and relationships will start to build.

How to lower your factor fee

The easiest way to lower the amount you pay for factoring is to not factor all your loads. No one has an operating cost of 100% so why factor all your loads. Many factoring companies require you to factor all and most require a minimum. This does not happen at RPMquickpay.com operated by Triumph Business Capital. No minimum and No change in fee this is why Triumph is my pick for being the best for owner-operators.   

	load pay	Factor	3% rate
Monday	$1,000	yes	$30
Tuesday	$1,000	yes	$30
Wednesday	$1,000	yes	$30
Thursday	$1,000	yes	$30
Friday	$1,000	yes	$30
	$5,000		$150	=3%
	load pay	Factor	3% rate
Monday	$1,000	yes	$30
Tuesday	$1,000	no	$0
Wednesday	$1,000	yes	$30
Thursday	$1,000	no	$0
Friday	$1,000	yes	$30
	$5,000		$90=1.8%
	load pay	Factor	3% rate
Monday	$1,000	no	$0
Tuesday	$1,000	yes	$30
Wednesday	$1,000	no	$0
Thursday	$1,000	yes	$30
Friday	$1,000	no	$0
	$5,000		$60=	1.2%

3% is an example number only that owner operators are mostly quoted by factoring companies and broker quick pay. You can get less than this with Triumph and other factoring companies with more trucks you have or a longer agreed contract. Go to www.rpmquickpay.com fill out the form and you will get a call from my rep Mac Green or call 877-721-7630 and let them know you want RPM quick pay. 

factoring service

Why you should and should not use a factoring service

1. Do you have the means to receive a paper check in the mail and cash the check without interfering with getting loads done by going home?
2. If yes to number one then do you have access to money that will last you until you get paid from brokers that on average take 35 days to get paid from.
3. You plan to grow your company one truck at a time only as cash flow allows.  
4. If yes to number one, two, and three then stop reading this post, factoring is not for you.

An alternative to factoring and what I like the most is using credit cards for cash flow. This usually works best for those with one truck, little debt, and an average credit score. I have used credit cards from the beginning even to buy my first truck, and just today my wife used free reward miles from business expenses to purchase 3 tickets to Japan.      

I have two main factors for recommending a factoring service

1. Factoring can be an option for owner-operators that are ready to get their authority but are finding it difficult to save a 35 day supply of money compared to staying leased to a company – getting paid a dollar plus fuel surcharge. 
2. If I am ever awarded a project that would require five or more trucks I would look at using a factoring service and would recommend it to others that have rapid growth. You don't have to use it forever.

The past few years, I have turned down several requests from endorsing factoring services, mostly because everybody has an opinion on it, good or bad. Keeping factoring a secret and condemning those that have questions about it, just keeps the doors open on the corrupt players. I would like to see competition created among the better companies, which would ultimately lead to better quality services for owner/operators.

I have chosen Triumph

1. Triumph is the official factoring partner of DAT, the largest load board in the country.
2. When you see the checkmark by a broker's name on DAT, that means the load is preapproved for factoring. No guesswork.
3. If Triumph ever participated in unethical practices, then they would not be on the DAT load board.
4. Triumph is among one of the largest factoring companies. If you plan to add more trucks and get better rates, you want an established company that isn’t going anywhere, and one that helps its clients scale.

The name rpmquickpay.com?

Working with Triumph is more like quick-pay from a broker. You don't have to factor all your loads. This makes it incredibly simple to wean your company off factoring when you are ready.

I started this page to provide resources and tips to help truckers maintain and grow their businesses. Signing up through rpmquickpay.com lets them know that you’re coming from this group of supportive, informed people.

I have met the CEO of Triumph Business Capital, and I have conducted interviews with senior management in my own hometown. My name is on it, I’ve done my homework.

Sign up using rpmquickpay.com or call the number at the top. Our rep is Mac Greene. 469-312-7188

My Other blogs articles

Uber and Brokers

Finally, a broker that is keeping it simple and offering the service for FREE hats off to you the new broker on the block "Uber Freight".

1. ACH with no fee. This is a requirement like it should be. 

• This means no more signing paper checks.
• No more paying to cash checks.
• No more going home to just check the mail for the check.
• This broker will never give you the excuse that the check got lost in the mail. 

Keep reading it gets better.

2. Get paid in 7 days for free.

• No need for factoring
• No need for quick pay

Broker and agents if you fear Uber and what they can do to the market then start taking notes. All they have done here is make life easier to do business with. This is something all brokers can do and should do. 

If you are a broker, then be a broker and stop being a factoring service. 

I got to share my thoughts on what I would want in an Uber Freight market system when it was in the very beginning stages in San Fransico. I mentioned both of these great ideas that I am sure others as well did in my interview as being something that carriers would be very attracted to.

You can find Uber Freight listed on TruckersEdge or DAT with the name 4Front Logistics Inc www.truckersedge.net/promo721

   

Safety Info

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance announced this year’s 30th annual International Roadcheck will take place from Tuesday, June 6th through Thursday, June 8th.  During this time, roadside inspectors in North America will be performing the most comprehensive examination of heavy vehicles and their drivers, called Level 1 inspections.  It is estimated during these three days that 17 trucks and buses will be inspected on the average each minute across the US, Canada, and Mexico.  This year’s emphasis will be on cargo securement.  Truck drivers should be reminded to properly secure their loads as well as any onboard equipment, such as tools, chains, and spare tires.  Flatbed haulers should check tie-downs for wear and damage.  Other devices like load bars may be needed in vans and reefers to safely immobilize cargo from shifting.

As expected, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the federal mandate to install electronic logging devices in most heavy trucks by December 19th.  The group believes the regulations violate the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures by the way state troopers will retrieve data about the driver from the onboard ELDs.  Previously the 7th Circuit Appeals Court rejected this argument.  There is no timetable for the Supreme Court either to reject the case or to set it for a hearing.

A recent study by the American Transportation Research Institute and the Mayo Clinic found that the quality of driver physicals done by medical examiners certified by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is inconsistent.  The agency began requiring training certification in 2014.  A spokesman for the Mayo Clinic said some examiners “may have received substandard training or are not taking their role seriously.”  6.5% of the drivers in the study reported spending 10 minutes or less with the examiner, “an insufficient time to complete all required processes of a DOT physical,” ATRI said.  The research found that exams by chiropractors “were more likely to have important medical checks omitted.”  Nearly 50% of the motor carriers in the study, to ensure a quality physical, reported that they specify which medical examiner their drivers must see.

The looming deadline to install electronic logging devices is a dilemma for the truck leasing and rental industry.  Motor carriers will likely have hundreds of ELD systems to choose from for their individual company.  So what kind of device can leasing companies install in short-term rental trucks that could transmit its ELD data and have it merge successfully with any trucking company’s ELD database?  No such system exists.  FMCSA knew of this problem when it issued its final ELD rules and basically said it is the leasing industry’s issue to solve.  The Truck Renting and Leasing Association has a petition pending at FMCSA for a 5-year exemption for rentals of 30 days or less from having ELDs in the vehicle.  As the TRALA president said, “There isn’t an obvious solution.”

Did you know….. Tesla announced that it will reveal an electric semi-truck in September.  The vehicle is expected to be “semi-autonomous” with numerous self-driving capabilities.

Good luck and be safe! heritageinsuranceservice.com

What happened here

1. This is what self-driving trucks will soon look like.

2. Maybe autonomous trucks would know to stop.

3. Texting and not a care in the world.

4. Why stop recording?

5. Make sure the CDL driver takes a drug test for everything.

6. Road rage with a truck and the truck is winning.

This is how another truck driver would see this

1. The truck is pulling doubles, and the last trailer maybe fishtailed and hooked the car. 

2. The truck and car are in a curve climbing a hill so he can't see that side at the end of the trailer. 

3. The truck is pulling 80k+ up a mountain with a 3000-pound car on wheels is not going to bog down these motors. 

4. This is why OOIDA never wins cases for owner operators.

5. Why are so many 4 wheelers passing like nothing is going on?

6. This is why DOT Wants to Make Changes to Driver Drug Tests.

http://www.truckersedge.net/trucking-blog/post/DOT-Wants-to-Make-Changes-to-Driver-Drug-Tests

  

Ghost Loads

About 4 years ago I took an excellent load training class mostly designed for those wanting to become a broker.

One of the main classes is how to price a load for the consignor (the broker's customer) when asked for a rate to move a load. One of the ways of doing this is by posting a dummy load, so carriers will call in and give a price for what they will run the load for. After 3 or more rates are submitted you, then take the average add 12% or more for the brokers cut, and this is the price you give the consignor. I would assume this is a common practice among other brokers as well.

This is one of the causes of Ghost Loads on load boards. Loads you call on that rarely ever mature to real loads.

New brokers just starting out without the funds to pay for more expensive reliable services are well known for posting Ghost Loads. Some load boards gave great sign up discounts to their load board after completing the load training class where they then practice getting rates for Ghost Loads.

When comparing load boards, it's not about the number of loads posted, the focus should be more about the quality of the loads being posted.

Don't get Ghosted

Posting trucks hack

Leaving destination blank is keeping brokers from seeing your posted truck.

Agents often ask me why do drivers post to anywhere? The answer is because owner-operators can price any load no matter where it goes.

Brokers are never looking for trucks that will go anywhere they want to call on a truck that is posted going to the same destination as the load is going.

Example: I posted my truck Lexington with a destination blank, and then I posted Lexington to every zone on the map to cover all 48 states. Basically, the same thing but the way this appears to brokers is not the same.

Example: If a broker is looking to cover a load gong from Lexington to Nashville this is the only trucks the agent will see. 

Note: My truck posting with the destination blank did not show up when the agent was searching for trucks going to Nashville.    

This information was created from DAT load boards  

Easiest direct shippers

This is the easiest way to get your own customers without using a broker. This is how I got my first direct shipper that I am still using today. You can do this with any DAT load board including the cheapest truckersedge $35 subscription.

My experience with the shippers that I have found using this has been smaller shippers with rates not much better then what you will get from a broker. Two of the shippers that call me sometimes have smaller trucks and use me when they have bigger shipments, so not consistent. For the most part, it was very easy to get setup, no contract.

STEP 1:
Open your load board then click on the DAT Directory

Step 2:
Click on research new business partners.

Step 3:
Company type select shipper and the state then hit search.

Step 4:
Choose the business that you would like to work with and give them a call.











77% of DAT's brokers post first or exclusively on DAT load boards.

Setting up a dumbbell part 1

Working a dumbbell is the first advice I give to any new carrier. This one simple strategy that works with van, reefer, and flatbed, no matter where you live it works. You will increase your rates, become more efficient, and grow your company when you focus on setting up the dumbbell.

The meaning of a dumbbell that I am talking about is getting a load going from point A to point B and from point B another load back to point A.

Establishing this dumbbell can be challenging. You will have to work it until it comes together. You will be tempted to forget it when other higher paying spot market loads pop up. 

Let me show you some easy, simple ways to start your dumbbell. I live in Lexington, KY and I like being home every night or as much as I can. So I am going to find brokers that have loads back to Lexington.

Circle 8 is burning up this lane, and I like the broker too. They have posted 559 loads out Elkhart, IN market to my hometown Lexington just in the past 30 days. Ok now, can I find something that goes back to Elkhart?

Look what I found, another good broker R2 and Hub group with a combined 38 loads going to the Elkhart Market in the past 30 days. I am already setup with both of these brokers, now all I have to do is find the agent that is working these lanes and try to get in on the loop. Before I do that, let's see what these lanes are paying.

 

If I can average $2 per mile, then I am good. I will do a part 2 of this blog later, this should be easy to understand how to use DAT tools to get better loads and how to build dumbells.

If you like this blog and you are currently not a DAT TruckersEdge load board subscriber use promo721 or the link below to join for 30 days free. All of the information above has been generated by the service of this DAT load board.

    

From the broker

The broker says "DROPS at receiver take an estimated 4-6 hrs. And no detention is paid until after 24 hrs."

How does anyone come up with a rate on a load like this? I will give the first 2 hours for free because sometimes it just takes that long and I can suck that up no big deal, but I have to place a rate based on that maybe 24-hour deal. Unless you just don't value your time.

This is a very common language with Amazon loads so to credit to this broker at least this agent is forward about what you could be facing with this load. It used to be surprise surprise when you showed up at an Amazon and asked how long will this take to get offloaded with a smart ass answer of one to two days.   

Advice to other brokers: When giving out loads to carriers that you are unfamiliar with you need to know in detail the status of that truck and driver you will be getting. I can promise you that many drivers will state that estimate of 4 to 6 hours to get offloaded as gospel truth of when they will be empty.

Note: If you take an Amazon load from a broker you must know that you are now 100% on your own no matter what happens the only thing a broker can do is send an email and tell you to wait. They can not pick up the phone and talk to anyone about any problem you could ever have.     

Deck trailers

Going into March - The flatbed load-to-truck ratio increased for the fifth week in a row to 34.6 loads per truck nationally. Demand for flatbed has not been this high in over two years or maybe even longer.

The Hot Market Map below depicts the geographic trends in the load-to-truck ratio. My graffiti on today's market map shows what my off limit areas would be.

Here is what the rates are looking like for all deck trailers 

Using DAT Rate View is perfect for negotiating. The fastest way to prove you know what the going rate is for any lane. I am using the cheap version of Rate View that is showing the average for the past 90 days, You should know by now today's flatbed rate is going to be a lot better than what it was back in December!! Come on now, let's get smart about this.

So what should your flatbed rate goal be? If you can maintain an average rate per on all miles at or above $2.14 per mile, then you are doing just as good or better than the national average contract rate with all the freedom of the spot market.

If you like this blog and you are currently not a DAT TruckersEdge load board subscriber use promo721 or the link below to join now for 30 days for free. All of the information above has been generated by the service of this load board from DAT