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