Search me: How owner-operators view your load
At any given time there are literally millions of available van, reefer, and flatbed loads out there that are not under contract. A factory ramping up, a bumper crop, a congested port—any of these things can generate “exception” freight that will be posted to a load board.
So if you’re a shipper or broker with a post on a load board, it’s good to know how small carriers and owner-operators view your freight.
For some, it’s an opportunity to maximize revenue. For others, your load is a way to get closer to home or establish a relationship with a particular shipper or broker.
“It’s constantly shifting,” says Chad Boblett of Boblett Brothers in Lexington, Ky. “Spot rates are strong right now but I’m not always out there looking to make the most money. The way I see it, each load is a unique opportunity with terms and benefits that can go beyond what you’re going to get paid.”
No doubt, truckers are in the driver’s seat when it comes to negotiating terms. Here’s what the view looks like when they’re considering your load.
Focus on Demand
“I always want to go from head-haul market to head-haul market,” says Bryan Spoon of Bryan Spoon Trucking. Based near St. Louis, he moves heavy machinery from Missouri to the East Coast and uses DAT load boards to find flatbed loads on the return.
Spoon’s dispatcher, Anna Lowdermilk, stays a step ahead. If Spoon says he wants to haul to Chicago, “I want to make sure he can get a good rate on the outbound before I book a load to send him there.”
Balance is the key. For example, Lowdermilk will search the load board for freight coming out of a 100-mile radius of Chicago, then search for loads posted going to Chicago. If there’s an imbalance—say there are 509 loads inbound and 226 loads leaving—I know the broker will have an advantage on the rate, she explains. Looking for loads to Indianapolis or Peoria might be a better option.
Quote the Ugly Load
Boblett quotes every job that’s offered to him. He describes taking a call about a load of rain barrels to be picked up in Winchester, Ky., on a Thursday and offloaded at three separate stops in Delaware, a tough place to find an outbound load on a Friday evening. Boblett could hear the desperation in the broker’s voice.
“I said, ‘If you give me $4,300, it’d be worth doing.’ This wasn’t a negotiation. He didn’t ask if I’d do it for $4,000 or $4,100,” Boblett recalls. “He just said, ‘Done.’”
Boblett says quoting the “ugly load” tells the broker that you’re available if the price is right—in this case, being compensated for miles Boblett would have to deadhead out of Delaware.
“I’ll pick up the phone and listen to any opportunity,” Boblett says. “I know people who don’t want to be bothered by brokers but in my experience whoever receives the call is in the best position to negotiate. If you’re a broker begging me for my service, then I get to name my terms. The only time I phone a broker is when I’m desperate. Or I want to go home.”
Learn the Features
A reputable load board will have an array of tools you can use to find a load, review rate histories, and check the creditworthiness, stability, and reputation of a carrier or shipper.
As a broker, you should dedicate time to learn how these features work. If you think a trucker believes you are low-balling him, it may help your cause when you can come back with a rate history on that lane and know how it was calculated. Is it a 7-day average or a 90-day average rate? Are rate histories based on actual transactions or something else?
“Part of what we all pay for today is market intelligence and customer service,” Boblett says. “Let’s take advantage of it.”
