A Changing Marketplace
So I logged into the old Bulkloads this afternoon to see if there was anything happening in my area because we are kind of in between projects right now. I haven’t spent much time on the load board in the last year or so as I have found my direct freight and phone calls to trusted brokers yield the best results, but what I found was that the first 6 or so loads posted were by brokers with “no ratings yet”, i.e. brokers new to the bulk freight industry. Is anyone dealing with these newbies? Do they know anything about bulk freight? Has anyone else been seeing freight that they’ve hauled for years disappearing or reducing in volume? I know, I know, if I provided quality service I wouldn’t have to worry about being undercut or replaced, but until I figure that out I’m just curious what others are seeing in the marketplace. I am finding that the most important thing for a lot of customers right now is price. Reliability, quality equipment, pleasant drivers, cooperative problem solving, or the ability to speak English all seem secondary to price. We all started somewhere, and I don’t begrudge new entrants their opportunity, but how do we teach them what their value is? I have a very small company, and we have been fortunate to find enough stuff above break even to get by, but sometimes we bounce 1000 miles to avoid hauling garbage. I have a pretty sharp pencil, but there is ton of stuff on this site that is below my break even. So, I’m just wondering what people are doing to survive and if more folks are giving up and dealing with new broker faces or sticking to their direct freight. I’m not looking for secrets, I’m probably going to just keep doing what I’m doing but I like to freshen my perspective with the insights of others.