What's wrong with you brokers?

You BROKERS can also use the magic word, "NO" and tell the shipper it's too low. OR you can take a smaller bite from the rate. We both know neither one of those is going to happen though.

Just a little, FYI. Yelling and screaming doesn't make you correct not does it get your point across any better. So save your TYPING IN ALL CAPS FOR THE TYPING AND INTERNET ETIQUETTE CLASSES YOU SO DESPERATETLY NEED. The original poster has a legitimate complaint. You're the one that responded to him in a very insulting and accusational manner. You should look in the mirror. Secondly, I'm not complaining about rates. If I don't get what I want I simply don't haul for the customer. Us carriers know the lower paying commodities could still work for many of our needs. The problem in that regard is the middle men BROKERS and 3PLs that are taking a bite out of a rate that's already borderline. I see it every single day in the flatbed world. I get load lists from particular shippers that I haul for periodically then I see those loads reposted on the boards for as much as THIRTY PERCENT taken off! Then they kick the carrier in the balls on top of it all demanding it gets tarped even the customer does NOT require it. That is absolutely ludicrous on lower paying frieght like lumber. I've also seen it right here on Bulkloads. Brokers posting loads from shippers/receivers I'm already direct with that are, again as much as THIRTY PERCENT off the rate the customer wants. I've also see some take 15 percent AND the fuel surcharge. Theft and greed! No other way around it. Then you sit there and have the audacity to blame the carrier while the BROKER is just as much to blame if not even more so because they don't have as much to lose so they can bargain even harder but instead the BROKER squeezes and steals from the carrier. People like you really get under my skin. I feel pretty confident that the original poster didn't post to be attacked by you, sir. Have a good day!

Randy simply wanted to know why brokers are offering such low rates. You filled in imaginary blanks after that full of assumptions. You're the one who made this into a carrier vs broker deal. I've been on multiple sides of this "game" too. You have a different point of view because you're obviously biased as a broker. I also believe you felt the need to post because you're the type that Randy is referring to. You took it personal because he struck a nerve. I could care less about your feelings on my "temper tantrums or accusations". Maybe if you brokers were to start doing the right thing we wouldn't be hearing so much negativity about you. Brokers have such bad reputations for a reason. It's not coincidence at all. The poster wasn't calling YOU out by name but yet you felt it appropriate to get on here and lambaste all carriers. Call it whatever you want but you're dilusional if you think I'm going to sit around and watch some broker blame it all on the carrier. When the carriers have been around from the start and got along just fine before you and they'll get along even better when you're gone.

One thing, besides blatant theft that most of you have in common is ya'll blame the carrier and always claim to be "one of the good ones" who are the perfect angels who always seem to have the carrier's interest at heart. It's like you collectively went to some sort of, "How To Speak Like A Politician" training course. Yeah, well 100 percent transparency or you're lying. Show the carrier exactly what you're making off it. I'll bet my life 85 percent of you are taking a minimum of 25 percent off the top yet you claim to only be taking 10-15 percent. If we're in a down cycle and the rates drop then your percentage should too. Nevermind fuel surcharges and other accessorials ya'll are putting in your pockets. Shame on ya'll for such thievery. I've seen some very crudy shit on the boards and had to fend off many attempted thefts from my revenue on the spot market. If the shipper is paying an average fair rate of (for argument sake) $2/mile you're putting the carrier in a bad place after you take anything from that rate but you will anyway. You know it and I know it too.

For the record, I do agree that some carriers are taking rates that pay too low. However, some carriers that made their rate off the "head haul" to pay the round trip so they'll pick up a "back haul" for anything because it's basically free money. I do not agree with this as it's hurts lane rates if they haul too low but it is what is. Of course, there's also guys that can run for $1.35/mile all year long and make it work. Again, it is what it is. It's a free market whether we agree or not. Happy New Year!

I'm direct with several shippers that send out load lists and know what they're asking as far as rates go. Then all the brokers who are also on said load lists will put the loads up on the boards with as much as 30 percent off the rate. I've even caught them stealing accessorials and fuel surcharges. I've numerous shipping managers confide in me about loads not getting moved on time and trucks not showing up. They're getting pretty fed up with broker lies too. If there really are any honest brokers out there they should be cleaning house but they aren't because they don't exist. They're too busy trying to silence or delegitimize those who speak out against them.

Ok, Captain Sav-a-broker. I listed exactly what I've seen on this board (THEFT/FRAUD) as well as most of my personal experiences (MORE THEFT/FRAUD) and you are calling me a liar. I don't appreciate that at all. I'm very confident this board is dominated by brokers and broker-suckers like yourself. It's crystal clear you have an agenda all while calling the free market "criminal". If they're legally running then you simply can't compete.Take your own advice and stop blaming others. That's exactly what you do though. Time and time again you blame the carrier while exonerating the brokers. You fill me with the urge to vomit.

Duane. Hey man I know how good you are at this ,and give it up you can not fix it . know what I mean

Phillip, are you part of the Troudt family that used to run Cornhusker Transportation in Omaha a few years back. Nothing nefarious about the question just curious. I came fairly close to working in Cornhusker's dispatch department 20 years or so ago.

maybe y'all should just find direct customers.

Absolutely! 100 percent transparency would prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that most brokers are stealing from the carrier and/or the customer simultaneously. Ever ask one for proof of what their customer is paying? I do it often because I enjoy the ridiculous reactions I get. Some really go off the handle while others start stuttering like fools clamering for a response to a question they've never heard before. Good stuff! A large majority of these fly by night brokers are just resellers. They're not actually contracted with the shipper at all. The shipper dictatates the rate and broker just throws it on the boards with their percentage removed. They spend all day digitally fishing for that moron guppy. The REAL brokerages like 3PLs are the ones contracted with the customer then they toss it out to smaller brokers from there and they will again take another bite from the rate before it gets to the carrier.

So much money is made off the carrier, it's pathetic. Just look at your gross side by side with your NET. It paints a very chilling picture. Guys that run spot market frieght off boards are mostly getting scraps. The problem loads nobody wants or from PIA shippers. I can count on one hand how many decent brokers I've dealt with. They were local to me though so I do believe that helps keep the relationship more honest than some stranger on the other end of the phone. Being close also makes it pretty easy for me to backdoor them if I decided to be morally bankrupt about it and they know it. I understand why some carriers don't go direct but in the grand scheme of things the risks are far better than giving a broker their hard earned money. The less that gets taken from that gross means the more that NET number rises.

On paper using a broker seems like good business. A personal transportation sales "team", surety bond backed payment usually on NET 30 terms and having a single point of contact are nice. Conversely, with direct work you have to put your sales slacks on, sell your services and sue them civilly if they don't pay. It's a gamble. However, it's a far better situation to be in versus getting ripped off by multiple middle men.

Not sure why you felt the need to defend Duane to me personally and directly. I'm not shopping for a broker and hauled exactly ZERO broker loads in 2019. I will continue this trend into 2020 the best I can. You're certainly entitled to your opinion as am I so no offense taken here. I am genuinely curious though as to why you felt I needed description of Duane's services. It's almost as if you were paid to be an advertisement with your "testimony". If you're happy with him, or any other broker, then great. But don't complain when you find out how much you're leaving on the table later down the road, they're stealing your fuel surcharge or when rates drop so low you can't run because there's not enough "cream" for them to take but they do anyway.

None of this happens without willing participants. Maybe reluctant, but still willing.

Uh...Hmm... I believe in capitalism. I don't like crony capitalism. I don't want socialism. I set my own prices. Negotiated and agreed to. I have been at this for nearly 25 years and I believe I have a pretty good handle on what the market is. Some of my customers I've had since I started. Most actually. 2.2% of my business in 2019 was with brokers. Nothing against them. Just never had much of a need. Ah!! A couple of the broker loads I carried unexpectedly filled some dead head miles nicely. Quite a wind fall. Was that fair to my customer? It was not a regular move for anyone involved. My customer was happy with the service they got for the price. Sometimes things don't line up right and I can have a big dead head. I believe in the law of averages. I discuss my rates with VERY few people. NEVER with the competition or potential competition. I don't need to know their rates. Frankly I hope they are higher. So no to transparency. Regulation, again, I don't want socialism.

I know I'm on the tail end of this forum discussion but every one on here has valid points, just different point of views! Let me give MY two cents... As a new broker in the game, I can't lie and say the huge cuts we are taking are not apart of the problem. They are a problem for truckers and newcomers like us (truckers don't trust brokers easy because of price gouging) who are just trying to do good business in an industry that has plenty of good business! However it is true, if the truckers just say no, no matter what's stepped on, the rates will be higher.. BUT the only difference is, the owner operators and shoot, most of the carriers now, can't run a truck after everyone's cut! They can't even take care of themselves on the road, let alone their household at home.

We are a small brokerage based in the heart of the transportation world wondering why and how the trucking industry is "dying". The work is there! Projected to be there well into 2030. What we've concluded is that we just need to get back to traditional trucking with the help of modern technology. Today's broker's can operate without such a large piece of the pie by utilizing technology and simply going back to old school business and customer service. And honestly, we don't deserve such a large piece unless otherwise negioated. We don't do a large piece of the work. Our job is to keep you guys on the road, fully loaded and money in your pocket. If all you want to do is drive, that's all you should do and not worry about your bottomline.

We're set up with the least amount of overhead to be able to offer the best rates! We only take at the most - 15%! ESL is the new kid on the block, but best believe we WILL bring better rates back for the truckers. If y'all are working, that means we are too. If you're looking for honest, hard working brokers that WON'T take 30 and even 40 percent, shoot us your information and let's get to work! www.expresshippersandlogistics.com [email protected]

I apologize for butting in, but this is the exact reason I became a broker. As a driver, I always felt that we drivers carry the country literally on our backs and receive less than our true worth when it's time to earn our keep. I believe that as a broker and from the perspective of a broker, yet not losing sight of having been a driver, that we can change the market rates by compromising. Obviously, both sides are responsible for the rates bottoming out and it's going to take both sides to fix it. Just like any argument there will be a lot of finger pointing, but at the end of the day we all have a responsibility to move the product. I want to be part of the change we all want to see. With that, I think it's fair to make sure that negotiating a rate that satisfies the shipper, the broker AND the carrier is the scope of a broker's work, not greed. I will say that because I haven't brokered freight nearly as much as the next man, but at some point, we must adopt a mentality that can begin to bridge gaps between two entities that need to work together. I pledge to work with the carrier who is willing to work to raise the rates back to where they should be. It didn't happen overnight and it won't be fixed overnight, but we will get there. Some of us still believe all is not lost. Let's bring it in, we've been fighting long enough. We need solutions let's find them together.

Thanks for sharing some more of that Brokerspeak. You forgot to repeat some of the others like, "I take care of my carriers with the best rates" or "If it weren't for you guys the country would stop so we pay you ASAP" and my personal favorite, "I used to be a carrier, I understand your needs".

The middle of the country has a lot bigger advantage than the northern part

when you haul in Nd and pull for ADM. Gavilon. CHS the rate is average 2.25

when you get to ex: minot and call for any loads out of minot or fargo the broker always says you are on your own and you are 250 miles from home. All the brokers seem to care about getting the one load hauled