Drop trailers and matching algorithms – how freight brokers keep your trucks moving

May 16, 2019 at 12:38 PM CST
Owner-operators and drivers for small fleets are well-known for their fixation on trucking rates-per-mile. They congregate on Facebook discussion boards with titles like “Rate Per Mile Masters” and “Trucking: Rates and Lanes” to discuss where the highest rates are and to decry ‘cheap freight.’ Having rate-per-mile tunnel vision, though, can blind drivers to what is actually a far more significant metric – asset utilization. Asset utilization rates measure the percentage of total miles driven that are loaded or revenue-generating. Ultimately, of course, what matters most is revenue per truck per week, but there are different ways of getting there, and sitting and waiting for a high rate – or deadheading to a market with high outbound rates – isn’t always the way to do it.

May 16, 2019 at 12:38 PM CST

Owner-operators and drivers for small fleets are well-known for their fixation on trucking rates-per-mile. They congregate on Facebook discussion boards with titles like “Rate Per Mile Masters” and “Trucking: Rates and Lanes” to discuss where the highest rates are and to decry ‘cheap freight.’ Having rate-per-mile tunnel vision, though, can blind drivers to what is actually a far more significant metric – asset utilization. Asset utilization rates measure the percentage of total miles driven that are loaded or revenue-generating. Ultimately, of course, what matters most is revenue per truck per week, but there are different ways of getting there, and sitting and waiting for a high rate – or deadheading to a market with high outbound rates – isn’t always the way to do it.