Rates - "Why does it cost so much?"

I have heard this more than one time in my career and the reason for price vary considerably.

Here are a few reasons.

1 The investment in equipment – Trucks cost big money when new and when they break it is thousands of dollars to fix. Get caught out on the road and it might cost double, just the tow alone can be hundreds of dollars to go a short distance. Average investment in equipment is around $200,000-300,000 easily.

2 The machine likes to eat – It is normal for a loaded semi-truck to get anywhere from five to eleven miles to the gallon depending on many factors from engine size, weight of the freight, weather and how hard you lean on it to get there on time.

3 Insurance – This one is a huge thorn in the side of many trucking out fits everywhere commercial level drivers pay more for their insurance because they are on the road all the time or so it seems. Not to mention insuring the load for it’s value which can vary greatly from each provider.

4 Truck availability – When trucks are scarce the rates climb, when we have too many the rates fall.

5 The right way – There is a right and wrong way to handle any freight knowing the difference is another thing only experience and knowledge provides.

6 The provider – This one is a large grey area where what one guy will do something for one day, he will not the next.

7 The art of the deal – This is where I come in and I will not give up my secrets here but let us say it is something only experience provides. Doing oversize work is not something all freight brokers have done and should be left to folks like me who have made hundreds of deals and know how to handle each situation. Letting an inexperienced broker handle any work for you because they are cute or funny is not doing your bottom line any favors.

8 Pressure – If you got to have a truck right now do not expect it to be cheap. If you need to be thrifty planning is your friend.

9 Oversize load permits – States like to make it fun for everyone and come up with their own individual set of rules you must adhere to. I have loaded a truck that sat for 3 days waiting on permits because the office was behind at the State of California. Sometimes the permits are cheap and sometimes they are expensive a lot depends on where you are and what you must move, its weight, size, location, and destination play a huge role.

10 Out of route miles – When you operate a tractor trailer combination there are many ways a car can go that a semi cannot. When you are moving an oversized load, this is very restricted to where and when you can be rolling down that road.

11 Weather – This is something so far out of our control we can only prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Permits in many states say if it is precipitating you are supposed to find a comfy spot to pull over and wait it out. Even regular loads have trouble with battling weather just rain can be a big problem for some.

12 Detention – This is where the truck sits and waits to be loaded or off loaded and certain places are worse about it than others

13 The unexpected – It never fails that the unexpected will happen at the worst times and throw a wrench into the best laid plans. Sometimes this is just a customer saying no or they need to back out because something is not right somewhere down the chain.

So many things can go wrong and if the trucks wheels are not rolling it is not earning. I bet I could continue on with this but I feel I have covered most of the reasons

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