Trucking companies that rely on brokers and load boards might be frustrated with the process. The process of finding a load, connecting with a broker, bidding on a rate, and negotiating for it comes with many challenges, whether it is due to fraud, miscommunication, or a lack of trustworthy relationships. How can those challenges be avoided?
Most trucking companies are classified as small businesses, according to the American Trucking Associations’ latest trend report: 95.8% of fleets operate 10 or fewer trucks, and 99.7% operate fewer than 100. Larger fleets are often private carriers that ship goods for businesses.
Ed Stockman, co-founder and CEO of freight booking platform Newtrul, told FleetOwner that after you remove private fleets from the equation, about 80% of the trucking industry is transactional, which makes finding loads a competitive part of the trucking business.
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Of that 80% that Stockman mentioned, about 95% of loads are passed through load boards, requiring shippers and carriers to shift through posting after posting, lane after lane, and equipment requirement after equipment requirement to find a load to haul. This process leaves room for mistakes and, even worse, bad actors.
Fleets should practice due diligence
Andy Dyer is the president of transportation management with AFS Logistics, a global third-party logistics provider. Dyer believes fleets can best improve their experiences with brokers and shippers through due diligence.
“A broker is responsible to understand if they are dealing with a reliable fleet,” Dyer told FleetOwner. “I would argue a fleet is responsible for understanding if they are dealing with a responsible customer, whether it be a shipper or broker."
“Brokers very much inspect the capacity that they're buying... to understand, ‘Am I buying from [and] am I working with a reliable source of capacity?’” Dyer continued. “I would encourage fleet owners to do the exact same thing.”
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Along with ensuring a broker or shipper is legitimate, it’s important that carriers confirm the requirements of the load they intend to carry. Not only is it essential, it’s their responsibility, Dyer said, and they should be the ones to communicate the load requirements to the driver. He suggested that fleet owners and carriers again practice due diligence when working with a broker or shipper to ensure they are a “good actor,” including communicating well.
“Are you dealing with a good actor? Because quite frankly, bad actors aren't always fraudsters; sometimes they're just knuckleheads,” Dyer told FleetOwner. “To me, it's all about asking the right questions, making sure you get it right, and making sure you communicate it to the driver.”
