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Why trucking companies want to work with freight forwarders

In the last 10 years, truck business owner operators have found themselves on a technological leap in which we are all trying to learn, understand and, in most of our cases, install ELD technology in our trucks. Technology has slowed our delivery time with the ELD and HOS service hours mandate to the point that it is impacting the bottom line of all small freight brokerage and trucking companies in America.

These reasons are the final decision for most of us this year to force us to start focusing on higher paying lanes and fewer dead heads. Fuel prices for the national average for diesel continue to rise and owners of transportation companies are faced with strategic planning. Another big hit from small business trucking owners in America is the driver shortage. It’s getting harder and harder to find drivers who just won’t give up or damage their equipment too much. For these major issues we face today, we must be prepared to find alternative measures to put into our business structure to ensure more consistent freight and gain greater exposure to more carriers. It is imperative today that we learn how important a real freight broker is today for small trucking business owners to build relationships with them.

Over the past decade, trucking companies have faced many new freight broker agents who fail to deliver on their promises and typically walk away with a dollar fast load load. The influx of freight forwarders literally sent a trickle down effect to the point where shippers and carriers are having a tough time with freight rates due to floating inconsistency within logistics caused by freight broker agents not professionals from the end of 2008 until now.

For these reasons, carriers are currently grappling with general business ethics and trust issues posed by freight forwarders. These types of assumptions hold true because all truck owners have dealt with shady freight forwarders. In today’s world of logistics, trucking company owners can still find great professional logistics service providers who are trained and capable of building freight lanes.

Overcoming the stigma and trying to understand how the relationship between freight brokers and carriers will never go away, it’s time more owner-operators were open to the idea of ​​truly working with a logistics broker who can understand your trucking business and help. to develop cargo routes. on behalf of the profit of your trucking company.

Trucking business owners should realize that the national average of cargo moving in the back of trucks in America today is 70%. This means that you cannot have a large amount of freight going directly to the shipper. America’s carriers today are connecting to EDI systems (electronic distribution interchange technology allows carriers to connect their supply demands to an online network of logistics options within a main system). Within logistics we geeks call this fun and exciting as it allows us to better manage freight lanes and see the future forecast within lane prices.

Smaller asset companies have a hard time connecting to better loads or recreating previously lost lanes and keeping trucks on the road with fewer dead miles and higher rates. A true scare broker company will help you overcome these obstacles and represent you in more solutions through technology that provides real freight charges that pay.

The best logistics qualities to look for when working with 3pl companies and freight brokers are:

A true freight broker should provide your business with these services:

• A true freight broker will have an established logistics niche within certain industries. He or she will have the ability to manage your freight needs and will be able to forecast with new direct freight loads that allow your team to gain consistency.

• A True Freight Broker agent will have your trucks within certain geographic areas that will allow you to maximize the type of drivers and equipment you have within key markets.

• A true freight forwarder will build your freight lanes to a solid consistency with loads connecting you directly to the source of freight moving out of your location and back to the freight terminal locations.

• A True Freight Broker is spot on when they dispatch your trucks and manage your check calls for timely delivery. They make sure that the driver has all the necessary information and is available to receive assistance with the collection and delivery of the assigned load.

• A true freight forwarder will help you with your compliance and IFTA reports by providing detailed reports on your freight loads for your convenience.

• A True Freight Broker keeps you up to date with safety and maintenance compliance information and any new mandates or laws that affect your trucking company. It is your job to ensure that you are always informed and prepared for compliance with state regulations.

• A true freight forwarder keeps their drivers satisfied with GPS and TMS services with excellent communication skills to assist the driver with cargo issues or cargo movement compliance issues.

• A true freight forwarder is someone who doesn’t work alone and has a strong team that helps keep your trucking business moving.

There are many other attributes that only better describe what I believe a true freight broker agent is and working with one can help any trucking company gain a better solid foundation for the growth and stability of their full truck loads. . Freight brokers should always keep the carrier first by building more lanes that provide consistent freight and should always represent their business to more carriers with freight options. If both parts work together, these rails can be created easily and quickly and both benefit from the volume of consistency. Personally, I believe that a small trucking business can be more profitable faster if you work closely with your freight forwarder.

Working with a freight forwarder can be rewarding if both parties are focused on the same industry. For this reason, trucking company owners want to choose freight forwarders that focus on the right industry that suits their equipment. Trailers determine the cargo you carry, so trucking company owners don’t want to reinvest in new trailers, for this reason it is better to build with what you have and grow within the niche with the right freight broker than you currently do. you are working within this niche for freight services. The old saying about doing one thing right and doing your best is true in this situation. Provide consistency in your transportation company with the same equipment. This allows the freight broker to put more effort into creating better carrier options on behalf of the shipping company, and the services the broker can offer the carrier can lead to better results for both teams.

I think in today’s logistics industry, it’s a very smart idea for shipping companies to join forces with other like-minded shipping companies and create volume within the same team. Volume is what grabs the attention of big carriers and lands on good solid pay lanes. This is very difficult to do if the smaller trucking companies are not networking within their freight forwarder to team up on good loads.

Some other qualities that a new trucking company would want to compare when working with a freight forwarding agency is finding exact information on how the freight forwarding agency will pay you for the full loads of your truck that they deliver to you. Every major freight brokerage will offer payment options with no additional charges. Getting paid on time shouldn’t cost you more money to get paid for your freight forwarding services.

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