Question-------------------------
Followup: Wow! That was fast! My wife and I are leased to a small carrier (14 trucks) and they contract with bullet freight systems. We haul bullet trailers 53' dry van terminal to terminal. We were thinking about getting our own authority and contracting directly with bullet freight sytems, but we are not sure of what rates we should quote when we negotiate with them. Thank you very much for your time and advice.
sincerely,
Carlos Haeussler
Question -
Hi Jim, my wife and I are owner operators looking to get our motor carrier authority and contract with a company that specializes in terminal to terminal drop and hook, expediting, ltl and truckload. We haul 53' dry van trailers that are usually fully loaded and most loads are over 30,000lbs.
My question is about what rate to quote when negotiating. I know what my operating expenses are and what we need to turn a profit, but what if that rate is low and they would've agreed to a higher rate? How can I find out what rates they are paying other carriers that haul for them? Any information and advice will be greatly appreciated.
It also seems we may be neighbors if you live near Tampa. We live about 1 hr north of Tampa on the gulf coast.
Sincerley,
Carlos Haeussler
Answer -
Hi Carlos, we are practicaly nieghbors. I live in Lakeland.
I'm not sure exactly what to tell you. The advantage of getting your own authority is that you can contract directly with shippers. Are you pulling your own 53' dry van or are you leased to another carrier pulling their equipment currently? As a contractor to another carrier you should be getting 93 to 96 cents/mile plus fuel surcharge. Running under your own authority you will need to be sure you have full insurance coverages including cargo insurance. I think it will be difficult for a one truck operator to find a shipper to contract with on a regular or reliable basis so you will probably have to look to brokers to supply at least some of your loads and give them a cut of the total. If you are looking for terminal to terminal drop and hook on a regular sheduled run I sugggest contracting to a common carrier. For LTL you will probably need doubles and haz-mat qualifications. For TL or Expedited the shedules and lanes will not be as regular or consistant. It all depends on how often you want to get home or if you want to live out of the truck. Let me know what you are looking for.
Jim
AnswerCarlos, you do not need your own authority to contract to Bullet or any other carrier as you would be operating under their authority. The problem might be the relationship between the company you are contracted to and Bullet. The company I work for uses contractors. most are single truck operators but some have multiple units. If a driver working for one of our contractors wanted to bypass his direct emplyer we would not allow it because it would damage our relationship with the the primary contractor. I don't know how Bullet would respond if you were to go directly to them if they know you are driving for one of their contrsctors now. You might have to lease on with another carrier to break the tie, but there are plenty of opportunities out there. If you decide to go that way I can give you some ideas. Again I'm not sure getting your own authority opens many new doors without adding a lot more headaches.
Best of luck and let me know if you have other questions.
Jim
