Bulkloads...

Aug 14, 2023 at 12:20 PM CST + 24 - 6
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. I would like to know exactly and in plain terms what you all are doing to encourage shippers to use this app/website. My focus is shippers because most of the brokers post junk loads and rates. I found 1 run, that there were 10 of for the entirety of last year in October. That was a broker load to be fair. It was oilfield related. So it paid well. Back in May I found the only load for this year. I agreed to 3 and they were by far the worst loads I've ever dealt with and I've been driving since 1998. So basically I've found 2 loads in a year and a half. Brokers CONSTANTLY post rate requests as loads. This should be stopped. Simple solution is for us to mark it as not a load once we speak to them and you all remove the post. Last year when I complained I was told "we'll give you a free month" That month only had 7 days in it for some strange reason. I know you all like to call but this is a question others would love the answer to as well.

Replied on Mon, Aug 14, 2023 at 02:48 PM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Hello David, Like you had said a simple fix is we have a way that you can flag loads and we can get them taken down. Currently they are wokring on a way that shippers and brokers can identify when they are quoting a lane. So no ones time is wasted calling or being called on loads that are going to be available in the future.

Replied on Mon, Aug 14, 2023 at 03:53 PM CST + 1
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Another perfect example of this is Derrick at Innovative Transportation Solutions. Posting loads out of Rocksprings, Wy. going to Bennett, Co. No such loads.

Replied on Mon, Aug 14, 2023 at 09:02 PM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Brokers gathering quotes so they can bid on new work is not a bad thing. It’s a good thing, as it is essentially researching the lane so they can bid rates that carriers will actually haul for. If they don’t do this, then everyone will complain that they have awful rates and don’t know the industry. Can’t expect brokers to have reliable rates if they don’t source them from carriers. The problem is not identifying the rate request as a future bid. Many do identify their request as such, and carriers should still respond- that’s the process that will lead to good loads in a matter of weeks or months.

Replied on Mon, Aug 14, 2023 at 09:02 PM CST

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

Brokers gathering quotes so they can bid on new work is not a bad thing. It’s a good thing, as it is essentially researching the lane so they can bid rates that carriers will actually haul for. If they don’t do this, then everyone will complain that they have awful rates and don’t know the industry. Can’t expect brokers to have reliable rates if they don’t source them from carriers. The problem is not identifying the rate request as a future bid. Many do identify their request as such, and carriers should still respond- that’s the process that will lead to good loads in a matter of weeks or months.

Replied on Tue, Aug 15, 2023 at 12:23 PM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Quote: "Brokers gathering quotes so they can bid on new work is not a bad thing. It’s a good thing, as it is essentially researching the lane so they can bid rates that carriers will actually haul for. If they don’t do this, then everyone will complain that they have awful rates and don’t know the industry. Can’t expect brokers to have reliable rates if they don’t source them from carriers. The problem is not identifying the rate request as a future bid. Many do identify their request as such, and carriers should still respond- that’s the process that will lead to good loads in a matter of weeks or months." Like I've said 1000 times I have no problem with brokers requesting rates. My issue is them being allowed to post the request as actual loads. Because I only pay for membership when I see something I don't recognize. They can ask in the forum or load projects but I'm sure they get a faster response wasting our time. I just run Texas and Oklahoma and Louisiana if I'm forced at gunpoint. As big as Texas is there's 2 loads right now. One is garbage. I did it a few months ago and was supposed to be paid in 14 days. It took 60. I was told that I should have asked someone what the payment terms were after I pointed out that I went by the contract/carrier agreement. So when something gets posted and I waste 80 dollars to find out that the post isn't an actual load, I'm pissed and rightfully so. I constantly ask for some solution to be made but so far nothing.

Replied on Tue, Aug 15, 2023 at 12:23 PM CST

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

Quote: "Brokers gathering quotes so they can bid on new work is not a bad thing. It’s a good thing, as it is essentially researching the lane so they can bid rates that carriers will actually haul for. If they don’t do this, then everyone will complain that they have awful rates and don’t know the industry. Can’t expect brokers to have reliable rates if they don’t source them from carriers. The problem is not identifying the rate request as a future bid. Many do identify their request as such, and carriers should still respond- that’s the process that will lead to good loads in a matter of weeks or months."

Like I've said 1000 times I have no problem with brokers requesting rates. My issue is them being allowed to post the request as actual loads. Because I only pay for membership when I see something I don't recognize. They can ask in the forum or load projects but I'm sure they get a faster response wasting our time. I just run Texas and Oklahoma and Louisiana if I'm forced at gunpoint. As big as Texas is there's 2 loads right now. One is garbage. I did it a few months ago and was supposed to be paid in 14 days. It took 60. I was told that I should have asked someone what the payment terms were after I pointed out that I went by the contract/carrier agreement. So when something gets posted and I waste 80 dollars to find out that the post isn't an actual load, I'm pissed and rightfully so. I constantly ask for some solution to be made but so far nothing.

Replied on Wed, Aug 16, 2023 at 12:16 PM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Quote: "Hello David, Like you had said a simple fix is we have a way that you can flag loads and we can get them taken down. Currently they are wokring on a way that shippers and brokers can identify when they are quoting a lane. So no ones time is wasted calling or being called on loads that are going to be available in the future." Ok. So my rant got long and maybe my main question was missed. So here it is again. What are you all doing to encourage shippers to use your service? Advertising? Mailers? Emails? Phone calls? The thing everyone is complaining about are the broker rates. There's a shipper that I use, that regularly post on here. When they post a broker will shortly post the same exact load. Except the broker usually post it at about half the shipper's rate. This is why having more shippers on here is valuable to us.

Replied on Wed, Aug 16, 2023 at 12:16 PM CST

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

Quote: "Hello David, Like you had said a simple fix is we have a way that you can flag loads and we can get them taken down. Currently they are wokring on a way that shippers and brokers can identify when they are quoting a lane. So no ones time is wasted calling or being called on loads that are going to be available in the future."

Ok. So my rant got long and maybe my main question was missed. So here it is again. What are you all doing to encourage shippers to use your service? Advertising? Mailers? Emails? Phone calls? The thing everyone is complaining about are the broker rates. There's a shipper that I use, that regularly post on here. When they post a broker will shortly post the same exact load. Except the broker usually post it at about half the shipper's rate. This is why having more shippers on here is valuable to us.

Replied on Wed, Aug 16, 2023 at 12:59 PM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Quote: "Ok. So my rant got long and maybe my main question was missed. So here it is again. What are you all doing to encourage shippers to use your service? Advertising? Mailers? Emails? Phone calls? The thing everyone is complaining about are the broker rates. There's a shipper that I use, that regularly post on here. When they post a broker will shortly post the same exact load. Except the broker usually post it at about half the shipper's rate. This is why having more shippers on here is valuable to us." Hey David, thanks for the reply and for starting this thread. I'm sure many of our members have the same questions as you, we always welcome thought-provoking questions and will do our best to answer them. In regards to the main question, yes, we always have efforts dedicated to encouraging shippers to use our platform. Having them utilize our service benefits all parties. One thing that's very prevalent in this industry is word of mouth. Advertising works but word of mouth works better. That being said, something we can implement now is having our members spread the word to shippers. If a member is communicating to a shipper that doesn't utilize BulkLoads, encourage them to check out the platform or get in contact with us so they can post their freight on the board

Replied on Wed, Aug 16, 2023 at 12:59 PM CST

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

Quote: "Ok. So my rant got long and maybe my main question was missed. So here it is again. What are you all doing to encourage shippers to use your service? Advertising? Mailers? Emails? Phone calls? The thing everyone is complaining about are the broker rates. There's a shipper that I use, that regularly post on here. When they post a broker will shortly post the same exact load. Except the broker usually post it at about half the shipper's rate. This is why having more shippers on here is valuable to us."

Hey David, thanks for the reply and for starting this thread. I'm sure many of our members have the same questions as you, we always welcome thought-provoking questions and will do our best to answer them.

In regards to the main question, yes, we always have efforts dedicated to encouraging shippers to use our platform. Having them utilize our service benefits all parties. One thing that's very prevalent in this industry is word of mouth. Advertising works but word of mouth works better. That being said, something we can implement now is having our members spread the word to shippers.

If a member is communicating to a shipper that doesn't utilize BulkLoads, encourage them to check out the platform or get in contact with us so they can post their freight on the board

Replied on Thu, Aug 17, 2023 at 07:56 AM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. We were just presented a politician style answer. You know something to answer the question, but danced around actually answering the question. Question was what are you doing. The answer was we have efforts dedicated to, but you could __________. What are said efforts? That would answer the initial question. Original poster even listed options to pick from. Or are you saying that the efforts dedicated to making those connections are relying on only word of mouth?

Replied on Thu, Aug 17, 2023 at 07:56 AM CST

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

We were just presented a politician style answer. You know something to answer the question, but danced around actually answering the question. Question was what are you doing. The answer was we have efforts dedicated to, but you could __________. What are said efforts? That would answer the initial question. Original poster even listed options to pick from. Or are you saying that the efforts dedicated to making those connections are relying on only word of mouth?

Replied on Thu, Aug 17, 2023 at 08:44 AM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Quote: "We were just presented a politician style answer. You know something to answer the question, but danced around actually answering the question. Question was what are you doing. The answer was we have efforts dedicated to, but you could __________. What are said efforts? That would answer the initial question. Original poster even listed options to pick from. Or are you saying that the efforts dedicated to making those connections are relying on only word of mouth?" Shippers being active on a load board is a bonus. Load boards are a broker’s game, and the more time a direct shipper spends on a load board, the closer their direct rates will get to brokered rates, because believe it or not, shippers like to save money too and not spend more than they need to. It is not realistic to think shippers will sign onto a load board and start offering premium rates. Establishing and building relationships with direct shippers is a carrier’s responsibility, not a load board’s. If that is a carrier’s goal, they need to spend less time on load boards and more tome doing their own markting and phone calls. It’s very hard, but rewarding and the further away from a load board that that relationship exists, the more insulated the carrier will be from the volatile brokered spot rates.ore

Replied on Thu, Aug 17, 2023 at 08:44 AM CST

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

Quote: "We were just presented a politician style answer. You know something to answer the question, but danced around actually answering the question. Question was what are you doing. The answer was we have efforts dedicated to, but you could __________. What are said efforts? That would answer the initial question. Original poster even listed options to pick from. Or are you saying that the efforts dedicated to making those connections are relying on only word of mouth?"

Shippers being active on a load board is a bonus. Load boards are a broker’s game, and the more time a direct shipper spends on a load board, the closer their direct rates will get to brokered rates, because believe it or not, shippers like to save money too and not spend more than they need to. It is not realistic to think shippers will sign onto a load board and start offering premium rates. Establishing and building relationships with direct shippers is a carrier’s responsibility, not a load board’s. If that is a carrier’s goal, they need to spend less time on load boards and more tome doing their own markting and phone calls. It’s very hard, but rewarding and the further away from a load board that that relationship exists, the more insulated the carrier will be from the volatile brokered spot rates.ore

Replied on Thu, Aug 17, 2023 at 08:57 AM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Quote: "Brokers gathering quotes so they can bid on new work is not a bad thing. It’s a good thing, as it is essentially researching the lane so they can bid rates that carriers will actually haul for. If they don’t do this, then everyone will complain that they have awful rates and don’t know the industry. Can’t expect brokers to have reliable rates if they don’t source them from carriers. The problem is not identifying the rate request as a future bid. Many do identify their request as such, and carriers should still respond- that’s the process that will lead to good loads in a matter of weeks or months." So I have a question about brokers. Why does a broker have to "research" a lane to find out the rates trucks will haul for? If a broker has been in the business long enough shouldn't they have the knowledge to know what it costs to run a truck? Seems to me the brokers that are doing this "research" are the ones that have just recently gotten in the business with absolutely no knowledge of how trucks operate and they are the ones that are tanking the rates. Just some observations.......

Replied on Thu, Aug 17, 2023 at 08:57 AM CST

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

So I have a question about brokers. Why does a broker have to "research" a lane to find out the rates trucks will haul for? If a broker has been in the business long enough shouldn't they have the knowledge to know what it costs to run a truck? Seems to me the brokers that are doing this "research" are the ones that have just recently gotten in the business with absolutely no knowledge of how trucks operate and they are the ones that are tanking the rates. Just some observations.......

Replied on Thu, Aug 17, 2023 at 10:54 AM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Quote: "So I have a question about brokers. Why does a broker have to "research" a lane to find out the rates trucks will haul for? If a broker has been in the business long enough shouldn't they have the knowledge to know what it costs to run a truck? Seems to me the brokers that are doing this "research" are the ones that have just recently gotten in the business with absolutely no knowledge of how trucks operate and they are the ones that are tanking the rates. Just some observations......." What it costs to run a truck is pretty far removed from the going rate on a given lane. It doesn’t cost any less to depart a truck from Pennsylvania then it does from Indiana, yet the rates are very different. Supply and demand changes rates all the time. No one cares what it costs you to run a truck, they care what their other options cost.

Replied on Thu, Aug 17, 2023 at 10:54 AM CST

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

Quote: "So I have a question about brokers. Why does a broker have to "research" a lane to find out the rates trucks will haul for? If a broker has been in the business long enough shouldn't they have the knowledge to know what it costs to run a truck? Seems to me the brokers that are doing this "research" are the ones that have just recently gotten in the business with absolutely no knowledge of how trucks operate and they are the ones that are tanking the rates. Just some observations......."

What it costs to run a truck is pretty far removed from the going rate on a given lane. It doesn’t cost any less to depart a truck from Pennsylvania then it does from Indiana, yet the rates are very different. Supply and demand changes rates all the time. No one cares what it costs you to run a truck, they care what their other options cost.

Replied on Fri, Aug 18, 2023 at 07:04 AM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Quote: "So I have a question about brokers. Why does a broker have to "research" a lane to find out the rates trucks will haul for? If a broker has been in the business long enough shouldn't they have the knowledge to know what it costs to run a truck? Seems to me the brokers that are doing this "research" are the ones that have just recently gotten in the business with absolutely no knowledge of how trucks operate and they are the ones that are tanking the rates. Just some observations......." The same could be said about carriers!! All of it!!

Replied on Fri, Aug 18, 2023 at 07:04 AM CST

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

The same could be said about carriers!! All of it!!

Replied on Fri, Aug 18, 2023 at 07:05 AM CST + 2
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Quote: "Hey David, thanks for the reply and for starting this thread. I'm sure many of our members have the same questions as you, we always welcome thought-provoking questions and will do our best to answer them. In regards to the main question, yes, we always have efforts dedicated to encouraging shippers to use our platform. Having them utilize our service benefits all parties. One thing that's very prevalent in this industry is word of mouth. Advertising works but word of mouth works better. That being said, something we can implement now is having our members spread the word to shippers. If a member is communicating to a shipper that doesn't utilize BulkLoads, encourage them to check out the platform or get in contact with us so they can post their freight on the board" And again...u missed the question...or avoiding it......What are u dointo encourage them to use it......u talkin out both sides of ur mouth.....

Replied on Fri, Aug 18, 2023 at 07:05 AM CST

+ 2

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

Quote: "Hey David, thanks for the reply and for starting this thread. I'm sure many of our members have the same questions as you, we always welcome thought-provoking questions and will do our best to answer them. In regards to the main question, yes, we always have efforts dedicated to encouraging shippers to use our platform. Having them utilize our service benefits all parties. One thing that's very prevalent in this industry is word of mouth. Advertising works but word of mouth works better. That being said, something we can implement now is having our members spread the word to shippers. If a member is communicating to a shipper that doesn't utilize BulkLoads, encourage them to check out the platform or get in contact with us so they can post their freight on the board"

And again...u missed the question...or avoiding it......What are u dointo encourage them to use it......u talkin out both sides of ur mouth.....

Replied on Fri, Aug 18, 2023 at 07:08 AM CST + 1
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Quote: "We were just presented a politician style answer. You know something to answer the question, but danced around actually answering the question. Question was what are you doing. The answer was we have efforts dedicated to, but you could __________. What are said efforts? That would answer the initial question. Original poster even listed options to pick from. Or are you saying that the efforts dedicated to making those connections are relying on only word of mouth?" They aint doin s***....aint no money in bulkloads pocket...without bottom feeding brokers

Replied on Fri, Aug 18, 2023 at 07:08 AM CST

+ 1

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

They aint doin s***....aint no money in bulkloads pocket...without bottom feeding brokers

Replied on Mon, Aug 21, 2023 at 08:06 PM CST + 1
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Quote: "They aint doin s*....aint no money in bulkloads pocket...without bottom feeding brokers" I may be wrong but bulkloads is a prescription based service meaning that a "bottom feeder" broker and a direct shipper earn bulkloads the same amount of money. They make there money on the volume of subscribers they have so I'm sure they try to market there service to anyone that has a need for it.

Replied on Mon, Aug 21, 2023 at 08:06 PM CST

+ 1

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

Quote: "They aint doin s***....aint no money in bulkloads pocket...without bottom feeding brokers"

I may be wrong but bulkloads is a prescription based service meaning that a "bottom feeder" broker and a direct shipper earn bulkloads the same amount of money. They make there money on the volume of subscribers they have so I'm sure they try to market there service to anyone that has a need for it.

Replied on Mon, Aug 21, 2023 at 08:53 PM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Quote: "Hey David, thanks for the reply and for starting this thread. I'm sure many of our members have the same questions as you, we always welcome thought-provoking questions and will do our best to answer them. In regards to the main question, yes, we always have efforts dedicated to encouraging shippers to use our platform. Having them utilize our service benefits all parties. One thing that's very prevalent in this industry is word of mouth. Advertising works but word of mouth works better. That being said, something we can implement now is having our members spread the word to shippers. If a member is communicating to a shipper that doesn't utilize BulkLoads, encourage them to check out the platform or get in contact with us so they can post their freight on the board" I'm going to assume the answer to the question is nothing. I don't know how to ask the question more directly or simply. As for your suggestion it makes no sense and is of ZERO benefit to the carrier to put their customers on here. That's your job. If I have a contact within a company I can just go to them. As big as Texas is there are frequently zero loads for pneumatics. This makes no sense to me. Especially when you're being paid for a service that provides little to no actual service for some. This is what I do to find work and I don't have any subscribers. I am a one man band as for as my authority goes. I call companies and stop by places that I pass with silos and introduce myself. Most of the time it goes nowhere but it's better than wishing upon a star.

Replied on Mon, Aug 21, 2023 at 08:53 PM CST

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

I'm going to assume the answer to the question is nothing. I don't know how to ask the question more directly or simply. As for your suggestion it makes no sense and is of ZERO benefit to the carrier to put their customers on here. That's your job. If I have a contact within a company I can just go to them. As big as Texas is there are frequently zero loads for pneumatics. This makes no sense to me. Especially when you're being paid for a service that provides little to no actual service for some. This is what I do to find work and I don't have any subscribers. I am a one man band as for as my authority goes. I call companies and stop by places that I pass with silos and introduce myself. Most of the time it goes nowhere but it's better than wishing upon a star.

Replied on Fri, Sep 01, 2023 at 08:23 PM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. I think a solution that would mitigate it is that there is a load designation such as: Can Get-Meaning it is a load that is in the works and if a carrier is found, the shipment could be booked Can Load-The shipment is ready to go and on the books need a carrier For Quotation- Information Gathering, no shipment, it's a lane that's available etc. It would be a solution that would alleviate your frustration and make it usuable for brokers/etc. I like to network with carriers because although we might not be able to work together, I will have you in mind for future opportunities

Replied on Fri, Sep 01, 2023 at 08:23 PM CST

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

I think a solution that would mitigate it is that there is a load designation such as:

Can Get-Meaning it is a load that is in the works and if a carrier is found, the shipment could be booked

Can Load-The shipment is ready to go and on the books need a carrier

For Quotation- Information Gathering, no shipment, it's a lane that's available etc.

It would be a solution that would alleviate your frustration and make it usuable for brokers/etc.

I like to network with carriers because although we might not be able to work together, I will have you in mind for future opportunities

Bulkloads...

Address

Legal

Social Media