Developing a Spot Market Freight Rate
January 22, 2008 – 7:01 pm
You have always want to be the last air ride Van in LA is the comment used in our school to start Spot Market Rate Development discussions. The carrier can get $10/mile in knowing how scarce trucks are that day. I am always asked how freight rates are arrived at, the answer, the market.
To find the market in a few keystrokes on a website Transcore.com, I can find where trucks are short and rates are high. Go to DAT Partners within Transcore.com and “ask” for all of the Trucks within a given radius of a city, once obtained, “ask” for the loads in the same given radius, and then you will know the ratio of trucks to loads, TRUCKS called SUPPLY, and LOADS called DEMAND, and if supply exceeds demand=lower freight rates than expected, and vice verse. When you know what the ratio is price your truck accordingly when broker call to book your truck. Without supply information you could leave as much a $1/mile on the table.
I am still amazed that some of my students working with brokers in the spot market for loads home don’t make counter offers. I suggest all truckers learn to HAGGLE over rates, always give a counter-offer when told the miles and money. We train people to haggle successfully at our school and our Home Study has great sales approaches. I suggest a minimum of 20% counter offer, and prepare to settle at 10%. Real brokers will offer 15 to 20% below where they intend to settle. Brokers faced with a plentiful trucks won’t bargain so you will have to know when to hold’em and when to fold’em.








