Rates

**kamilm** · 02-20-2008, 07:34 PM

where can I find help on understanding how to charge customers

**kamilm** · 02-20-2008, 07:57 PM

I am just starting to get business on my own.. I talked with a freight broker who wants me to give him a rate sheet. He wants me to set it up in zones with weight chages per zone. I am clueless and do not how to do this. Is there some type of software?? Do I multiply something by the weight for each mileage zone?? Where and how do I start? I drive a 24ft straight truck.(FYI)

**kamilm** · 02-20-2008, 08:06 PM

Hello. I just started looking for freight loads. A company I'm dealing with wants me to make a rate sheet with weight charges per zone. I do not know where to start at. Is there a formula or some software I can use.? I drive a 24ft straight truck.

**x06col** · 02-20-2008, 10:46 PM

Kamlin, you price it just as tho you were making a widget. Cost plus some profit, then figgure in some volumn, and you should have it.

If I may inquire, what in the world are you doing in a business you don't have a clue about?? Seems a good way to get a large lesson about life. You'll get the pricing down pat about six months after your first mistake.

**Jefferson3000** · 02-20-2008, 11:21 PM

Kamilm,

What kind of zones is he wanting. Are you talking zones of the United States, or local zones, as in air freight?

**davekc** · 02-20-2008, 11:27 PM

I think the colonel probably ask the most important question.
"What are you doing in this business"?

Setting rates in your case is much more involved without knowing more than you posted. Do you have your own authority? Do you have the proper vehicle and load insurance? And in what amounts? Might depend on what a customer will let you haul.
What kind of freight are you hauling? Expedite, LTL, International, Government, Hazmat????
All of those will have a different rate structure. Origin of freight will affect the rate as well.

I could go on, but I believe based on your limited information, you need to take not a small step, but a very large one back and understand what you are jumping into.
Might sound a pessimistic, but I see a potential disaster on the horizon.

**kamilm** · 02-21-2008, 06:08 PM

Thanks for bring me back to reality. My experience in the trucking business is small. I incorporated my business last July with cargo insurance at $100K and liability at a million. I have authority and have my DOT and MC number. I have a contract with a company that includes a route plus extra pickups and runs. The thing is I want something for myself and family. I have extra time and have done hotshot work before. The situation I'm in includes LTL airfreight and ground freight with delivery within the state of North Carolina. For my rate sheet, I have thought about making zones like area A, area B, area C, and so on with a different range of mileage. Then I would start with a weight like 100lbs, 1000lbs, 2000lbs, and so on.
Example:
Area 100 1000 ....
A ? ?
B ? ?
C ? ?

My question is do I use the DIM factor or do I just pick a number? Do I consider density? Maybe this give more details to what I am trying to do. Any input would be welcome. By the way, I drive a 24 foot straight truck.

**Jefferson3000** · 02-21-2008, 07:03 PM

Air Freight delivery zones are not arbitrary. They were set up by an organization called ACI. This organization is no longer an entity, but up until a few tyears ago, they published a list of freight rates for different airport cities.. They were organized in the fifties to help freight forwarders know what the going rate for a specific airport region would be. They are not based on mileage alone, but tonnage. If you PM me, I might be able to sort this out for you.

Oh, and if this is your method of determining local rates, yes, you should most definitely dim the freight.