Driving for Multiple Carriers

[RoadDawgg]

How does this work? This morning was the first I've heard of this particular practice, it sounds....complicated but having potential.

I'm assuming you talk to every company you can and ask if they allow it? I'm also assuming (ok, guessing) that it's mostly smaller outfits that allow this. Nothing like FedEx or Panther, right?

Is this a CV only phenomenon or are there ST guys doing this as well?

And does anyone have some details of how the practical aspects of it?

Thanks!
Christopher

 

[geo]

if you get your own auth and become a agent
at ceva we have owner operator and agents they work with many companies at one time

 

[jeffman164]

RoadDawwg . Usually cargo vans but some straights also do this . Yes , smaller companies primarily because less restrictions . Just pay for your own cargo insurance , sign on with a few companies and you are good to go . Sometimes you get duplicate offers ( just have a minimum set rate $ ) but not too often . Most companies have a few personal contacts that they deal with exclusively .

 

[RoadDawgg]

Can you tell me of some companies that do allow multiples?

About how much insurance do you guys have to carry, and how much does it cost you?

Thanks!
Christopher

 

[jimlookup]

It only takes a little more time, effort and money to get your own authority. Then you could contract with many carriers for better rates and more load oportunities. It definetly helps to have some business and freight hauling experience. You may want to bang around Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to learn more.
Primary insurance will cost near $4000 your first year. (Less if you can pay it up front.) If accident free, you'll get a big discount your second year. Fedex (maybe others) also require general liability. That's another $70 a month. Good Luck!

 

[RoadDawgg]

The way it looks on the FMCSA site, if you don't haul hazmat, you don't need authorization. Or am I reading them wrong? I'd rather not carry regulated, anyway, particularly if I'm in a van.

So, $4k a year (give or take), plus your own authority (if you carry regulated), and general liability (specifically for the freight?) would be a great idea. Is it really that simple (in general terms)?

Thanks!
Christopher

 

[CharlesD]

Getting your authority really is the best way to get loads from multiple entities. If you're running for more than one, all the companies are bidding against each other for your vehicle. That doesn't increase your chances of getting the load, only that it will go for a lower rate. If you have your authority and you're the only van in a particular city, you know you're going to get the load and you're going to get more money because of the lack of competition. If you're the only van in town and you're signed on with three companies, each company might have you listed on the alliance and each company is going to look on there, see two other vans posted, and bid accordingly. Your carrier can get more money for a load if they know there's no competition, which could mean more money in your pocket.

Now you might say that you're on a contract rate so you don't care what the carrier gets, but why do you think driver pay is where it is and how much more would it be if carriers were getting better rates? This is a supply and demand business and if there is a perception that the supply is at a certain level, that is going to directly affect rates. We make so many decisions based on what the competition is in a certain area: how much we bid on a load, whether or not we suggest a relocation for a certain unit, etc. The other day I was looking at the number of vans posted in a certain area. There were 20 listed and I was about to tell the driver to relocate when he told me that there were only two other vans parked where he was. When I looked carefully and started eliminating the ones that had the same specs as another vehicle that I figured were listed by more than one company, what appeared to be 20 vans was whittled down to 9. It's really pretty simple to figure out. More companies bidding=lower rates.

 

[idtrans]

The advangtage to having multiple companies also is freight is 24/7 everyday and if your 1 company only works lets say 8am to 7pm then from 7pm to 8am you never have a chance of getting a load if your empty.

Now that is not always the case but many times can be true. Now I have got loads at 1am and then other later hours. heck thanks giving eve i got a load from indy to laredo at 9pm and it vas a sprinter load listed as a 24' box truck load. i scooped up the 3 pallets and went to laredo at $1.35 pm heck yeah jackpot run. Not always like that but it does happen.

Heck about 3 months ago I booked a load at 2am from sc to elpaso, tx at a good rate also. the idea of this industry is EMERGENCY URGENT FREIGHT RELOCATION! Not 9AM to 5PM .

So the point is it is nice if a company searches for loads 24/7 now in fairness yes there is lots of competition and under bidders out there and i understand the point of the smaller company to stay but to have someone looking 24/7 for the chance of 1 or 2 loads a week is not cost effective.

And the point of the having more people looking and bidding is a way to kill your freight pm pay. I am trying to show my truck with only 1 company I run for and then the other companies i do not inform as often where i am to try to get my freight rate at a higher pm rate. Now if I am in a heavy area like laredo full of trucks waiting for freight then I call everyone and get them all searching and bidding because heck it is a crazy game out of laredo.

Point is there are many great companies out here you just have to find the one company you get along with and work together the best with otherwise keep looking there is always that 1 company for the1 truck/driver.

Best of luck

 

[jimlookup]

Having your own authority also gives you more ability to reject cheap freight. The carriers that allow you to sign on with multable carriers do this because they have cheap freight and can't find enough dedicated O/Os to haul it. In a perfect world carriers could only bid down to a certain point because they know their drivers would not accept what they could offer after they subtract their profit. Of course this would require dicipline by the O/Os and dicipline is tough when a truck payment is due and your kid needs braces.

 

[RoadDawgg]

Ok, so having your own authority makes you more attractive to an outfit looking for someone to take the load?

And the point of the having more people looking and bidding is a way to kill your freight pm pay. I am trying to show my truck with only 1 company I run for and then the other companies i do not inform as often where i am to try to get my freight rate at a higher pm rate. Now if I am in a heavy area like laredo full of trucks waiting for freight then I call everyone and get them all searching and bidding because heck it is a crazy game out of laredo.

So, you only let the one company know what you're planning on (I'm assuming this is your preferred company?), and you just ask the others what they got anywhere? So, let's say the company you kept up to date on location was KA Carriers (making all the names up), and you were in Omaha. You'd call Second Choice, Third Choice, and Bottom of the Barrel Carriers in order to see if they have loads, but not tell them where you're at? As in trolling for a load with the right cost for you to make however long a deadhead to? I apologize if I misunderstood that. Just be patient, I'll catch on...lol

The other day I was looking at the number of vans posted in a certain area. There were 20 listed and I was about to tell the driver to relocate when he told me that there were only two other vans parked where he was. When I looked carefully and started eliminating the ones that had the same specs as another vehicle that I figured were listed by more than one company, what appeared to be 20 vans was whittled down to 9. It's really pretty simple to figure out. More companies bidding=lower rates.

So the fact that you're listed multiple times can mean someone sees, but doesn't realize there's an artificially high number of vans? Phantom vans driving the pay down?

So, if you're listed with the Alliance, how do you go about only keeping one company up to date on your location, and the rest sorta not knowing?

Thanks!
Christopher

 

[RedBird]

I work with 3 different carriers. Carrier A gets me an outbound load, (they're not experienced on backhauls as they're a local company). So when I load up and hit the road, I call carriers B, and C to let them know where I'm headed and if possible find me a trip back home. Whoever loads me first gets the van! I've also experienced running a trip and getting unloaded and got a call from another carrier to see if I was available, I told him I had delivered at such and such location and I could take the trip but I was too far away from pick up and had to refuse the load.

Working for multiple carriers is good if you're like me work part-time and run outbound loaded and deadhead back home for other committments. If you plan on staying out for weeks at a time, getting your own authority is wise or contracting on with one of the big name carriers out there...and big time I mean trucks who you often see on the road when your traveling.

 

[blizzard2014]

Working for multiple carriers does not always mean that three companies are bidding on the same load for 1 van. Some companies have a network of regular call in customers while others are simply relying on bid boards to get their trucks loaded. I have one carrier who has regular customers all over the country and rarely uses bid boards to load his trucks; then I have another carrier who relies 100% on load boards to load his trucks. How would these two different companies be bidding against one another for the same load when one is not even bidding on internet freight?

Also, some partner carriers prefer other partner carriers. Company 1 might bid a low rate on a load and company 2 might bid significantly higher on the same load. Yet company 2 might get the load at a higher rate because they are a prefered carrier with that particular partner carrier. I have seen this happen many times. Rate doesn't always determine who gets the load.

There are also tier issues. NLM and other 3PL companies have preferred carriers that they allow to see the better loads. Joe blow carrier with 10 trucks is not going to see as much freight as a company like T&K who has six times the amount of trucks. I have had 1 company call me with a nice NLM load while the other company never even saw it flash across the screen.

It all depends on how you want to run your business. This is a business out here and there are always multiple business models that can be employed. I see the only people who are against drivers working for multiple carriers are "smaller carriers" because they just want to keep that van sitting around for days so they can make money for themselves. It is selfish for smaller more unestablished carriers to not allow their vans to lease on with other carriers. That is just the way I see it from where i'm sitting!

 

[RoadDawgg]

Here's a question, I can't believe I just thought of; How well does this work with cube vans? Still under 10,001.

Thanks!
Christopher

 

[RedBird]

I honestly don't think hooking up with more than one carrier makes any difference whether you run with a under 10,000lbs cube truck or a cargo van. At that point its the capacity you're able to carry.

 

[TheRebel]

I honestly don't think hooking up with more than one carrier makes any difference whether you run with a under 10,000lbs cube truck or a cargo van. At that point its the capacity you're able to carry.

It's not about getting more loads at once, but being busy all the time... few years ago, when I was with bolt ex-yuck-press, I asked them three weeks in advance to get me a load toward my place, and they where trying to keep me as far as possible from home. I had to ask a small company to get me a load going that direction, and they helped me. Since then, time to time, if I'm stuck in some place, I call a second company to help me out.

 

[paullud]

How does this process work for the lettering or are you using your own company name, DOT #, etc. because you have your own authority?

 

[zero3nine]

How does this process work for the lettering or are you using your own company name, DOT #, etc. because you have your own authority?

Magnetic signs. I have them for each of the courier companies I haul for, and I have a set with my own numbers. When I haul for a broker, I run my own numbers on the side and my cargo insurance is in effect. When I haul for one of the regional couriers, I use their sign and their umbrella policy covers the freight.

My own cargo insurance will always cover anything in the van no matter what happens, so it's peace of mind if something were to happen and the courier's insurance falls short.