Expedite Rates

oneway

Expert Expediter
How are expedite rates calculated when delivering for customers? Is there a standard tariff or do companies charge what they think the load is worth?
 

jr46812000

Expert Expediter
The rates are market driven. they go up and down depending on the day although not usually that much or that fast. Even carriers with set rates in place can offer different rates from time to time depending on truck availability, fuel prices etc. Those set rates many times are just default.
 

teacel

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
Are you a driver for a company?

It's not just about giving a customer a price to haul a load. There are many hidden costs, and rules like authority, insurance and so on you have to obtain before you can move freight, as a company.
 

oneway

Expert Expediter
I already had my company for some time but just took the next step and got my own authority and insurance. I'm still in the process of figuring out how expedite rates are generated by the other companies so that maybe I can benchmark. I figure if they are just charging whatever they feel they can get away with so be it, as long as the shipper is willing to pay, but if there is a standard or a tarrif that is followed then I'm hoping to learn more about it to keep up with the industry.
 

BoltExpress

Expert Expediter
jr46812000 is correct guys and gals. Typically it is calculated by the truck needed and the weight/dims of the load times the mileage.

The default rates we have in place for customers are typically the high paying ones to your vehicles. The problem occurs when there is more than one company trying to get the business from that customer. ABC company goes in and offers $1/mile and XYZ company goes in and offers .90/mile and so on and so forth which in-turn drives the price down and pays less.

The top dollar per mile continues to increase yet the loads paying that much are sometimes few are far between because the customer has another company willing to do the load for less money.

So what do we do? Say too bad and wait for the next load or drop our price for that customer and be happy that we got the load and are atleast making some money?

It is a cut-throat industry where price and service is everything. Our B-Unit (cargo van) contractors are paid anywhere between .50/mile up to $1.10/mile. The average for cargo van with Bolt for the year is roughly .80/loaded mile which may not pay the highest in the Industry yet we get the miles because of our pricing to the customer. :)
 
Top