Scott Chandler, owner of Park Service Logistics told me a funny story today. He said a car hauler he knows got underbid by $500 on a load. A little bit later, the broker called back up and said that the truck that pulled up to haul his $60,000 car was loaded with crates of bananas, and they were just going to stick that fancy car on the rear of that trailer somehow.
Bananas.
I think it's stories like these that indicate we must be getting somewhere near the bottom of load price. But you still hear stories of cutthroat competition. And, unfortunately, it's usually an auto transport company cutting its own throat.
It reminds me of that old saying from the sixties-- "What if they had a war and nobody showed up?"
What if there was a load and nobody showed up?
What do you suppose would happen next?
Here's a really simple truth. A broker's quality of service is directly dependent on the quality of the carriers that are hauling his loads for him. Since most businesses grow by positive word of mouth and referrals, what do you think is going to happen to the fly-by-night operations that sit on a load for two weeks waiting for some carrier to agree to haul it for pennies? That right there is a strike against him... but more importantly, when that load does finally gets picked up, is that driver going to give the best service? Maybe... maybe not.
Brokers who squeeze the carriers this hard are basically violating the biblical principle "As you sow, so shall you reap." It's one thing to negotiate, but to press your advantage in a way that cripples the other party is unsustainable. It's trying to get something for nothing.
Contrast this behavior with the broker that negotiates a decent price with his customer, and offers the carrier a fair price for his service. If his driver is getting enough money to meet his needs, isn't he more likely to return phone calls, and make the extra effort that is going to improve that broker's reputation with that customer... and lead to more referrals and repeat business?
I think anything other than this type of sustainable business relationship is just... bananas.